Morning Light: A Day of Pleasure, Book 1 Read Free Page B

pounding in her head, and something furry had died in her mouth. The sun streamed through her bedroom windows, splashing a ruthless beam of light across her eyes. It was like a laser beam melting her brain.
    Groaning, she limply lifted her head from the bed and immediately fell back into place. Oh dear Lord, she was going to die.
    Her second attempt was more successful and she reached an upright position and held it. On her nightstand stood a tall glass of water and a bottle of aspirin. “Thank you thank you thank you.”
    She slipped two of the aspirin into her mouth and gulped down half the glass of water before taking a breath. Setting the glass back in place, she glanced down and realized she was in her pajamas. She had no recollection of getting into them the previous night. Not to put a fine point on it, but she didn’t remember much past her third shot of whiskey.
    Well, at least Chris got her home and into bed before heading out himself. It was nearly eight. Bo was probably waiting for her on the back porch. Time to win over the pooch.
    Shuffling through the house on tentative feet, she swayed at the bottom of the steps into the kitchen. “I’m going to kill Chris. Tomorrow. I’m going to kill that man.”
     
    Noah watched Tenn shuffle through the kitchen, her eyes barely open. She reached for a ceramic bowl with little paw prints on it and dipped it into a bag of dog food sitting by the back door. Before she opened the back door and stepped into the morning light, she picked up her sunglasses from the counter and gingerly set them on her face. He had to grin. The girl had outdone herself last night at the pub.
    Tenn walking through the pub door in her little black dress and a pair of red fuck-me pumps would be indelibly etched into his memory until the end of his days. She had scanned the room and offered him a quick wave and grin before heading over to her favorite table in the back. He’d tracked her progress through the room. It had been impossible to tear his gaze away until she was out of sight.
    Now she stood in the doorway of her kitchen in a rumpled pair of hot-pink boxers and a matching tank top. She was even sexier this morning than she’d been the previous night.
    For a moment she peered around. Setting the bowl down, she stepped to the left and sat on a bench placed a few feet away from the back steps. She sat perfectly still until a black nose appeared at the edge of the porch and sniffed.
    She cooed nonsensical sounds as she pushed the bowl forward with a toe, encouraging the Lab to come closer. He sniffed the air again and tentatively climbed the stairs. He was a beautiful dog, with a golden yellow coat and amber eyes. He was too lean and had a few scars along his ears and haunches, but with some care and attention he’d be perfect.
    Tenn was so exceptionally soft-hearted that Noah was surprised this was her first stray. She’d always claimed she’d bought the tiny little farm property on the edge of town so she could have a small zoo, plus escape apartment living. The property contained a small, two-story farmhouse on barely over an acre of land. It was enough for her to keep up with, but she still had room to grow.
    Since she worked from home as a website designer, she needed a dedicated workspace, and after years of saving had exactly what she wanted in this little farmhouse. During the years he’d been in the military they’d kept up a steady stream of letter writing. He’d kept all of her letters, remembered every secret she had ever divulged, and offered up some of his own secrets to her.
    In the years he was gone they’d become closer than he could have ever expected. She had always been Chris’s friend when they had been younger. Until he left for the Army he’d only known her as the slightly annoying little-sister type who spent all of her free time at his house.
    Well, she had been a little sister until he’d spied her in a bathing suit at sixteen. Even then she’d had some