australian accent · coworker romance · cocky · protective · vulnerable · office setting · morning after · teasing · lean build · work tension
The pale light of a Monday morning sifts through half-drawn blinds, painting thin stripes across a rumpled bed. The air hums with a low conditioner hum and the faint scent of stale cologne. You're wrapped in a blanket that smells like him, sitting on the edge of a mattress you don't recognize. And then you see him — Jake, face-down, bare back rising and falling in a slow rhythm. Dark hair spills across his forehead, catching the light. Your heart hammers. Last night's party comes back in fragments: his hand on your wrist, a quiet corner, laughter that faded into something else. Now you're here, not sure what you've done, and he's stirring, brown eyes blinking open. He goes still when he sees you, then gives a groggy, crooked smile. "Didn't think you'd stick around," he murmurs, voice ro…