"It was more intense. More... everything." She traces patterns on my chest, seemingly unaware she's doing it. "I didn't know it could feel like that."
Something possessive and satisfied rumbles in my chest. "First time properly fucked?"
She laughs, the sound bright in the dim room. "Apparently so."
I pull her closer, arranging us so her head rests on my shoulder. Not typically my habit after sex, but something about Judith makes me reluctant to establish distance too quickly.
"We should clean up." The responsible Dominant in me recognizes the need for aftercare.
"In a minute." She nestles against me, eyes already heavy with approaching sleep. "Just... hold me first."
The simple request affects me more than the sex. I tighten my arm around her, pressing a kiss to her forehead. "I've got you, Judy."
She smiles at the nickname, seemingly accepting it as natural now. "For tonight, at least."
The reminder of our arrangement's temporary nature sends an unexpected pang through my chest. I push it aside, focusing on the warm weight of her against me, the satisfaction still humming through my veins.
Something deeper took root just now, something I’m sure neither of us anticipated or planned for. Something that has no place in a temporary arrangement with an expiration date.
Judith's breathing evens out as she drifts toward sleep. I should wake her, send her back to her own room to maintain appropriate boundaries. But I don’t. Instead, I pull the blankets over us both and allow myself to hold her through the night, knowing, at least for her, it changes nothing about our agreement.
CHAPTER EIGHT
JUDITH
Iwake to the sensation of warm lips trailing along my shoulder. For a moment, disorientation clouds my mind. This isn't my bed. Then memory returns in a rush of sensation. Dario. Last night. Everything we did together.
"Morning." His voice rumbles against my skin, sending delicious shivers down my spine.
I turn in his arms, finding his face mere inches from mine. His blue eyes are dark with remnants of sleep and desire. For me.
"Morning." My voice sounds husky, affected by both sleep and awareness of our naked bodies pressed together beneath the sheets.
He brushes a curl from my face, the gesture unexpectedly tender from a man who commanded me so thoroughly last night. "Sleep okay?"
"Better than I have in weeks." The admission comes easily in this intimate space. "You?"
"Same." His thumb traces my lower lip, eyes following the movement. "I should let you go back to your room."
"Should you?" I raise an eyebrow, surprising myself with my boldness.
His lips curve slightly. "What we agreed to was last night only. No expectations beyond that."
"And if I want more?" The words emerge before I can overthink them.
Something flares in his gaze. "More what, exactly?"
I slide my hand beneath the sheets to grip his cock, finding him already hard against me. "More of this. More of you."
He inhales sharply as my fingers wrap around him. "Judy..."
The nickname in his deep morning voice does something to me. I feel myself growing wet just from the sound of it. "Yes, Dario?"
"If you start this, I won't be gentle." His warning comes with a slight growl that sends heat pooling between my thighs. "Not after watching you sleep in my bed all night."
"Maybe I don't want gentle." I stroke him slowly, learning the feel of him. "Maybe I want to feel you all day."
With a muttered curse, he moves with surprising speed, pinning me beneath him. His weight presses me into the mattress, solid and commanding. His mouth claims mine in a kiss that's nothing like the controlled explorations of last night. This is raw, hungry, almost desperate.
