“Are you sure this is okay?” I ask. “You don’t want me to sleep on the sofa?”
“That would seem a bit mean after what we’ve just done.”
“Yeah, but you obviously enjoy your own company here, and I don’t want to assume.”
“It’s fine,” she says softly. “Makes a change.”
I nuzzle her ear. “I like your white eyebrows.”
“Not too bland?”
“I think you should dunk yourself in custard and ask me again.”
That makes her laugh. “You like vanilla?”
“I love vanilla. And I love tasting you, so the two go together perfectly.” I kiss her ear. “You’re so not vanilla, Maddie. I don’t know what the guy was talking about.”
“I wasn’t like this when I was with him,” she says.
“What do you mean?”
She hesitates. “I was… different. You… bring me out of myself.”
I stroke her arm. “That’s a nice thing to say.”
She doesn’t reply. I kiss her shoulder, up her neck, her ear, her cheek, and when she turns her head, finally, her mouth.
“Goodnight,” I murmur.
“’Night.”
Outside, the wind whistles and the rain patters on the windows. Inside, the stars and lights turn slowly in the semi-darkness. And soon, we fall asleep.
*
I wake with a little jolt. For a second I don’t remember where I am, and then I look at the stars still passing across the ceiling, and it all comes flooding back.
Maddie is asleep, facing me, curled around a pillow. Her white hair turns blue and then pink as the Southern Lights pass across us. I reach for my phone—it says 6:14AM. My alarm normally goes off at this time. It’s funny how your body has its own internal clock.
When I look out of the window I can see a faint glow, heralding the sunrise. We have about half an hour before wehave to get up. I’m glad it’s stopped raining. I bet it gets cold up here in winter. But right now it’s warm and cozy.
She gives a tiny snore, and my lips curve up. Feeling a little surge of mischief, I begin to kiss down her body.
I start with her neck, shoulders, and arms, and then her ribs, by which time she’s starting to stir. She stretches and yawns, and I take the opportunity to turn her onto her back and kiss down between her breasts, ducking under the covers as I do.
“Mmm, Caesar…” She slides a hand into my hair. “What are you doing?”
“Helping myself to breakfast.” I kiss over her right breast. Her nipples are relaxed and soft, but as I suck one into my mouth and tease the tip with my tongue, it tightens to a bud, and she groans. “Just relax,” I instruct, kissing across to her other breast and repeating it with the other nipple.
“It’s difficult to relax when you’re doing that.”
I kiss both her breasts for a while, then start moving down. “Just pretend I’m not here.”
“Ohhh… wait… where are you going?”
“Shhh…” I move between her legs and kiss her stomach.
“Oh no, please let me have a shower first…”
