“Do you have—?” I start, and she nods.
“I bought some after the night we made s’mores,” she admits. “I guess manifestation works.”
I grin as I bend forward to kiss her again. Then I pull away, allowing her to reach into the night table and extract a condom. I slide it over the length of me and then hover over her, bracketing her with my elbows. I dip my head, pressing my lips to hers.
“Are you sure?” I ask her.
She nods. “I don’t think I’ve ever been surer of anything.”
Slowly, I ease into her. She gasps, digging her fingernails into the sheets.
I pause. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah, it’s just been a while. Go slow?”
I nod, then start to move again, pushing into her inch by inch until I’ve filled her completely. She’s tight but welcoming.
“Still good?” I whisper.
“So good,” she breathes. She opens her eyes, fixing her gaze on me. Her eyes are on fire. “You don’t know how much I want this.”
Oh, but I do.
I pull out and then drive back into her again. I start off with a slow and steady pace, and it isn’t long before she wants more.
She takes hold of my hips, urging me to move faster. But I’m not ready for this to be over. Not when I’ve waited for this long.
I wrap my arm around her thigh, adjusting myself so I can go deeper, and she lets out a whimper.
“I’m getting close,” she manages. There’s a light sheen of sweat on her forehead and she looks like a goddess. Her walls tighten around me, and I feel my own release on the horizon. I slip a hand betweenus, pinching the sensitive bud between her legs, and then she cries out. I finish a few seconds later and collapse on top of her. Then we’re nothing but a puddle of sweat-soaked limbs and bliss.
I come to slowly, in pieces of hazy awareness. The first thing I notice is the sensation of warm skin. My fingers are grazing over a bare back, moving of their own accord.Marissa. She’s fast asleep on my chest, her breath coming out in gentle puffs against my throat.
There’s a cool breeze drifting in through the cracked window and it ruffles a loose strand of her hair. I smooth it with my hand, and she nuzzles deeper into the hollow of my neck. The weight of her body on mine feels right, so right, and I squeeze my eyes shut, savoring the feeling of her sleep-warm skin. Even without seeing her face, I know her expression is peaceful. I can tell by the looseness of her limbs that she feels safe, relaxed. And damn if I don’t love knowing that I’m the one making her feel that way.
Scenes from tonight flash across my brain. The sensation of her thighs tightening around my shoulders. The sight of her features twisted in ecstasy. The noises she made when she came on my tongue. Somehow, the reality of her was better than any fantasy I could dream up.
It’s a dangerous line of thinking. I don’t know what tomorrow will bring, if she will regret it altogether or write it off as a casual hookup. Maybe a casual hookup is all it was meant to be. Maybe this was just a way of purging the sexual tension, so we can get back to a professional working relationship and not… whatever the hell has been going on here. Either way, the best thing I can do right now is to keep my expectations in check.
I know I should extricate myself, put some space between us. But I can’t convince my body to cooperate. Instead, my arms tighten, pulling her closer. I plant a kiss against the top of her head, and she lets out a soft, contented sigh.
Maybe tonight will be the last time I’ll get to hold her like this. So, I’m going to hold her tight for as long as I have the chance. And maybe it will be enough.
Draped in the lazy comfort of this thought, I drift off to sleep.
21MARISSA
The doorbell rings as soon as I step out of the shower. Wrapping a towel around my waist, I pad into the bedroom and see that the sound of it has roused Jesse.
He props himself up on his elbows and blinks his eyes open with a groggy smile. “Who’s here?” His voice comes out hoarse and scruffy and completely irresistible.
No one should be this sexy first thing in the morning.
“Bagel delivery,” I say. “I haven’t experienced this much cardio activity in months, and I needed sustenance.”
His crooked grin stretches. “How’d you swing that? The nearest bagel place is like thirty minutes away.”
“Let’s just say the tip exceeded the cost of the food. Desperate times and all that.”
