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During the past few years, sex has been strictly about the act. It required giving pleasure in exchange for receiving it, and I treated it like a transaction. Anyone I took to bed knew my terms—no strings attached, and no misconceptions of a commitment. Not because I didn’t care for the women I’ve been with, but because I wasn’t willing to risk getting hurt.
Marlow is different. We have an intense bond beyond physical attraction, and it feels like a magnetic force is drawing us together. She’s brought with her a renewed sense of hope, an emotion that’s long been absent in my life.
I push aside my looming worry for our future and focus on the here and now. If I don’t, I risk jeopardizing the connection we share before we’ve had a real chance to explore it.
She stirs beside me, and when her eyes flutter open, I’m met with her striking gaze.
I lean over to grab my glasses from the nightstand and put them on to see her better.
“Good morning, sunshine,” I say, showering her shoulder with kisses.
“Good morning,” she replies, her voice husky from sleep. “What time is it?” She glances over at the clock on the nightstand to see that it’s 7:05 a.m. “Do you have to get going?”
“No, not yet. I guarantee Lola is still asleep, and when she wakes up, she’ll have a house full of people happy to spoil her rotten until I get back.” I squeeze Marlow tighter into my chest.
I want to soak up every second we have together because there’s no telling when we’ll have another late morning alone like this.
“As long as you get me coffee before you leave, I’ll be a happy camper,” Marlow says.
“I’m not leaving until you’ve had coffee, breakfast, andat least one more orgasm,” I promise.
“My hero.” She grins, leaning in for a kiss.
Marlow is flying back to Aspen Grove tonight, but I have to stay in New York for additional meetings tomorrow morning.
I give her a hesitant look, and she furrows her brow.
“What is it?”
I found it unusual that she didn’t have a single family member there to offer her support last night. If one of my siblings had an event like that, my whole family would be there, no matter what.
When Marlow was sick, she sidestepped my remark about calling someone else to come take care of her and now it has me wondering why that is.
“I was wondering why your family wasn’t at your show last night?” Marlow stiffens in my arms. “I’m sorry if my question crossed a line,” I backtrack. “You don’t talk about them much, which I assume is for a reason.”
“My parents aren’t bad people, if that’s what you’re thinking.” She lightly traces my chest as she speaks. “I’m an only child. They had me in their forties, and my grandparents passed away when I was a kid. My mom and dad are both professors and didn’t accept my decision not to attend college. They were mortified when I told them I wanted to be an artist instead.” A hint of sadness tinges her voice.
“Early on, I struggled to concentrate in school, and preparing for exams was challenging. I couldn’t maintain focus for more than a few minutes, and often it was difficult to retain the material I did learn long enough to remember during a test.” She nervously tucks a piece of hair behind her ear as she speaks. “Painting and travel became my escape, and I refused to compromise my happiness for my parents’ or anyone else’s expectations.”
I press a tender kiss to the top of her head, needing to express my sympathy physically. “I’m sorry you had to go through that, sunshine,” I utter. “Your parents should have found ways to make things more manageable for you, not given you the impression that something was wrong with you.”
“My brain processed things differently than a lot of the kids I went to school with, and I was an easy target for teasing. My parents couldn’t change the other kids’ behavior, but they could attempt to adjust mine, which made me feel inadequate. I believe they did their best, given the circumstances.” Her tone is defensive. “As I got older, they grew less interested in me, and I distanced myself until I could move out after high school. We don’t talk often, but I invite them to all my exhibitions, which they decline to attend. But I’ll never give up hope that someday they’ll come around,” she says with conviction.
I admire Marlow even more now that I’ve heard the difficulties she’s faced. Even when dealing with challenges, she doesn’t lose sight of the positive.
“You shouldn’t have to wait. You deserve to be reminded of how exceptional you are every day.”
I want to demand that she tell me the names of every single person who’s ever mistreated her or made her feel inadequate, so I can confront them for hurting my girl. While that’s highly unlikely, I can make sure that as long as she’s a part of my life, I show her every day how extraordinary she truly is.
“That’s why it meant so much to have you at my exhibition.” Marlow strokes my stubbled cheek. “It doesn’t matter that you showed up unintentionally. It was really nice to have the extra support since my friends couldn’t be there.”
“From now on you can count on the entire Stafford clan to support you, including my parents and Lola,” I vow.
She smiles. “Thank you, Dylan.”
Her hand trails down my stomach, and my cock springs to attention at her seductive touch.
“Sunshine, what are you doing?”
