I nodded, and while I can’t say I was quiet exactly—he was just so good with his tongue—I was at least less noisy. As I came down from the high, breathing hard, my body loose and liquid, we both listened.
Silence.
“Thank God,” Nate said, positioning himself above me, the tip of his cock teasing my warm, wet center. But as he slid inside, he stifled his own loud groan. “Fuck. I don’t know if I can be quiet.”
I couldn’t do anything—not moan, not sigh, not whisper—I couldn’t even breathe as he buried himself slowly and deeply within me, stretching my body to fit his.
“Are you okay?” he whispered.
My fingernails dug into his shoulders.
“I’ll go slow.” He began to move in deep, gentle, undulating rolls that made his entire body seem to ripple over mine, like swells in the middle of the ocean.
Gradually, the discomfort subsided and I slid my palms down his back, opened my thighs even wider, answered the rhythm of his hips with my own.
I buried my face in his neck and inhaled, the masculine scent of him driving me higher. I swirled my tongue at the base of his throat, needing to taste his skin. He moaned again, the sound rumbling in his chest. “Nate,” I whispered, wanting to feel his name in my mouth.
“Oh, God.” He propped himself up on his hands above my shoulders and our eyes locked. “You need to come again for me now.” His hips moved faster, the base of his cock rubbing my clit in quick, short strokes, the friction creating a fresh hum in my lower body.
But I’d never come twice during sex before—ever. “I don’t know if I can,” I fretted, worried I was letting him down. “I’ve never—”
“You’ve never been with me before. Come on. Let go. Let me take you there.” His voice, deep and determined, quiet but intense, compelled my body to obey, as if it didn’t give a fuck what my mind had to say about it, this was happening.
“That’s it,” he whispered as my eyes fluttered closed and the muscles in my body went stiff, as if every function and feeling other than pleasure was put on hold, even breathing. “Yes. Come for me. Let me feel it…” He fucked me harder and faster, chasing his own release as he moved through mine.
And then I was lost to it, to a world that was only the two of us. To the sound of his breath and the smell of his skin and the throb of his body inside me. To the fiery stars behind my eyes, to the heat coming off of our bodies. To the notion that finally, finally, I was the one in his arms. I was the one he wanted. I was the one he adored.
I was still floating in a sea of bliss when I felt his lips on my forehead. My eyes opened. “Did we wake her?”
“I don’t know. My heart is pounding too loud to hear anything but you.”
“Mine too.” I moved my hands into the valley of his lower back, pressing my palms to his skin. Suddenly I was sad I hadn’t really gotten to see him naked. Next time.
Wait, would there be a next time? What was this? It had happened so fast, I hadn’t really had a chance to think. Hadn’t I been about to leave? I was pretty sure I had been, and then I’d heard those two little words that had plunged straight into my heart.
Come here.
And he hadn’t said it playfully or facetiously. It wasn’t a game. He’d just told me we’d been right to stop last night, and that I should go…
But he’d wanted me to stay.
Hearing him say that meant everything. It was the missing piece from last night. This was no momentary lapse in sanity. This was no oops. It didn’t just happen. We’d talked about it. We’d tried to resist it. We’d failed.
But it didn’t feel like a mistake, or an end to our friendship. It felt like a beginning. Of what, I wasn’t sure. I only knew that I didn’t want to walk away.
“Nate?”
“Hmm?” His lips were still resting on my head.
“Are we still friends?”
“I hope so.”
“Me too.”
“Then it’s settled.” He lifted himself from me. “I’ll be right back, okay?”
“Okay.”
While he was in the bathroom, I found my underwear and bra on the floor and put them on. I was pulling up my leggings when he came out, and I wished I could tell him not to get dressed so I could get my fill of his naked body, but I bit my tongue. It was magnificent, though. Even in the dark, I could see the sculpted curves of his arms, the lines on his stomach, the muscle tone in his legs. He threw on his underwear and jeans while I tugged my sweater over my head. Then he sat on the couch again. “I can’t believe she’s not up. It’s a miracle.”
“You should have been sleeping.” I smoothed my hair and looked around for my shoes.
“Fuck sleeping. Hey. Come here for a second.” He reached out and took my hand, pulling me onto his lap. “Are we okay?”
“Yes,” I said, and I meant it. “I mean, I don’t really know what we’re doing, but I’m okay with that.”
He nodded. “What made you come over tonight?”
“Truth? I just wanted to be with you. I’d been thinking of you all day.”
“Same.” He wrapped his arms around me. “When you called and said you were cooking spaghetti and meatballs, I was dying to ask you to come over with some.”
“Why didn’t you?”
He exhaled. “Because I’d promised myself I wouldn’t call you today. I wanted to prove that I could get through one fucking day without your help. And…and I wasn’t—I’m not—comfortable feeling like I need someone.”
“That’s silly. Everyone needs someone sometimes.”
“Not me. Not until now.”
My toes tingled, I was so happy. “It’s okay. I’ll keep it a secret.”
He laughed a little. “Thanks. Anyway, when you showed up with food and that smile and two helping hands and adult conversation…I’d never been so glad to see anyone, ever. And I’m not sorry about what we did.”
“Good. Me either.”
“But I’m worried.”
“About what?”
“About disappointing you. I can’t…be what you need. I’m already overwhelmed trying to be what Paisley needs.”
“But you know what’s crazy? Somehow, that is exactly what I need—to see you, in all your alpha male I-don’t-show-my-feelings glory, stepping into the role of father and showing you care. You’re reaffirming my faith in the male species, Nate.” I patted him on the back, and he laughed. “And you’re good to me,” I went on. “I feel good when I’m with you. I don’t care what we call this. You don’t have to be my boyfriend. And I don’t need any promises, other than that you’ll keep talking to me like this. Openly and honestly.”
“I’ll try.” Exhaling, he rested his forehead on mine. “I don’t want to fuck up, but I’m not good at this. Be patient with me?”
“Of course.” I started to get up, and Nate held me in place.
Then he took my head in his hands and planted a kiss on my lips. Then another. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.” I got to my feet. “Now get some sleep. Maybe I’ll see you tomorrow.”
He stood too. “Oh, God. That reminds me. I hate to even ask, but is there any way you could watch her for a couple hours in the morning? I have to be at the office to hand off some files, and I’m trying to avoid having to bring her.”
“Sure, no problem. Will you be back by noon? I have to be at Coco’s around twelve-thirty.”
“Definitely.”
“What time in the morning?” I asked, stifling a yawn as I pulled on my Uggs.
He cringed. “I hate to say it, because it’s so late now, but eight?”
“I’ll be here.”
He walked me to the door, opened it up, and kissed me one last time. “You’re the best.”
I shrugged. “It’s the least I can do after you saved me from burning down the building.”
“Jesus, I’d forgotten about that.” He laughed, shaking his head. “Only you. Goodnight, Calamity.”