She’d thought she’d managed to accomplish all that without waking Carter up, but as she closed her eyes, she heard his low, dry voice. “I smell toothpaste.”
Her laughter spilled over, and she rolled on her side to face him. “That’s because I brushed my teeth.”
“Kind of rude to leave me as the only one with bad breath.”
“Well, you were asleep. I’d hardly expect you to have minty-fresh breath when you were sleeping.”
He opened his eyes and turned his face toward her. He desperately needed to shave. “Very reasonable of you.”
“I’m a very reasonable person, you know.”
His eyes were warm, although his mouth wasn’t smiling. “Are you?”
“Yes. You should know that by now.”
“I do know that.” He groaned and stretched, distracting her momentarily with the way the beautifully defined muscles of his arms rippled. “Damn. Last night was a workout.”
“It was.” She blushed a bit as she remembered their carnal activities during the night. She’d been eager and uninhibited and really quite shameless, urging him on and bouncing on top of him and begging him to take her harder. She wasn’t normally quite so unrestrained in bed, so she wasn’t sure where it had come from.
“So if the tooth brushing was in the hopes of a repeat performance this morning, I’m afraid I might have to disappoint you.” He gave her a wry twist of a smile. “I’m honestly not sure if I can get it up right now.”
She giggled helplessly. “Just as well, because I’m pretty sore. Your dick is going to have to keep its distance for the time being.”
He laughed at that and rolled out of bed, wincing as he straightened up. “Damn. I feel like an old man. What the hell?”
“You’re limping like an old man,” she told him as he made his way to the bathroom.
His wordless grumble of response didn’t disappoint her.
When he came out of the bathroom, she thought he might return to his own room since morning sex wasn’t an option, but he didn’t. He climbed back under the covers with her and did another long, leisurely stretch.
“Maybe you just need more practice with sex,” she told him. “If two rounds is too much for you.”
“Practice?” He gave her his narrow-eyed look. “Should I repeat some of what you were screaming out last night? That might give us a sense of whether I need more practice or not.”
She scowled. “I wasn’t screaming. I’m not a screamer.”
“No, you’re not,” he admitted, reaching over to stroke her hair back from her face. “But you were pretty damn vocal last night. You seemed to like what I was doing to you a lot.”
“I did. So thank you for your efforts, even if they left you a broken man this morning.”
He couldn’t hold on to his feigned indignation. He laughed openly, still playing with her hair. After a minute, he said in a different tone. “Can I ask you a question?”
“Of course.” Her heartbeat had accelerated, although she had no idea what he was about to ask.
He wasn’t quite meeting her eyes, so he appeared to be self-conscious about the question. “Why won’t you let me go down on you?”
The words weren’t anything she might have expected. She stared at him for several tense seconds, trying to process what he was asking and how she was supposed to respond. “I... I never said you couldn’t.”
“I know. But every time I try, you shift gears and start doing something else. At first I thought it was just a coincidence, but it happens every time. It can’t be a coincidence.” His eyes held her with that soft earnestness that was Carter at his kindest. “Is there some reason you don’t want me to?”
“No. No.” Her cheeks were burning, and she knew he could see it. She hated that she couldn’t control her reaction. “I mean, it’s just not something... I don’t normally...”
Carter was quiet for a minute, like he was thinking. “I’m not pressuring. I promise. I’d never do that. If it’s really something you don’t enjoy or find unsexy or it brings up bad memories or something, then I’ll never mention it again. But if you’re just nervous...” His big hand cupped her cheek. “Ruth, you can trust me.”
She gulped. “I know I can, Carter. Thank you. I don’t know why I... It just makes me feel vulnerable for some reason, and I don’t do vulnerable well.”
He nodded, making it clear that he’d already sensed that was the reason for her reluctance.