“Yeah.” I puff out a little laugh. “Better than okay.” I peer at his face. “What about you?”
“Much better than okay.”
I relax since he seems to mean it. He enjoyed what we did as much as I did. Which means it’s safe. It’s equal. It’s not me being stupid and spineless.
I’m allowed to enjoy sex with him if he enjoys it too.
We lie in silence for a while until I find the strength to get up. I pull on my gown and panties and then limp to the bathroom to pee and clean up.
Damian is stretched out, completely naked in bed, when I return. He smiles at me groggily. “Come back to bed.”
I almost do what he says, just because he said it. “Why?”
“Because the night isn’t over yet.”
I can’t help but gape at him. “You’re ready for more?”
“Well, no. Not yet. But I will be. Do you really want to miss out?”
Of course I don’t want to miss out. It’s the last thing in the world I want to do. After all, it’s just after one. The night isn’t even close to being over.
But I hesitate anyway. I do want to be careful here and keep things in perspective. Maybe I can lose control for a little while during sex, but I can’t lose control of everything.
I can’t lose control of my heart.
Damian reaches a hand out toward me and waits. I simply can’t resist him. I take his hand and let him draw me back into bed.
“You’re not expecting to do a whole play-by-play of what just happened, are you?” I ask him in a lilting voice as I pull the covers up.
He draws them over to cover himself as well. “Of course not. I’m not usually into play-by-plays. Besides, I think we both know what happened.”
“Yes. I gave you the time of your life.”
He bursts into warm laughter. “Absolutely you did.”
“And maybe you have a few skills and talents yourself.”
“Maybe a few.” He leans over to nuzzle my hair. If he pulled me into his arms, I’d immediately scoot away, but he’s got a pretty good intuition. He doesn’t try that. “But you definitely bring them out.”
“That’s because I’m a challenge. Isn’t that what you said before?”
“Yes. I said that.”
I peer at him in the dim room. “You don’t think you’ve solved me now, do you?”
He lets out a short burst of amusement. “Clarke, I haven’t even come close to solving the puzzle that is you.”
“Oh. Good.” I smile at him. “Then we’re in the same boat. Because I haven’t figured you out either.”
It’s the absolute truth, and it appears to please Damian. We doze in contented silence for a while. Maybe an hour or so. I’m not really keeping track of time at the moment. All I know is that eventually he rolls over and moves on top of me, kissing me breathless. We get going again after that. He teases and caresses me until I’m in that particular state again. Then he goes down on me and makes me come more than once with his fingers and mouth.
Since I definitely don’t want this to be one-sided, I go down on him again, and this time I take him all the way. It’s exhilarating, watching him come apart completely because I have him in my mouth. After a little more recovery time, he puts me on my hands and knees and fucks me from behind. This position really works for me. I come over and over again until I can barely hold myself up. We finally fall into exhausted sleep, half tangled up together.
I sleep hard and long, and I wake up late.
I never wake up late.
My only comfort is the fact that Damian is still asleep when I open my eyes and discover the sun is up and a new day has begun.
I’VE BEEN UP FOR AN hour and am sitting at my workstation, finishing a bowl of cereal, when Damian walks in, wearing his pajama pants but no T-shirt. Maybe he’s decided that since I’ve seen him naked now, he doesn’t have to be so careful about covering up.
He’s not strolling like normal. He might even be shuffling. His eyes are heavy, and his hair is a mess.
When I glance over, he gives me a faint scowl. “If you tell me you got up at five and have already done hours of work already, I’m going to just go back to bed.”
I giggle. “I’ve barely been up an hour. I overslept too.”