talked about how she’d have wanted to live there, but you didn’t mention you’d actually bought a place.” Let the record show, while I will survive, I am a little disgruntled at him not sharing this tidbit with me. “Guess it surprised me.”
“I didn’t mean for it to be a secret. Just prefer not to think about it. Like I said, I was serious about her. Right up until I found out she’d been lying about everything. I might not have loved her, but I did trust her.” He moves his hand up to my neck, rubbing at the muscles there. Ah. Magic fingers. They go a long way toward forgiveness. “That was enough to make me stop and think about what I was really doing. What kind of life I wanted. What sort of relationship I was signing up for long-term. I don’t want to be a carbon copy of my father.”
“Mm.”
“Are you upset I didn’t tell you about the properties?”
“I imagine we would have gotten around to talking about them eventually.”
He nods. “Most of them Mom uses more than me. Apart from the New York one—she’s got her own place there.”
“You didn’t want to stay with your mom when you visited?”
“Not since she became a naturalist. Having friends over got too awkward,” he says. “Then there was the sunning her perineum on the balcony thing. Plus, some people are really great in small measured doses. Know what I mean?”
“Yes, I do.”
Another sigh. “Sorry I lost my cool with your mom.”
“That was unfortunate. But she wasn’t exactly being friendly.” And I don’t really want to talk about it. It’s been a long day. So instead I listen to his heart beating away strong and steady inside his chest. He’s here with me. We’re okay. Despite all of the ups and downs and other people’s opinions.
“Hey,” he says softly. “Give me a kiss.”
I climb a little farther up the bed, fitting my mouth to his. The taste of him is my ultimate aphrodisiac. A hint of mint toothpaste and Beck, pure and simple. What started out as closed mouth and easy escalates as swiftly as ever. He rolls me onto my back, opening his mouth and teasingly licking at my lips before diving within. We fit together so perfectly. His warm lips against mine, his tongue playing, cajoling. And the weight of his upper torso, pressing against me all the while. My breasts are crushed between us and they ache. Oh God, how they ache. I wrap one of my legs around his, keeping him in place. A strong hand grips my hip, encouraging me. It’s fair to say we have first base down and then some. He kisses me hard and deep, showing me with his tongue what he’d like to do with other parts of his body. What we will eventually do. With my head in a spin, it’s hard to remember why we’re even waiting. And it gets me so hot, the way he grinds his hardening cock into my lower belly. My sex is definitely wet and wanting. There’s so many things I want with him. I want him to touch me and fuck me and call me his. I already get a little of the last, which is nice. But I want it all.
“Fuck,” he mutters in a low voice, hiding his face in my neck. “Alice…”
“Yeah?”
“Nothing. I just like saying your name.”
“Okay, Beck.”
His chest rumbles with soft laughter. “Not much longer now.”
“I hope not.”
“Hmm.”
“Oh, I heard from the doctor’s office. My birth control shot is up-to-date and working just fine. No STDs to speak of. A small unfortunate case of the black plague. Highly communicable, apparently, but on the plus side it should limit the amount of awkward dinners we have to suffer through in the future…”
“Good, good.” His voice is faintly amused as he rises up to look at me. “Heard from the doctor as well. Both were instructed to send over paperwork so we can both be assured of the all clear. If that’s still okay with you, of course, beloved.”
“Of course.”
“So…we could actually have sex one day.”
He makes a happy humming sound inside his chest.
“Question is, are you feeling we’ve sufficiently bonded? That we’ve gotten to know each other to your satisfaction during this courting period?” I wriggle around, repositioning myself to rest my chin on his pec. Is it weird that I like sniffing him? Because I do. “You were concerned about these things.”