I’ll just have to take your word for it.” He laughed at that. “You know, I promised Charlie that I’d take you for a night out on the town.”
I curled up next to him, and as I ran my hand over his chest, I said, “This was way better than a night on the town.”
“No doubt about that, but I should at least feed you. You hungry?”
“I could eat, but you’re going to have to pry me out of this bed. I don’t think I can move even if I wanted to.”
He sat up on the bed. “Then, we’ll get something delivered. Pizza or Chinese?”
“Ummm … Chinese. Some wontons would be great.”
“Wontons it is.” He got out of the bed. I didn’t miss the opportunity to check out his perfect ass as he reached for the remote control and tossed it onto the bed. He gave me a knowing look as he said, “You find us something to watch while I call in our order.”
“What do you want to watch?” I asked him as I curled up in the covers and turned on the TV.
“You’ve got the remote. You decide.” He was still completely naked as he walked out of the room, and even though my body was still trembling from my cataclysmic orgasm, I was tempted to call him back to bed. Trying to distract myself, I started flipping through the channels, searching for something decent for us to watch, and finally settled on some romantic comedy. I could hear the rumble of his voice as he talked in the living room, followed by the slap of his bare feet against the hardwood floors as he walked back into the room.
He stopped at the foot of the bed and gave me a mischievous look before his hand dropped and took hold of the covers. He gave them a quick tug, pulling them completely off the bed.
“Hey! What are you doing?” I scolded as I quickly sat up and tried to reach for one of the blankets. Without answering, he lowered himself to the bed and started towards me like a panther after his prey. When he started trailing kisses along my leg, I giggled. “Clutch! What are you doing??”
A devilish smirk crossed his face. “You didn’t think I was finished with you yet, did you?”
“It’s been, like, five minutes. I thought it took time to build up … you know … your resources before you could do that again.”
“My resources are just fine, Sunshine. Besides, it’s time for a little payback for all the hell you put me through this week,” he teased.
I started squirming beneath him. “What kind of payback?”
Just before he kissed me, he lowered his mouth just inches above mine as he said, “The good kind.”
There was one thing about Clutch: the man was true to his word. The payback was the good kind every single time. We never made it out of his room, and I couldn’t have been happier. We made love, ate enough Chinese food for ten people, and watched movies. I loved being with him, and even though I was glad that the kids were coming home, I hated for the night to end. Spending the night in his arms made me realize just how much I wanted things to work out with him. It was such a huge turnaround from the day I’d first seen him. Back then, I thought that it’d be a mistake—a monumental, life-altering mistake—to get involved with him, but I couldn’t have been more wrong. He was good to me and to the kids, and he made me happy. Happy wasn’t something I ever expected to be again, but at that moment, I truly was. In fact, I couldn’t remember a time when I was happier. I just wished my mother was there. I missed talking to her, telling her all of the crazy things that were going on in my life and listening to her words of wisdom about this or that. I knew she’d have plenty to say about my newfound relationship with Clutch, but she’d be able to see how happy I was. Even though she wasn’t there to tell me herself, I already knew what she’d say. She’d smile and tell me to follow my heart, and that was exactly what I planned to do.
Fireworks. The minute Olivia said the word, I knew exactly what she meant. I’d felt them right along with her. Hell, I’d felt