Page 23

Chapter Twenty-Two

W e snuggled in his bed and talked for hours. We had sex again, and then, with my head in the crook of Andrew’s shoulder, his arms around me, we fell asleep. Sometime in the middle of the night, with the moonlight flooding the room with a bewitching light, we silently made slow, tender love. I wasn’t sure if either of us climaxed, but it was like a promise. The way Andrew held my gaze. The way he kissed me. It had a deeper purpose, much more meaningful than any previous time.

A crisp and clear dawn seeped softly through the window into the room. Andrew’s hand ran over my bare body as if he was memorizing every curve and nook. We laid sideways, my body molded into his, his hard length pressing against the small of my back.

“I should probably find William. Let him know I’m alive,” I whispered.

“I’m sure he knows you’re with me.” Andrew cupped one of my breasts and landed a light kiss on my shoulder. “I imagine the entire town knows,” he said, a smile in his voice. He pressed his warm lips against the side of my neck.

I snorted and buried my face into the pillow. “I’m sorry. I tried to control myself.”

“Don’t apologize. I loved it. And who cares what others think?”

“I know exactly what Williams thinks.”

“And what is he thinking?” Andrew’s hand found its way around my hip, and now his fingers were moving to my center. On instinct, I parted my legs, welcoming him in.

“His first question would be”—I inhaled a deep breath when he found it—“if we used all the condoms.”

Andrew hummed near my ear, his fingers sailing in my slick wetness. My back arched into him, and a short moan escaped my lips.

“What would his second question be?” He dove his index and middle fingers inside me.

“How many more condoms do I need?” I managed to say.

He whirled his fingers, and my hips undulated ever so slowly. “Christ, you’re so wet.” Andrew leaned his forehead to the back of my head. “I want you again.”

“Then have me.”

Andrew’s hand left my body, and he reached out somewhere behind him and fumbled for the last condom. He ripped the foil, and several seconds later, his chest was against my back. I shifted my hips, and he glided inside me, making me gasp, my hands bunching the sheets. His fingers returned to my center, making me take another swift breath.

* * *

When I awoke again, Andrew was shirtless and sitting on the floor, holding a large mug in one hand and some of his notes in the other. He wore black-rimmed reading glasses, making him a doppelg?nger for Clark Kent. No. Better. It made my heart swell.

I should have left hours ago, but I couldn’t bring myself to vacate his bed. My body ached, but in a good way, like after a great workout. I wanted to wake up each morning feeling like this. Worn out and happy. Was it because of multiple orgasms? Or was it Andrew—a fascinating man with a face so handsome it was trouble, and hands so skilled that everything inside me got tight at the thought of them. And then another thought snaked like a python around my heart, strangling it. This was only temporary. This fling was only for the next few days.

A breeze from an open window moved the sheer white curtains and lazily played with the corners of some papers scattered on the floor. The street hubbub was cacophonous. A nightstand had a lamp but no clock, but my eyes landed on a coffee cup covered with a small saucer plate, a plate with a bright purple flower and a baked roll, slices of butter and cheese. Breakfast? For me?

Andrew hadn’t glanced my way. He sipped from his mug, then set it on the stool. He bent and picked up a folder, the lean muscles on his back and arms dancing beautifully with each move. His shoulder had a few scratch marks on it. I did that to him. How many other women had woken up tired but satisfied like this in his company? A mean, covetous wave rushed over me. It was wrong to be jealous of something that wasn’t mine. Yet, I couldn’t stop myself from feeling that way.

What had Andrew done to me? I couldn’t recall any man in my past who had brought on these sensations. Only disappointment and heartaches. This was going to be a heartbreak, but that had been obvious from the beginning.

A car honked outside and broke my reverie. I rubbed my eyes with the heel of my palm. “Good morning.”

Andrew’s full lips pulled into a lazy smile. “Good afternoon, beautiful.”

I hugged his pillow. “What time is it?”

He glanced at his watch. “Quarter past noon.”

“Really?” I sat up, pulling up the flat sheet to my chest. “Why didn’t you wake me up?”

“I couldn’t ruin whatever you were dreaming about. You were smiling.”

“I was?”

He nodded. “What was your dream?”

I couldn’t remember anything. “Probably you.” He smiled wider. “Is that my breakfast?” I nodded at the nightstand.

“Yes. Coffee is probably cold now though.”

I removed the small saucer and picked up the cup. It was barely warm. I took a long sip anyway, enjoying its strong aromatic taste. “Mmm, this is good.”

“They didn’t have cream, so I added milk and one spoonful of sugar.”

My heart expanded, a few more days with him, and there wouldn’t be enough space inside my ribcage. “Can I ask you a personal question?”

“Sure, as long as I’m allowed to ask one, too,” he said and shifted his glorious body closer to me.

I cleared my throat. “Do you often… I mean… How many…” Why was it so hard to get the words out? “Forget it. I shouldn’t ask you, anyway.” I drank my coffee, averting my eyes.

“No, go ahead and ask,” he said in a low, heartfelt tone.

I closed my eyes as if that meant I became invisible, and it could help me ask my stupid question. “How many women have found themselves waking up like this, in your room?”

He smiled softly, a glint in his eyes. “Not many. Brie and now you.”

Get out of here. I scrunched my face and squinted at him with one eye. “Really? You’re thirty-four and you’ve only had sex with two women?”

“No. I meant…” He chuckled. “I don’t bring women to my house, mostly because it’s Charlotte and Lulu’s home too. And I haven’t met a woman I wanted something more besides just to…” His eyebrows quickly jumped up and dropped down.

“Make love?”

“I wouldn’t call it that.” He reached for his coffee and took a long sip. “You must be in love with someone to make love to them. I’d call it casual sex.”

A sharp icicle of disappointment dropped into my gut. Whatever we had last night, it was more than sex to me. I needed to slap some sense into myself. What was I thinking? Of course he saw it as nothing more than remarkably great casual sex.

“Did you make them breakfast?” I glanced at the flower near the bread roll, then took another sip of my coffee. I didn’t have my toothbrush, and on the off-chance Andrew decided to kiss me, I needed to mask my morning breath. But he wouldn’t kiss me. Nobody kissed after casual sex. The words had started to rub me the wrong way.

“No. We were in her hotel room or her place.”

“We’re in a hotel room.” I waved my hand as if to prove my point. What was my point? Where was I going with this? “And yet there is food next to the bed.”

His eyes twinkled, and a devastating smile spread across his face. “It’s a different circumstance.”

And dammit if my heart didn’t skip a beat at that. “How?”

“I think that’s more than one question. It’s my turn now.”

I finished my coffee and set it on the nightstand, then vigorously ran my fingers over my scalp and hair to make it look like sexy morning hair and not a mop. “Ask away.”

“Earlier you said you don’t date. Why?”

“Pff.” I rolled my eyes and settled against the wall, pulling the sheets higher. He leaned back on his hands and stretched his long legs out. “I can ask you the same question. You’re kind and smart. I think you have a good job—however, I haven’t reached a verdict on that one. You’re good-looking, and I must say,” I fanned myself, “You are a god in bed. So, what is wrong with you?”

“Enough with compliments.” He stared at me, the corners of his eyes crinkling. “Answer my question.”

I shrugged and pinned my gaze to the window. “It’s easier to be single. I was busy with work. I traveled nonstop. I didn’t even get a cat because it would be alone in my apartment for days, sometimes the entire week. And now if I’m going to start my business, it’ll suck up all my free time.” Yes, I didn’t give him a real answer, but what I said was also true. I sighed. “And I guess I just haven’t met Mr. Right.” Someone who would think I was good enough. And there was my real reason. The fear I’d never be good enough held me back. I couldn’t change where I came from no matter how far I went in life. No matter what higher circle of class I reached, I was always going to be a girl from a trailer park. Greg’s words struck me again, and a string behind my eyes burned. I could have tried to find a guy from the same background as me, but it was not like there was a box “ must come from a trash family ” to tick in the dating app. Good lord, I could only imagine what suggestion I would have gotten.

I cleared my throat and rubbed my nose with the back of my hand. “I should find William. He’s probably wondering if you murdered me.” I pulled the sheet around my body like a toga and planted my feet on the cold floor. Where did we throw all my clothes last night?

“He knows you’re alive. I saw him when I went to get breakfast. He slid these under the door about an hour ago.” Andrew tilted his head to the stool where several foiled condoms laid near his coffee mug.

Heat crept up my neck and up to my cheeks. “So thoughtful of him. But I should go. You need to work.” And I needed to pee badly. “Do you know where my clothes are?” I twisted left, then right, searching the room. Andrew rose to his feet, stepped around the bed, and from the chair, he picked up my neatly folded t-shirt, PJ shorts, and lacy underwear.

“Thanks. Um… do you mind turning around?” I clutched the sheet to my body with one hand and reached out with the other one for my clothes.

His eyebrows shut up. “I already saw you naked. And I wouldn’t mind seeing your gorgeous body again.”

“I know but…” I took a deep breath. “That was in dim light, and now it’s bright, and you might see my imperfections, not that I care if you think I’m not perfect. Because this was a one-time casual sex thing”— with multiple orgasms —“but I want you to have a flawless image of?—”

Andrew stepped to me, laced his hands behind my neck, and his sultry mouth took over mine. It was a tender, lingering, knee-buckling kiss. Then he drew his face a few inches away and his beautiful eyes searched mine. “Adriana, you’re perfect. And this isn’t a one-time casual sex thing.”

Then he kissed me again.

While his lips moved from my mouth to the side of my neck, he took my clothes and tugged on my hand clutching the sheet. I relaxed my grip, and it pooled at our feet. Still kissing me, Andrew ran his free hand down my side and cupped my bottom. A low growl sounded deep in his chest. He left a trail of kisses on my breasts, taking in each nipple and drawing gasps out of me. Maybe because I needed to steady myself or maybe because I wanted to, my fingers laced through his hair, gripping it lightly. Andrew kneeled in front of me and kissed my stomach. When he reached my pubic bone, he stilled and looked up at me, a feral glint in his gaze. A bolt of lightning shot through me, and I wished I could stay longer. Forever. He kissed near my center as his hand that grasped my bottom glided down my thigh to my ankle. Everything inside me burst into color. I was transfixed, my heart hammering, and I was on the verge of tipping over into a climax if he didn’t stop there. Please don’t stop. But, alas, his lips left my skin, and he picked up my panties and held them low at my feet. Reluctantly, I stepped into them, and he slowly dragged them up my legs, his fingers caressing my skin, his lips tracking after them. Next, he picked up my shorts and held them for me to step in. Once they were on me, he pressed a lingering kiss over the fabric exactly where his lips had been a few moments ago, his hands gripping my butt.

With my T-shirt in his hands, Andrew unhurriedly stood, dropping a pathway of kisses over my body. He fondled my breasts, his tongue teasing and stroking my buds. I struggled to keep still, loving the feel of the wet desire pooling at my core.

“Andrew,” I whispered, and my body vibrated. The throbbing between my legs reached its highest point, and it felt like a caged wild animal searching for an escape. A reaction I’d never had around other men. “Please.”

His mouth brushed my neck, my jawline and it found mine. I was waiting for a hungry kiss, but Andrew kissed me with so much tenderness it brought my climax closer to the surface. As his lips gently moved over my smile, he lifted my hands above my head. He drew away and leisurely tugged my shirt down over my head. With my shirt on, he took one step back, his enormous erection pushing against his pants. Oh, come now. He couldn’t possibly be this mean. It would take him less than two thrusts to help us both.

“You are such a tease,” I said, my voice husky. This was the sexist dressing-up game I’d ever played. I wanted to rip my clothes off and ask him to do it again. “Would you move in with me so I can get ready like this every morning?”

Andrew’s smirk deepened into a lopsided smile. “You’d better leave before I lose my willpower not to bend you over and have my way with you.”

His eyes burned into mine. Did I have the willpower to leave? Did I have to go? I had no plans. Andrew’s phone rang, spoiling our heated stare. I glanced at it. It was Lulu, and he never missed her calls. He pressed a gentle kiss to my forehead, then reached for his phone.

“I’ll see you later?” I whispered, not sure why it came out as a question. I knew I’d see him later. If not to have casual sex , then to open the bracelet.