"I can't believe I've never asked you this but," Annette started, her voice dreamy, "why did you get into law enforcement?"
I pressed my forehead to her shoulder. "Annie, sweetheart," I said. "I can hear my pulse right now. I can't see straight. Don't get me wrong, I'm happy for it. But I'm working on keeping myself from drooling all over you. I'm not sure I'm up for meaningful conversation." I squeezed her backside. "Not unless you're telling me how I rocked your world."
"Oh, you did," she replied. "You rocked it so hard I'm hanging off the edge of the bed and staring at your police academy graduation photo."
"For Christ's sake, Annie," I muttered, scooting back to the middle and yanking her with me. "You should've said something. You were damn near on the floor."
"I did. Just now," she said, laughing. "I figure we would've gone over together so it would've been fine."
"Yeah, fine," I grumbled. "All you need is me fucking you off the bed and then falling on top of you." Annette rolled away from me and smothered a laugh into a pillow. "All right, I'll tell you but you need to bring your sweet ass back here." I patted the mattress.
"I knew you'd be a cuddler," she said, edging closer.
I had a smartass response at the ready but discarded it as I thought better. "I haven't always been a cuddler," I said. "This is a new development."
Annette nestled her head under my chin and I looped my arm around her shoulder. "Okay. Is that your way of telling me you want to talk about past loves or is it more a matter of learning how to stay warm now that you're a Maine-iac?"
I kissed the top of her head but didn't respond for a minute. In my mind, there was no one before Annette and no one after. I was hoping to hell it was the same way for her. "Neither?"
"That's a relief because I've gotta tell you, I don't know that I can listen to your greatest hits at the moment. Not after"—she swirled her finger between us—"everything. You might be in bed with me but that doesn't mean I want to hear about all the other women who came before me. Literally."
I kissed her head again, a broad smile stretched across my face. "Same."
After several minutes of silence, Annette leaned up on an elbow to glance at the clock. "I should head home. It's getting late."
I blinked at her, silently wishing for another hour with her. It wasn't about the sex, although it helped that we'd checked that box more than once tonight. I wanted to be with her, talk to her while we fell asleep, see her first thing in the morning.
"Sure. I'll walk you home." Annette held up her hand to protest but I swatted it away. "Don't," I warned. "I can deal with you leaving but I can't deal with you walking the streets alone at night. Say what you want about smashing the patriarchy and my toxic masculinity, but by god, I'm walking you home."
Annette tugged her dress over her head, no bra. That sight alone had me half hard again and ready to throw her back on the bed. Instead, I tucked my hands behind my head and watched her tend to her hair in my mirror. She was beautiful in the best ways. It wasn't the obvious type of beauty that anyone could spot from fifty paces. It was an easy smile and an easier warmth. It was hair that couldn't decide whether to curl or wave and did a little of both. It was thick, delicious thighs that parted like the pages of a book, opening to my favorite chapter. It was the quietly devastating way she took me into her body and turned my cock into her slave.
"Okay," she said, meeting my gaze in the mirror. "I guess I won't chip away at the patriarchy tonight."
"Thank you," I said, pushing up from the bed. My shaft slapped against my belly, still damp from her, still buzzing with pleasure. "You're sure I can't convince you to stay a bit longer?"
Aside from the chest-clutching shock of realizing I was thirty-seven years old and falling in love after less than two months with Annette, I had it good. I'd never had more satisfying sexual experiences since…ever. My belly was full of sweet pastries, my body and soul were well-tended, and life could only improve if a certain brunette book mistress would stay in my bed long after the sheets cooled.
Her eyes dropped to my cock, flaring when she realized I was primed for her. "Again?" she gasped.
"Well, you're not wearing a bra," I said, lifting my hands and letting them fall to my waist. "And you're fucking amazing, so there's that."
Annette gestured to the window, in the direction of the village and her apartment. "But I, um, I was going to…" Her voice trailed off as she glanced between my erection and the panes of glass.
"You could stay," I suggested, my words as neutral as I could manage. It'd been almost a week since the last time I'd broached this topic but I wasn't trying to rush things. As far as I was concerned, I had Annette in a manner no one else did and that was plenty for me. I didn't require declarations or anything grand, not when I knew she was pulling herself out of a bad spot with past relationships. I had her now and the rest would follow. "You have stayed here before. It wasn't so bad."
She barked out a laugh and covered her face with her hands. "That was a very different situation, Jackson."
I coiled my fingers around my shaft and gave it a light tug. "Not different at all," I replied. "This"—I tipped my chin down the length of my torso—"is exactly the same. It hurt so bad that night, Annie. So bad. Do you have any idea how hard I was for you? How much I wanted to crawl into this bed with you and feed you my cock? How much I wanted to taste you? How much I wanted to touch you and hold you?"
She stared at me, unblinking, as I stroked. Her pink tongue darted out to wet her lips once, twice. Then a new purpose flashed in her eyes and she stalked toward me. She covered my hand with hers, learning my grip and rhythm.
"My turn," she whispered, pushing my fingers aside as she dropped to her knees.
I wanted this—fuck yes, I wanted this—but I didn't. I wasn't going to come in her mouth and then walk her home. I was going to keep her in my bed, filled with my orgasms and held tight through the night. Just the way she needed.
I hooked my hands under her arms and yanked her back up. "No, I don't want that. Not tonight," I clarified.
"I thought blowjobs were always a good idea. Kind of like bacon." Stricken, Annette edged away from me. "I'm sorry."
