I squinted, my brain cells still recuperating from the mind melting climax I had not five minutes ago. “What?”
He flipped us over, so I was on top. “Ride me. I want to watch you come when I’m deep inside you.”
My legs quivered as I lifted a thigh to straddle him, the sudden intimacy of watching him watchmestealing my breath. He cupped my cheek before skimming his thumb across my bottom lip like a lover would—not a stranger. This had morphed from amazing sex into something…else. Something I couldn’t pinpoint and definitely something that didn’t make a bit of sense with a man I’d just met. Strangely enough, in that moment, it was as if I’d never known anyone better.
I sank down on him, taking him in inch by glorious inch. Once he was fully seated inside me, I started to move. Up and down then in little circles until Joe groaned and sat up, his lips meeting mine in a ravenous kiss while he clutched my hips, meeting every thrust harder than the one before.
“That’s it. Take all of me,” he breathed, his body quivering just like mine was. “You’re perfection, baby.” He clutched the back of my neck as we moved faster in a perfect rhythm. “Fucking perfection. So good. You feel so good,” he grunted. “Give me what’s mine, Caterina. Come again for me, baby.”
A second build-up started and burst at his request, this release coming faster and sharper as I sank my nails into Joe’s back, whimpering into his mouth until the tremors finally faded. He stiffened under me, our mouths fused together in a kiss still desperate but somehow sweet as it slowed.
“That was…” His head fell against my chest as I raked my hand through his sweaty hair.
“Yes, it was,” I agreed and pecked his lips when he lifted his head.
“Caterina, I need to—” He jerked his chin toward the bathroom.
“Oh, right. Sure.” I climbed off of him without meeting his eyes.
“Hey.” He cocked his head to the side with a laugh. “I just need to get rid of the condom. I’m not bolting. Not unless you want me to.”
My cheeks heated as I shook my head. “No. I don’t want you to,” I admitted.
“Good.” He kissed my forehead. “Stay right there.”
I crawled under the covers, blissfully spent and refreshed at the same time, but wondering how I’d feel about it all when what I’d done sank in. Whatwe’ddone. Still, in this moment, it all seemed worth it.
He came over to the bed, naked except for his boxers, and sat on the edge. “Talk to me. What are you thinking?”
I rolled over and shrugged. “That I’m sore in places I didn’t think you could be sore.” I stretched my arms over my head. “It’s actually nice.”
He laughed and brushed the matted hair off of my forehead. “Nice to know I made a good impression.” My heavy eyes fluttered shut as he caressed my furrowed brow with the tip of his finger.
“You probably didn’t plan on staying, and I don’t expect you to.” He ran his thumb back and forth over my cheekbone, and I couldn’t help leaning into his touch. Something about this man was soothing yet exhilarating. Joe was a high I already couldn’t stop chasing.
“Doesn’t it get exhausting assuming all the time?” He rested his forehead against mine. “I didn’t plan on this, no, but that doesn’t mean I want to go.”
“This is crazy, don’t you think?”
“This is the good kind of chaos, Caterina.” His sweet smile melted me into a puddle.
“Cat,” I said on a yawn. “Everyone calls me Cat.”
Joe climbed under the sheets beside me and pulled me into his side. “Maybe I don’t want to be like everyone else to you.”
5
Caterina
My eyes adjustedto blurry new surroundings as they fluttered open, landing on the sailboat painting on the wall. At least it looked like the shape of a sailboat. I’d managed to pluck the contacts out of my eyes before I drifted off to sleep, so I couldn’t say for sure. As I came to my hazy senses, the events of the past twenty-four hours barreled over me in a heavy rush. When I woke up yesterday morning, I’d been in my apartment with my now ex-boyfriend on what I thought was a regular Thursday. It took a split second to recall running like a madwoman from both, and a muffled moan beside me to remind me of something else.
I lifted Joe’s hand from where it was draped around my waist and slipped out of his hold, grabbing my glasses and a T-shirt out of my suitcase at the foot of the bed. The more alert I became, the more the panic set in.
As morning light peeked through the cracks in the blinds, my shaky breathing filled the silence while Joe stirred under the sheets.
I took slow, deep breaths in an attempt to quell the twisting in my gut. People did this kind of thing every day. Hell, my two best friends did it all through college. My night with Joe was one of those “things” but I wasn’t one of those “people.” I never had sex with anyone I didn’t know for at least a couple of months. Yet, I pulled Joe inside, tore off his clothes, and rode him until we both saw stars without a second thought. Now, a delayed second thought echoed in my brain, and I wished I could jump right out of my skin.
Despite the worry of not knowing how to explain what happened to myself, much less anyone else, I couldn’t deny how amazing last night was. More than amazing, our night together was everything I didn’t know I needed. I hoped I had a few minutes until Joe woke up to figure out what the hell to say.
