“So beautiful when she comes.” I reached between us and traced lazy circles around her clit that made her eyes roll back in her head as she rode me harder and faster.
When her mouth fell open as she clenched around me, I crashed my lips into hers to muffle the screams. She mewled into my mouth over and over until her body softened and her breathing slowed. Having her close, so pliable in my arms and holding on to me as if I was her lifeline, it was almost too much. I flipped us over, plowing into her until her body went rigid under me. I shook all over, spilling inside her with a guttural moan.
My head fell onto her chest as I snaked my arms under her, gasping to catch my breath. She wrapped her arms around my neck and kissed the top of my head. This was heaven on earth, and I didn’t want either of us to let go.
“Well, I’m up now.” I flashed her a hazy smile.
Thea covered her eyes as her shoulders shook with a chuckle.
“I guess I am, too.”
I dropped a kiss on her forehead and dragged my lips over her eyelids and down her cheeks until I came back to her mouth. Now, that I was able to kiss her again, I couldn’t stop.
“Stay right here,” I said, tapping her nose before I shot off the bed to get rid of the condom.
When I came back to my bedroom, Thea’s hands covered her face as she lounged on the bed. My stomach was queasy, afraid that all we did last night, and just now, finally sank in, and her possible panic tripped mine.
I sat on the edge of the bed and cupped her cheek. “What’s going on in that brain of yours?”
She shifted to lie on her side, folding her hands under her head.
“I was a little selfish in asking to come back here last night without a way home.”
I reared back, squinting before I shook my head.
“Why would you think I minded taking you home? Again, Joe still owes me, so you’re not making me late or bothering me in any way. I’ll get you some breakfast and take you back to the rental, if that’s what you want.” Her eyes closed as I sifted my fingers through her hair. “Right now, I’d like the sexy blonde to stay in my bed.”
She sighed and shook her head. “You should have seen it when I first had it done. My sister didn’t even recognize me. I wanted to look … different.”
She shrugged and gathered the covers around her as she sat up.
“Different?” I didn’t like the way her eyes darted from mine.
“I’d look in the mirror and see us. I thought a hair cut would help me forget, or at least separate from it a bit. I know it sounds weird.” She shifted on the bed with a nervous laugh. “Sue begged me not to chop it off like I wanted because I’d regret it, so I bleached the hell out of it, instead.” She took a tangled lock between her fingers. “Shocked everyone, but I didn’t totally hate it. I let it grow out a little so I looked different but still like me.”
My stomach clenched as I bit back a cringe. Even with all the progress we’d made, I wondered if I’d ever repair all the ways I’d hurt her.
“What made you grow a beard?”
“Laziness,” I admitted, running my hand along the bristles on my chin. “When I first came out here, I was lucky if I showered. We’d work on the restaurant all day and I’d just come home and pass out. I’d gotten used to it for so long, I found trimming it was just easier than shaving all the damn time.”
Maybe I’d wanted to be different too, since I saw no clear path back to my old self and my old life, but admitting that to her was just plain cruel. I wanted to heal the old wounds, not douse them with salt.
“Works for you.” Her brows jumped. “I sort of like it.”
“I sort of figured that,” my voice was husky as I moved closer until the back of her head fell against my headboard. “You seemed to appreciate it when my mouth was between your legs. Like the scratch on your thighs, baby?”
She laughed and scratched her nails along my jaw. “Yeah, I do.”
“Maybe we can both be different but better. Like Dominic and Thea 2.0.”
Her eyes narrowed as she squirmed back on the bed.
“Did you really just say 2.0? We’re not a Terminator movie, babe.”
“I know.” I grabbed her hand and grazed her knuckles with my lips. “I want more time with you. Now that we’re not skating around each other.”
“I want that, too. But, small, slow steps. Although, this was a leap and a half.” She cupped her forehead and massaged her temples. I searched her gaze, praying I wouldn’t find regret looking back at me. “I was never good at resisting you. Even when I was trying to stay away from you, I wasn’t.” Her mouth turned down in a frown.
