* * *
Gwen was nestledagainst my chest, her head on my shoulder and her leg over both of mine. Every time she breathed in her sleep, her heavy breasts would push against the side of my ribs.
I should have already left, but something was holding me here. God knows I had enough on my plate—I was starting a new job, adjusting to life in a new town, and trying to get through to my ex without involving the courts. I didn’t have time for a relationship, and I didn’t want one.
But sex with Gwen was out of this world. The entire time we’d hung out, she’d kept it light and relaxed. She didn’t ask me personal questions, didn’t share personal things with me, either, and didn’t try to make it more than it needed to be. She was using me, too, and I was all right with that.
With her soft, curvy body pressed against me, I hated to move. I wanted to wake her up with my lips on her pussy—and that meant Ireallyneeded to leave.
Moving slowly, I detangled Gwen’s limbs from mine. She murmured in her sleep, but didn’t wake when I slipped from her bed. With the light of the lamppost outside to guide me, I found my clothes, dressing silently.
I walked lightly down the hall, pulled my boots on, and glanced back toward her bedroom before turning to the door. I opened it, locking it from the inside before I walked through it, closing it softly behind me.
Jogging down the stairwell, I left her building. Digging in my pocket for my key, I walked to my bike. I shoved my helmet on and climbed on. Turning the key, I glanced up at her apartment building once more before pulling onto the road, I headed north on Highway 28.
The ride home was quiet; nobody was out at this hour. Twenty minutes later, I pulled into my driveway, my eyes on my new house. The dark gray siding and red doors had first appealed to me, but when I’d walked through it, I fell in love with it. I’d purchased it outright, using the money I made off selling my business and last house.
Jumping off long enough to open the garage door, I drove the bike inside and locked up, exhaustion bludgeoning me. Walking in through the front door, I pulled it shut behind me, locking it. I set my helmet on the bench beside the door. The sound echoed with every movement I made.
The house was too silent without her here, and I hated it.
The hardest thing about the breakup hadn’t been losing Cheryl, it had been losing the ability to see my daughter every single day, to tuck her in at night and make her breakfast on weekend mornings while her mom slept in.
My relationship with Cheryl had never been perfect—we were poorly-matched from the start. We conceived Sawyer the first time we hooked up, and we were parents before we found out just how badly we meshed.
But still, despite our rocky relationship, I’d been faithful to her. I tried with everything I had to make it work between us, for Sawyer’s sake. Cheryl had sucked me dry, emotionally and mentally, and then she’d left.
She’d been pissed that I’d moved closer, thinking I was trying to intrude on her new life. It always had to be about Cheryl—it couldn’t possibly be because I’d hoped I could occasionally pick Sawyer up from school, which, so far, hadn’t happened.
Every other weekend was too long to go without seeing your child, and I wished she would understand that. Even though I was less than half an hour away from them, Cheryl still insisted on sticking to our every other weekend arrangement.
I walked through the kitchen and climbed the stairs to my bedroom, falling onto the mattress, my body exhausted, spent from the rigorous, six-hour work out I’d just put it through.
Usually, it took me hours to fall asleep—it didn’t seem to matter how hard I worked out before bed, the moment my head hit the pillow, my mind wouldn’t shut off. Tonight, though, I quickly fell into a heavy slumber.
Gwen
“So, how was your night?” Kelsey asked, a smirk on her face as she turned her head to watch me.
“Amazing,” I purred with contentment, leaning my head back against the pedicure chair, enjoying the attention the nail technician was giving my poor, neglected feet. “I feel so relaxed. Which is shocking, because I’ve never had a dick that big before.”
“Oh my God, Gwen.” Kelsey laughed, shaking her head apologetically at the two women who were privy to our conversation. “I’m sorry about my sister, she’s insane.”
“Not clinically,” I argued, rolling my eyes. “And hey, you asked.”
“Yeah, I can’t say I’ll make that mistake again.” She snorted, stretching her toes out so her technician could apply the hot pink polish. “So, I guess this means you aren’t mad at me for purposely ditching you?”
I let out a contented hum, resting my head against the back of the chair again. I felt like a new person. Sleeping with Alaric had been the best decision of my life—it’d chased all thoughts of Erik clean from my head, or at least the ones where I pined for what I thought we’d had.
I wasn’t pinning anymore. Somewhere between the first orgasm and the fifth, I’d realized that what Erik and I had wasn’t all that great, to begin with. Sure, we got along well enough, we’d enjoyed a lot of the same things, and we had fun when we were together—but Erik had never been able to make me come multiple times.
In fact, the only way I’d been able to get off is when I climbed on top of Erik and rode him. I had to do the work to achieve the goal, and I hadn’t realized how…boring that was.
Last night, Alaric had me in so many different positions, my body was still aching in the best way possible, and I’d orgasmed so much I was certain I’d wake up looking like a prune. Thankfully, I hadn’t.
“He’s the Holy Grail of sexual escapades,” I remarked, sighing dreamily.
“Did you get his number?” Kelsey asked, sipping at the cappuccino the salon provided.
