“I don’t…”Oh, God, don’t let me say anything stupid.I mean, I’d never done it, but I thought about it. All. The. Time. And I wanted it. With this woman. “I don’t know how to do this.Fuck.” I leaned back, loving the feel of our bodies entwined below the belt. Loving how it felt to carry herweight.
“I guess this position isn’t too practical.” She let out a long, slow exhalation as her legs slid to the floor. One of her feet rustled the bag as it landed. “I boughtcondoms.”
Those words ramped me right backup.
“So you want this? It’s not just the heat of the momenttalking?”
“No. I mean, no, it’s not the heat of the moment.” She sounded breathy and excited. “I don’t usually… I’ve never… I’m not a big dirty talker. I’m not so…” She huffed out a self-deprecating sound, struggling for the rightword.
“Brazen?” I supplied, and shelaughed.
“Exactly. I usually skirt around the issue of sex. Until it just kind ofhappens.”
Inside I’m a freaking caveman, thumping my chest. She wants me. Nobodyelse.
“What’s differenthere?”
“Everything.” She pauses, maybe hesitant. “What’s different foryou?”
How could I explain this? The sensation of being around her, talking to her? The way she made me feel? Like my life existed outside these walls. Like I could do things I’d never imaginedpossible.
I cleared my throat and tried for humor. “Don’t get out much. In case you hadn’tnoticed.”
“So you…go for the one person to visityou?”
“No. No, I don’t mean that.” The door was hard and we were standing here and I wished we were someplace soft, where I could lean in and touch her face, feel her expression, not just hear it. “I mean, we were never super sociable, me and my granddad. But after he passed, I stopped going out as much. And then a couple years ago… All the sounds and people and smells. It was too much for my brain. Overwhelm or overload or something. I have friends. I mean, people do visit occasionally and I’ve got people online, but, this way, it’s on myterms.”
She made a littleI’m listeningnoise in her throat, which I assumed meant she wanted more. I forgot how much women needed to dissectthings.
“When you showed up, every bit of you sort of slotted in. Or made sense, or fit me, I guess. Like everything else is pain and dissonance and you walked in and you’re this perfect, sweet melody. You getthat?”
Her loud inhale should have told me what she was thinking, but I was clueless until shespoke.
“Yeah, Zach.” The backs of her fingers made a raspy sound as she stroked myjaw.
“Shouldashaved.”
“No.” The word was faint, almost whispered. With a smile, maybe. “No, this is perfect. You’re perfect.” She cupped my chin, leaned in, and whispered into my ear, “And I need you inside me. Tonight.Now.”
With her musical laughter egging me on, I slung her over my shoulder, wanting to run up the stairs. Instead, I used restraint andwalked.
“Wait!” she giggled from where she hung against my back. “Thecondoms.”
“Oh, I’ve got condoms.” I grabbed her ass hard in one hand and she let out a happy squeal. “We’ll come down if we use ’emall.”
Veronica
Yes.God, yes, he was doing itright.
He hauled me up the steps like a fireman. Or a caveman. And I lovedit.
Down a dark hall, into a dark room, where he set me on the bed, opened a drawer and pulled out abox.
It took a second or two for me to realize he wasn’t moving, but just stood beside me, box in hand, breathinghard.
“Youokay?”
“You know how many times I’ve imagined this?” He gave a gruff little growl. “Fuck. Can’t believe I’ve never actually done what comes next. I want to make it good foryou.”
