“Let’s try it.” He maneuvered over her and threw the blanket over his leg. He tried balancing on the end of his arm. “Ouch.”
“You okay?”
“Mm-hmm,” he lied. He lowered himself onto his elbows and entered her warmth. She wrapped her legs around his.What does she make of the blank space below my left knee?
He kissed the corner of her mouth. She shifted with him languidly, then with more urgency. The sensations triggered his hips to rock against hers of their own volition. She bucked and pushed, urging him to pound faster. He tried to comply, slipping on the leg that could find no purchase. He ignored the cramp in his thigh holding an unaccustomed position. Then, they found their rhythm and he lost himself in their movement with no sense of time passing.
Her tension ascended into a crescendo. She threw her head back, arched up and cried out. He could feel her tighten around him. Before she descended from her high, he came with a shudder that ran the length of his body. His lungs expelled with a release like no other.
Their panting slowed until their breathing was in sync.
“What’s so funny?” He lay on her, heavy and unmoving. Not his best performance.
She pressed her mouth into his shoulder, trying to control herself. She shook her head. “It’s not you. I’m a bad girl.”
“I’m getting a complex here. How was that?”
“Better than I could’ve imagined. You?” She rubbed his back and kissed one shoulder.
He leaned up on an elbow to look at her. “I’m good.” He studied her for a few moments more, brushing hair back from her face.What the hell was she thinking?
“I hate to do this to you, but I have to go. You okay if I don’t stay?”
She nodded and mumbled, her ability to speak as relaxed as the rest of her body. “Yeah, I’m okay. Your driver is waiting.”
He pulled on his briefs, leg and pants, and stood to zip them. Then he shrugged into his shirt.
She watched him slip on his shoes. “Thanks for my Christmas present, hot stuff.”
He grabbed his belt and leaned over to nuzzle Rina’s cheek. “Thank you. I like your tree.”
He paused at the bedroom door. She waved a hand, energy apparently sapped.
“See you next weekend,” she called, blowing a kiss.
“Hockey, right?”
He wasn’t really asking for confirmation. He’d teased her about arranging tickets for something in which he was barely interested. As he turned to go, he caught the reflection of his asymmetry in her mirrored bureau.
He winced.
CHAPTER 37
WOULD YOU FIGHT FOR MY LOVE?
Orchid
THURSDAY JANUARY 31
During a break in their media agency meeting, a junior planner hugged Orchid hello, then plunked ice into a glass. Even with fist-high heels, she only came to Orchid’s shoulder.
“So, how were your holidays?”
Orchid twisted open a sparkling water. “Not bad. I hung out with friends. How about you?”
“I stayed local. Went to a bunch of Christmas parties. Drunkfests.” She rolled her eyes, which made Orchid chuckle.
“Come to think of it, wasn’t the last time we saw each other at the agency holiday party?” Orchid said.
