“You—” I snap my mouth shut, then try again. “You just announced that you jack off when your head hurts, as if you were mentioning the weather. And then offered to give me an orgasm.”
“Would you have preferred I used more clinical terminology?” His lips kick up on one side. He’s enjoying this far too much. “Masturbation for the purposes of pain relief through endorphin release?”
Another cramp hits, worse than the last, before I can come up with a witty response. I curl in on myself, pressing my palm against my lower abdomen like that’s ever helped. It feels like my insides are being wrung out like a wet towel.
“Jesus,” Cameron mutters. “That bad?”
“It’s fine,” I grit out, though we both know it’s a lie.
“It’s not. You should have an orgasm.”
I muster up the energy to glare at him. “I’m not sure what you know about female orgasms, Cameron, but it takes more than telling a woman to have one to actually make it happen.”
“I’ll excuse your sarcasm since you’re clearly in pain.” He quirks a brow. “And I offered to give you one.”
“Are you a vampire?”
He jerks his head back. “What?”
“You must be a vampire.” I nod at my illogical conclusion. “You’ve only entered my apartment after being explicitly invited inandit’s the only explanation I can think of for why you would want to experience the horror movie known as my uterus right now.”
He bursts out laughing, the deep sound making my stomach flip in a way that has nothing to do with cramps. “I was thinking along the lines of you riding my thigh with your clothes on.”
Oh.That’s a whole lot less intimidating than what I’ve been imagining, but also infinitely more intimate. The idea of grinding against him, of his attention on me, holding the reins of his control?—
Another cramp hits, the pain breaking through my spiraling thoughts and pulling a gasp from me.
“Yes or no, sweetheart?” He watches me carefully, his face serious despite the casual lean of his posture.
“You make no sense,” I tell him. “I invited you up after the Copper Lantern and you said thanks, but no thanks. Now you want me to ride your thigh?”
“You’re in pain, and I have a solution,” he says as if that explains it. “And my response that night had nothing to do with you and everything to do with me.”
If I wasn’t in such agony, I’d roll my eyes. “That’s a cliche.”
He shrugs. “Doesn’t make it any less true.”
“This is ridiculous.” I shake my head. “You’reridiculous.”
“I’m practical.” He leans forward slightly, elbows on his knees, bringing himself closer but still not touching. “And a goalie, remember? My job is reading body language and knowing exactly where to put my hands.”
“Oh my God,” I mutter, but I laugh despite myself. “That might be the worst line I’ve ever heard.”
“Did it work, though?”
I hold my breath to quell the pain and look at him—really look at him. At the genuine concern beneath the cocky exterior and the way he’s giving me space to decide without pushing. “I can’t believe I’m considering this.”
“You can absolutely say no if you’re not comfortable.” He angles in another inch or two. “But I won’t lie and say that the thought of you riding my thigh hasn’t made me hard as fuck.”
I nibble on my lower lip, weighing the absurdity of this against the very real pain radiating through my lower body. The ibuprofen hasn’t kicked in yet and won’t for at least another twenty minutes. But since we made out at the bar, I haven’t been able to think about anything but him. Will this only make it worse?
“If this is weird after?—”
“It won’t be,” he interrupts, confident as ever. “And if it is, we’ll deal with it. But right now, you’re in pain, and I’m offering a solution.” His lips quirk. “A very enjoyable solution for both of us.”
“I don’t know what you’re getting out of this,” I grumble, scooting closer to him.
His eyes flash with heat, but his movements are slow and controlled as he shifts back and leans against the cushions. He spreads his thighs, then tugs me onto his lap, guiding my legs to either side of his. The press of muscle against my core is immediate, hot and solid through my sweats. A small,involuntary sigh escapes me, but I’m too lost in this moment to be embarrassed.
