“Yes. Yes, we’re cured,” she wheezed, wiping tears from her eyes. “Get the hell away from me, ugly.”
She punctuated the sentence by hooking her leg over his hip, pushing him onto his back, and straddling him.
THE NEXT DAY AND Ahalf passed in a haze. They canceled all their other obligations Audrey had set up for them in favor of fucking on every surface of the villa, interior and exterior, horizontal and vertical. Privately, Ethan was astonished by his own stamina. Even in his prime, he’d had his limits—unless there was some kind of upper involved. But when Grey looked at him, when she touched him, no matter how innocently, he was ready for her again in an instant. If a pharmaceutical company could figure out how to bottle her, they would drive Viagra out of business. All the benefits, with no side effects.
Well. Maybe one side effect.
Her theory that their attraction would be defused by consummation was wrong, to put it mildly. The more he had her, the more he wanted her. The clear boundaries of their arrangement had freed him from all of his inhibitions surrounding her, and to his surprise, she met him with enthusiasm at every turn. Any past friction between them had been totally self-imposed; once theystopped fighting their temptation, they were so in sync that it almost frightened him.
The fast-approaching deadline of Monday should have put a damper on things, but it only increased their urgency. Ethan tried not to think about it. Even though their physical relationship would soon be over, they were still bound by their contract for nearly four more months. Now that the cold war between them had officially reached an armistice, Ethan found himself grateful for how many more opportunities they had lined up to spend time together—even in non-naked contexts.
Late Sunday evening, after they had made thorough use of the dual-head shower, they sat in bed watching television, her legs across his lap, feeding each other dinner off their room service plates. Three months ago, witnessing this kind of display would have made his stomach turn, the prospect of his own involvement in it downright unthinkable. But now, Ethan happily took the bite of steak Grey proffered from her fork. They were the most clothed they’d been all day; him in his underwear, her swaddled in one of the resort’s enormous fluffy robes.
He idly stroked one hand up and down her shin, letting it creep a little higher each time. Over her knee, up her thigh. Once he got high enough, she squirmed a little, laughing.
“Let me at least eat my ice cream before it melts,” she demurred, reaching for a covered dish on the other side of the bed. He let his other hand join the exploration this time.
“We can put it in the freezer,” he murmured into her ear. She playfully swatted him away.
“I don’t know if you know this, but we don’t have to compensate for three years of celibacy in thirty-six hours.”
“Too late.”
She laughed, spooning a bite of chocolate ice cream into her mouth. She closed her eyes and sighed. When she opened themagain, she noticed him watching her and smiled shyly. The fact that she could still get bashful over something so small, after a day and a half of him seeing her naked in every position known to man, charmed him so much that his stomach did a little flip.
“I gotta enjoy this while I can. I hope they make me do some crazy muscle-building diet where I’ll have to get up in the middle of the night to eat cod, like The Rock.”
“Just as long as you don’t wake me up when you do.”
She paused, her spoon halfway to her mouth.Fuck. Why had he said that? The only topic they’d been careful to avoid: the prospect of things continuing past tomorrow. He hadn’t meant it. It had just slipped out. He knew that it would be impossible. Their sexual compatibility, as electric as it might be, was not enough to sustain a full-blown relationship. They both knew that.
He cleared his throat and shifted. He needed to change the subject, fast.
“We’ve really been slacking on those questions.”
Her eyes glinted with amusement.
“You’re right. How will we ever get to know each other now?”
“Well, I sure hope Sugar Sweetums or whoever won’t be grilling me on your blow job skills.”
Grey rolled her eyes, but she was laughing. “SugarClarke. But if she does, you’ll say…?”
“Top-notch, obviously.”
“Brownnoser.” She put the empty ice cream dish on the nightstand and grabbed her phone as he reached for the remote to turn off the TV. “I’ll try to find a juicy one.”
She snuggled back against his shoulder as she scrolled, and he put his arm around her, planting a soft kiss on the crown of her head without even thinking. Like it was the most natural thing in the world.
“Okay. Here’s a two-parter. Part one: ‘What is your most treasured memory?’ ”
He answered immediately. “When my kids were born.”
“That issucha dad answer. You’re so predictable,” she teased. He laughed, squeezing her shoulder.
“I’m serious. It’s pretty amazing. And terrifying. Just…overwhelming. In every sense of the word.”
He thought about the first time he’d held Sydney, her tiny fingers grasping his. Unraveled by the thought that he’d played even the tiniest part in creating something so perfect. Vowing to do better than his own father had. He felt a squeeze in his chest. He’d fucked that up, too. He didn’t like to think about all the firsts he’d missed since he’d moved out. The way he’d been demoted overnight from active participant in their lives to glorified bystander, perpetually playing catch-up. How he had only himself to blame.
