Her lips returned to the job at hand.
Quaddra closed his eyes and took a deep, quivering breath.
After they satisfied each other on the rug, they did move it to the sofa, but after that, they didn’t make it to the bedroom.
‘Oh my god,’ Mary said, as they were trying to go from the living room to the bedroom upstairs. ‘Is that a pool table?’
Quaddra nodded. ‘Yeah, that’s the games room.’
Mary smiled, her head angling sideways. ‘I always wanted to get fu…’
Before Mary could even finish her sentence, Quaddra was already bending her over the table. Mary let out a moan so inviting that even she was surprised. She stretched her arms wide and held onto the two center pockets as firmly as she could – the anticipation almost making her hyperventilate.
From what she’d seen so far, in bed, Quaddra could read Mary like a lit billboard, knowing exactly when to turn down the tenderness and up the roughness… and vice-versa.
Mary took a quick look over her right shoulder. As her gaze found Quaddra’s, she gave him an inviting smile before spreading her legs. ‘Take me whichever way you want.’
Quaddra reached for her hair and pulled it. ‘Oh, don’t worry, I will.’
‘Oh God!’ Mary moaned in a whisper. She was, once again, trying hard to catch her breath, as Quaddra rolled off her to lie by her side on the pool table. They had changed positions a few times, with the last one having both of them on the table. ‘Did I…’ Mary’s voice was just as unsteady as the rest of her body. ‘Did I scream again?’
‘Uh-huh.’ Quaddra nodded before they both broke down laughing.
‘Argh,’ Mary winced, reaching for her knees, which were red-raw and completely scuffed, just like her elbows, the palm of her hands, her lower back and the rear of her shoulders.
‘Are you OK?’ Quaddra lifted his head to look at Mary, propping himself up on his elbows. That was when he saw the scuffs all over Mary’s body. ‘Oh, damn!’ He brought a hand to his mouth. ‘Those gotta hurt. I’m so sorry.’
Mary turned her head to look at him. He had quite a few scuffs himself. ‘Remember I told you? I don’t mind a little pain. Nothing to be sorry about.’ She looked left then right. ‘But on that subject, I am the one who’s sorry.’
‘What for?’
She indicated the pool table. There was a small tear on the table’s green bed cloth, just by the bottom right-hand pocket, and a pretty large one running parallel to the left rail. ‘I seem to have ruined your pool table.’
Quaddra shrugged. ‘It’s just a table… and this…’ His eyebrows arched, as he nodded at the space between the two of them. ‘… is worth way more than that.’ He craned his neck to kiss her shoulder.
There were distinct tones of tenderness in Quaddra’s voice that Mary had never heard before… not in anyone’s voice. She smiled at him and they stared into each other’s eyes for several silent seconds.
‘God, you are beautiful,’ Quaddra said, running the back of his index finger against the contour of her chin.
‘Thank you,’ she said back, allowing her eyes to run the length of his body. ‘You are… OK… I guess.’
Quaddra laughed.
‘I need a shower,’ Mary said, hopping off the pool table.
‘Sure,’ Quaddra said, also getting back on his feet, before nodding at Mary’s scuffs. ‘But those are going to sting.’
Mary moved closer and kissed his lips. ‘Do I have to remind you again?’
‘Yeah, I know.’ Quaddra nodded. ‘You don’t mind a little pain.’
‘That’s right,’ Mary confirmed. ‘Plus, you’re coming to the shower with me to sooth the pain.’ She reached for his left hand and dragged him out of the games room.
Back in the bedroom, after a long shower, they were both dressed in white fluffy bathrobes. Quaddra had just come back from the kitchen with two large glasses of water.
‘Thank you,’ Mary said, taking one.
‘You’re not going to run off in the middle of the night again, are you?’ Quaddra asked.
