by Tess Harper
Slowly, he leaned over me, his eyes still on mine, always on mine, and neither of us could look away. His hands slid over mine. Their grip was tender, though the pressure of his elbows on top of mine almost hurt. He slid into me, so slowly that I felt every inch of him consume me. I pulled my legs back tight and hooked my ankles behind his back. He exhaled deeply when he sank into me completely, then kissed my cheek as I turned my head to the pillow, gritting my teeth as I tried to quiet my moans.
I think it took both of us by surprise. I think neither of us expected it. And I realized something that night, as we strained against each other, finding a strange sort of comfort in the other’s arms. We were both running from something, and found what we were searching for in each other.
***
Jack looked damn good naked. My last boyfriend’s body hadn’t looked like this, though it hadn’t been bad. Nathan had been athletic and definitely sexy, but he wasn’t sex personified. Jack had the kind of body that a woman dreams of being under. The kind that one can find only in Hollywood movies with teenage heartthrob actors that have been under the strict regimen of a trainer and dietitian for six months before their bodies are fit to grace the covers of books that detailed only the smuttiest romantic fantasies.
And he was in my bed.
Actually, he was on a mattress that had come with the disgusting studio apartment, but who cared about the details? The point was, I’d just been visited by a sex god and I wasn’t ready to give him up just yet.
Jack grinned and rolled over onto his side. “What are you thinking about?”
“Uh…” I felt my cheeks grow hot. Thank god it was too dark in here for him to see my face. “Just wondering what your plans were.”
His smile deepened. “Plans?”
“Yeah. Plans. Now that we’ve…” To my infinite mortification, I couldn’t bring myself to finish. Was I sixteen? Why was I having such trouble saying what we did? I mean, it wasn’t like he didn’t know what we just did. I grabbed my pillow and the bed squeaked.
His eyes widened innocently. “Are you trying to suggest something, Emily?”
“Suggest something?” I squeaked louder than the bed.
He laughed. “Yeah.
I looked at him thoughtfully. “I was actually thinking of running to the store.”
A jolt of satisfaction shot through me when I caught the confusion on his face. “The store?”
“Yeah. The little 24-hour place down the block.”
“Why? You craving Gatorade and beef jerky?”
I grinned and playfully shoved his shoulder. “No. I was actually thinking of conducting a scientific experiment.”
“Alright, you lost me.”
I bit my lip. “Well, I just had some of the best sex of my life.”
“Some of the best? Not the best?”
Alright, it was the best, but it wasn’t like this guy’s ego needed to be stroked any more than it already had been. Any guy that showed up to a wedding with condoms in his pocket was probably already getting stroked enough. “It was pretty good,” I conceded.
“Yeah?”
“Yeah. And I’m wondering if it was a fluke, or…”
Jack leaned over and kissed my neck. I just barely stopped myself from moaning, but I couldn’t stop my toes from curling. “That doesn’t sound like a science experiment. Emily, it sounds like a challenge.”
The dark determination in his voice made me feel weak and giddy. It reminded me of the feeling of him pushing into me, breaking down my defenses until I was delirious with wanting and…damn, how could he make me feel all that from briefly kissing my neck?
He broke the kiss and smiled down at me as I struggled to breathe normally. “Emily, you don’t need to go to the store. I’ve got more condoms in my back pocket.”
I frowned. He went to a wedding with more than one condom in his back pocket? “How many do you have?”
He looked away. “Probably enough for tonight.”
“Probably enough for tonight,” I repeated.
“Yeah.”
“And exactly how many condoms is that?”
“The exact number doesn’t matter—”
I didn’t bother waiting for him to finish the rest. I leaped off the bed and dashed for his pants.
Jack jumped down right behind me, wrapping his arms around my stomach. I screamed as he picked me up and threw me back down on the bed.
“What the hell was that?” I laughed.
“Emily, every guy knows that he shouldn’t go through a woman’s purse. It’s her sacred space. A place full of mystery and feminine power,” Jack began.
“Uh huh,” I replied, trying to keep a straight face.
“A man’s pants are like a woman’s purse,” Jack continued.
I couldn’t keep a straight face any longer. “A sacred space full of mystery and feminine power?”
“No, really manly, masculine power,” Jack corrected, but even he couldn’t keep himself from laughing at this point.
“Alright, what the hell do you have in your pants?”
Jack’s knees sank into the bed straddling my hips. “That’s not for you to know.”
“Oh come on.”
“Don’t look at me like that. I have no control over the ways of the universe.”
I raised an eyebrow. “Do you have like five condoms in there?”
“Emily, I already told you that the exact number doesn’t matter.”
“Oh my God. You have like a hundred condoms in there, don’t you?”
He laughed and leaned over, planting a hand on either side of my body. “That’s a bit excessive even for me.”
A bit excessive even for him? Okay, something seriously weird was going on here, and I had a feeling that his pants had the answer. I put my palms on his shoulders and slowly slid my knees up to his stomach, flashing him my most seductive smile. Jack’s smile deepened too. I cocked my head to the side. Oh, you have no idea what’s coming, do you? I thought as I pushed up with all my strength.
Jack teetered on his shins, a bit dazed as I slid past him. But he didn’t stay that way for long. I felt his hands on my waist again, but this time I was ready for him. I sidestepped and grabbed his wrist, using his momentum to push him on the ground. Then, I went straight for the pants.
“Emily!” he yelled, but it was too late. I was already holding up the pants.
Condoms showered over me, splattering on my cheeks and spilling over my legs and onto the floor. “What the hell is this? Did I just put a Benjamin into a condom machine.”
“It’s my policy to always be prepared,” Jack stammered.
I grabbed a handful of condoms off the floor and threw them at him. “Prepared for what? A spontaneous orgy where all fifty participants have neglected to bring protection?”
“I don’t have fifty in there. Maybe fifteen or twenty or so.”
I stared at him. Just stared. For a whole fifteen or twenty ‘or so’ seconds. “You can’t possibly use that many condoms in one night.”
He raised his eyebrows. “Is that another challenge, Emily?”
“No. It’s just me hoping and praying that one of the mysterious manly sacred objects in your pants is hand sanitizer.”
Jack raked his hand through his hair, laughing. “That’s funny.”
“Funny because it’s true, or funny because it should be true?”
“No comment.” His eyes softened as he looked at me, as if he were a bit sad. “Look, I know you probably don’t want to do anymore scientific testing tonight, but I’d love to hang out if you’re still up for it. Unfortunately pretty much everything is closed now, but if you don’t mind me grabbing some Gatorade and beef jerky…”
I put my finger over his lips, silencing him. “Who said I didn’t want to do anymore scientific testing?”
He glanced at his pants, then back at me.
I grinned. “I’ll admit that when I went searching for condoms I didn’t exactly expect the Niagara Falls of rubbers, b
ut I kinda already figured you were kind of a manwhore.”
Jack frowned. “What?”
“Are you really going to try to deny it, Mr. Mysterious Sacred Pants?”
“I’m just…” He sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. “I don’t want you to think of me that way.”
I picked up one of the condoms I’d thrown at him and coyly smiled. “And how do you want me to think of you.”
“Uh…” his eyes darkened.
I tilted my eyes to the side. “You at a loss for words?”
“No, just trying to think of something to say that won’t make me sound like a manwhore.”
I laughed. “It’s too late for that. You should embrace that side of you.” I straddled him and tore the condom wrapper open with my teeth. “I’m embracing that side of me.”
His strong hands gripped my hips as he gave me a crooked grin. The eagerness in his eyes made my entire body shiver. But there was an intensity there, too, that was as dark as it was subtle, and even though it scared me I leaned closer, not taking my eyes from his until our lips touched.
***
I collapsed onto my back, every muscle in my legs and stomach and arms—alright, pretty much every muscle in my body—blissfully tired. I felt like if I never left this bed again, I’d be happy. “Okay, I believe you.”
“Believe what?” he asked with a wicked glint in his eye.
“That you could use all those condoms in a night.” I threw my arm over my forehead. “You win.”
“We still have a few left. In the name of science—”
I interrupted, laughing, “I feel so good right now that I feel like I’m going to die.”
He laughed. “Well, it wouldn’t be a bad way to go.”
I scowled at him. “I don’t want to die yet!”
“Come on, I’m just kidding. I’d never hurt you.”
“Never, huh?” I groaned as I sat up and glanced at his pants on the floor. I could only see two condoms. I guess he had more hidden in his pockets. Damn this guy was sleazy, but he was a sexy, kind of lovable sleaze. And that meant he could totally hurt me. “It’s getting pretty early. I think I should go to sleep.”
He sank back down into the bed and moved closer, wrapping his arm around my shoulders. I put my forehead on his hard, perfect chest. Yeah, this guy was definitely dangerous. And he was so warm and comforting and made me feel safe and stupidly happy.
Those are just the sex endorphins talking, Emily. And from the way the two of you went at it, they’ll probably be gushing for another 48 hours.
“You don’t have to wait until I fall asleep to leave,” I told his pecks.
“What makes you think I’m leaving,” his pecks answered, flexing.
“Well, it’s gotta be after five. There’s no hot water here. And there’s a colony of really small, loud birds that are going to start hollering in less than an hour.”
“Well, at least they’re not seagulls.”
It took me a moment to realize he was referring to how I’d told him that I’d run so fast on the beach because seagulls were chasing me. “How did you know I wasn’t really afraid of them?”
“I had an idea.”
I turned from him, burying my face in my pillow. “Shit, was it that obvious?”
“Have you even seen The Birds?”
I glanced up at him. “No.”
“That’s how I could tell.”
I looked at him puzzled. He grinned. “When I was five my older brother made me watch it. I was actually petrified of seagulls for, like, a year.”
“You’re joking!”
“No, true story. I’d cry every time my mom took me to the beach. This one time she gave me breadcrumbs to feed them so I’d see they were nice, but when one waddled up to me I got scared and ran.”
“Oh no.”
“And then, since I still held the breadcrumbs, it chased me.”
“Oh no!”
“Yeah. My brother thought that was the funniest thing he’d ever seen, but I got the last laugh. My mom grounded him until he was thirteen for that.”
“I don’t blame her. That’s a horrible thing to do to somebody.”
Jack leaned back. “You taking my side, Emily?”
“Of course! That’s a really mean thing to do to a kid.”
“I knew there was a reason I liked you.” He rubbed my back. “So if you don’t mind, I think I’ll stay the night.”
A frighteningly powerful giddiness swept through my body, slicing through my sympathy. “What did you say?”
Jack chuckled. His grip on me tightened. “If it’s alright with you, I’ll stay.”
“Really? You want to?”
“Yeah. And if you don’t snore, I’ll even make you breakfast.”
I swatted his chest.
“Does that mean you snore, Emily?”
I ground my teeth. “I do not snore.”
He laughed again. “It’s okay if you do.”
I groaned. “Fine, you can stay. But if you change your mind and want to sneak out later this morning, use the flashlight on the bed stand. The overhead light is busted.”
“Oh, then I definitely have to stay.”
“Is that so?”
“Yeah. I’ve got shining eyes and twinkling black hole dimples. If you need anything, you can just turn me on and…wow, that sounds stupid.”
I laughed. “Yeah. It totally does.”
He grinned and tossed a pillow at my chest. “I really can’t believe you said all that crazy shit to me.”
I scooted closer. “I can’t believe it worked.”
He laughed and ran his hand down my shoulder, sending a tingling shiver down my back. “That really shouldn’t surprise you. I’m pretty sure any line you gave me would have worked.”
I groaned. “No. I think that’s me.”
His lips found my neck. “You think what’s you?”
“I think any line you would have given me would have worked. I mean, then then? What kind of crap was that?”
He laughed as he kissed me. “I liked then then.”
I pushed him back. “Please tell me you don’t.”
He pushed me onto the bed and pinned me, his hands on my shoulders. “Oh, I totally do. I love then then. Hell, I stole the line from you.”
I groaned. “Oh God. You did, didn’t you? I need to be banned from flirting. I need to be put away.”
The muscles in his arms flexed as he leaned down. “Yeah, I agree. You should be banned from flirting with any guy except me.”
Chapter 6
I groaned and stretched. The shadow of my fist moved over the pillow.
He’d crept off in the night after all.
I curled my toes and pushed my head forward onto his pillow. He used Axe body spray, which I suppose shouldn’t have been surprising since he looked like he could be their spokesman. I guess you would need twenty-four condoms if herds of women attacked you on sight.
I smiled slowly and a bit sadly. I didn’t really understand why. Last night had been perfect. A sweet indulgence before a year of grad school in a cold, impersonal city a continent away from the only man I’d ever loved.
Nathan had been everything to me. In fact, he’d been too much. There wasn’t anything I wouldn’t do for him. That had been the hardest part—failing because I loved him so much; learning that sometimes love isn’t enough. If I hadn’t been so eager to throw away my own happiness to support him, neither of us would have ended up so unhappy.
My own cold words echoed in my head: You’re not the man I fell in love with, and I don’t even recognize myself. I shivered, transported back to the memory of seeing him for the last time. He’d been hunched over on the couch, resting his forehead in his hands. I didn’t cry when I left. I felt so hollow that I truly believed I’d never cry again. How stupid I’d been.
But none of that had anything to do with last night.
I rolled onto my stomach. “Mmmm, smells delicious,” I mumbled, loud enough
for Sophie to hear.
No answer.
My heart began to pound. What time had Sophie come home? Hopefully it was after my one night stand left and not before. Sophie wouldn’t judge, of course. She’d just like it too much.