30 Nights (16 page)

Reaching around his neck, I pulled him down and kissed him with every ounce of passion I had burning inside. I willed him to know, to see how much joy he’d given me. It wasn’t until I felt the press of his hard cock against my stomach that I knew it was time to move this party along.

“Please tell me you’re done for the day?” I licked my lips, savoring the taste of him on my skin.

“I am.”

“Good. If you don’t have any other plans, I have some cards that might prove for an interesting night.”

Eric’s smile made my heart dance. “Lead the way.”

With his hand in mine, we left the safety of the kitchen. My adventure was back on and I was more determined than ever to see things through. After all, we’d started out being honest with each other, and we’d worked through a bump with little effort. Together we’d be able to handle anything that came our way.

Anything at all.

Part 3

An In-depth Examination

17

I
f someone had told me even a month ago that I’d have talked to Eric, let alone had sex with him on multiple occasions, I would have died from laughter. It wasn’t that I thought so little of myself as a person, but rather thought little enough of my ability to keep a lover satisfied. I’d had sex and for the most part it had been good. But it had always been a bit . . . I don’t know, bland? Yeah, that was the word. Bland. I never knew if my previous boyfriends simply weren’t into crazy fun between the sheets, or if I didn’t inspire passion from them.

That was a doubt I no longer possessed.

After our reconciliation, I came to the decision that I didn’t want us to keep meeting in hotels and fancy spas. There were certain things that I would be far more comfortable engaging in at home. My sheets, my kitchen utensils, and my produce.

Was that even on a card? I couldn’t remember anymore.

Eric had agreed to come over Saturday and we’d take some time going through the deck and picking out what cards we were interested in trying out. It had been difficult not to jump ahead and plan things out. I had to remind myself that this wasn’t all about me. Instead I spent most of the morning cleaning, a thing that I didn’t excel at. I dusted, vacuumed, and even went so far as to gather up the collection of old
Cosmo
magazines that I’d stuffed under my couch.

There were certain things about me that I wasn’t ready to share with him yet—my
Cosmo
addiction being one of them.

It was just after noon when I heard the knock at my door. I’d spent so much time cleaning that I hadn’t left myself long enough to primp properly. It was probably for the best, as I would have simply changed five more times and made more of a mess than I’d started with. With a final look around to make sure everything was in place, I ran my hands down my capris, fixed my shirt, and opened the door with a smile.

“Hi there.”

Eric stood half a foot away, smiling. “Hi back. These are for you.”

I could have cried when he pulled the bouquet of lilies from behind his back and held them out for me. “These are my favorite.”

“I have to be honest, I asked Jasmine for suggestions. After your disappointment the other day I wanted to make it up to you with flowers of your own.”

Taking the bouquet, I invited him in. “Thank you so much. Let me put these in water. I know it’s a bit early in the day, but can I get you anything? Coffee? Beer?”

“Water, thanks.”

Eric hadn’t moved very far into my place, which really wasn’t all that big. It was strange seeing this large man standing awkwardly, looking at my bookshelf without getting closer. He couldn’t be nervous, not after everything we’d been though to this point. Given how things had almost ended, maybe I shouldn’t have been surprised. My nerves had sent me running to the bathroom more than once already.

Or that could have been the three coffees I’d downed.

“Most of my academic texts are out here. I keep my reading-for-fun books in the bedroom.”

“I love noir mysteries. Big fan of Alan Bradley and James Ellroy.”

“Really? You don’t strike me as a mystery guy. More literary bent.”

Eric shrugged. “I read a variety of authors. Grew up on Stephen King and Dean Koontz.”

“That explains the horror movie last week.” I set our waters on the coffee table and scooted into the corner of my couch. “And I guess
Little Shop of Horrors
.”

There was something that changed in his entire body when he smiled. The tension bled out of him and it he seemed to let his guard relax. I couldn’t imagine exactly what happened between him and Grace, but whatever it was had burned him badly.

“I’m glad you came. That we’re still doing this.” I looked down at my hands and tried not to pick at my nail. “I . . . I feel like this is something I need to do. To learn exactly what I’m capable of as a woman. With you I actually feel safe enough to take chances.”

Eric sat down on the couch opposite me. His legs were long and stretched to the point where his knees nearly touched mine. “I understand. And I was being honest when I told you that I needed to prove something to myself as well.”

If I ever met this Grace, I swore I’d punch her in the nose.

“Well then, we both have a sex agenda.” Sexgenda? I needed to put that on the board.

Oh shit!

“Don’t move. Just sit right there and don’t move.”

I’d been so busy cleaning up that I’d forgotten to hide the most damning and embarrassing thing in my house. I ran into my spare room so quickly I stubbed my baby toe on the doorjamb. “Ouch.”

“You okay?”

“Yup. Stay there.”

“Are you hiding your underwear? I don’t mind seeing that.”

Pantie fetish, good to know. “Nope. Ass on chair, please.”

Limping through the pain, I snatched up the board, which had considerably more information on it now. Looking at the board it finally hit me: This was what Jasmine saw the other night. She hadn’t gone to the bathroom so much as decided to snoop. It wouldn’t have taken much for her to connect the
EM
heading to Eric given everything she’d seen the last few weeks.

I was going to have to thank her . . . before I smacked her for going through my things.

Carefully, I shoved the board in the closet, face first. There, even if he opened the door he wouldn’t see what was on it. And if he picked it up to look then I’d have ample reason to kick his ass.

When I got back to the living room, Eric was leaning forward looking at something on the coffee table. Tremors of excitement tickled through from my core out to my fingers when I realized what he had.

The cards.

“I didn’t know if you wanted to jump right into that discussion.” I sat down beside him, careful to keep my body from pressing up against his. I had to show a certain level of restraint.

“There are a few missing.” He laid them out on the table, much the same way I had the first night I’d brought them home.

“I took out the ones we’ve already done.” And pinned them to a board where I could coo and sigh over the memories. So mature.

Eric hummed his acknowledgment, but it was clear to see that his attention was on the cards. Spread out this way, it was awesome to see the wide array of fantasy material. The author of the cards must have had a lot of fun coming up with this list. I picked up the one that had been the most intriguing to me.

Eric looked at what I’d picked up and read it much the same way he must say
the weather is fair
or
hand in your papers
. “Day Twenty-three. Have sex on a balcony.” He looked up. “And I see you happen to have a balcony.”

My face heated, but if I was going to do this, I had to trust that Eric would take my fantasies seriously. “Okay, here’s the thing. I’ve lived in this building for three years now. This is my first place after moving out from my parents’ house. The fourth night after I’d moved in, I was sitting here on the floor unpacking my things. The lights were off so no one could really see me. I had the window open and that was probably the only reason I heard my neighbors.”

“They were having sex on their balcony.” Eric adjusted himself in the seat. “That must have been . . . interesting to witness.”

“Honestly, it was probably the first time sex fantasies became a thing for me.”

Eric took the card from me and placed it to the side. “We’ll make this the To Try pile.”

My inner sex vixen sat up and took notice, bringing along with her an ample supply of lust. “Okay then.” I found it suddenly very difficult to sit still. “Are there any that are of interest to you?”

He started to reach for Day Twenty-four—anal sex—but veered over and instead picked up Day Twenty-nine. “Let your partner tie you up and have sex with you.” He handed the card to me.

“You want to tie me up and have sex with me?” I trusted Eric for sure, but being restrained was something I’d never considered before. I didn’t know how I’d react.

“No. I’d like you to tie me up.”

I blinked a few times before I looked back down at the card. “I didn’t see that coming.”

“I can tell.” He chuckled. “You have your fantasies and I’ve had mine.”

I quickly added it to our To Try pile and picked up Day Twenty-four while I was at it. It was Eric’s turn to look shocked. “What?” I shrugged. “You’re interested. I’m interested. Let’s put that puppy on the list.”

He closed his eyes and bowed his head. “I have such a raging hard-on right now.” That little sentence was all it took for me to burst into a fit of laughter. He glared at me. “Trust me when I say that it isn’t funny.”

“You said
hard-on
.” I did my best to stem my giggles, but was failing miserably.

“What would you prefer I say?” He leaned in so his face was close. “Boner?”

And that set me off again.

He shook his head. “You’re weird.”

I calmed down long enough to speak. “You’re a professor and half the time you’re all serious and brooding and have all the female students swooning over you and you ignore them. Then you said
hard-on
.” My cheeks hurt from smiling so wide.

Eric tried to fight his own smile, but within a few moments he was chuckling along with me. “I’m not a prude.”

“Chubby. Tentpole.” I leaned in so our noses touched and whispered, “Popped a stiffy.”

He pushed me and I let the momentum carry me back until I was lying on the cushions. Tears formed at the corners of my eyes and I couldn’t stop the giggles. “I don’t know why I’m laughing so much. This is stupid.”

Eric dropped the cards and shifted so he was hovering over me, his body fully covering mine. “Maybe it’s been too long since you last let yourself go.”

When he leaned down and brushed his lips against mine, I was still overcome with silliness. That dissipated the moment he deepened the kiss. It was passionate, without being frantic. While our bodies touched, pressed against each other, this wasn’t about sex. Not yet. Eric was warm and as I slid my hands around his neck, I soaked in as much of that as I could.

I’d never kissed someone and had it be this fun before. I nipped and licked, let my tongue explore his mouth. I took advantage of my position and wrapped my legs around his thighs. The shift put his erection against my stomach, and I was able to wiggle against it.

“You seem excited about my hard-on.” He pressed his nose to my throat and licked at the skin of my shoulder.

“Maybe I should give it a bit of attention. It seems that a few times we got together you missed out on some of the fun.”

“I got mine as soon as I got home.” Eric slid his hand down my side to my thigh. He gripped it and lifted me up even higher. “I want to make sure you’re feeling good.”

There was no way I was going to let this be a one-sided sexual relationship. I might be shy, but I was far from being selfish. “We need to do Day Twelve.”

“What’s that?”

Rather than simply tell him, I shoved at his chest. “Up.”

He groaned, but complied. “I was just getting comfortable.”

“You’ll like this.” I took his hand and led him down the hall to my bedroom. “We’ll have more room down here.”

When I’d moved out on my own, the first thing I’d splurged on was a queen-size bed. Not that I necessarily needed a lot of space, but it felt luxurious to be able to stretch all the way out and not touch an edge. Plus, I’d had high hopes that I wouldn’t be sleeping alone forever.

“Your room is very purple.” He gave it a once-over before turning his attention back to me.

“What’s wrong with purple?”

“So Day Twelve?”

I pulled my shirt off and went to work on my capris. “Is to sixty-nine with your partner.”

He looked skeptical.

“I know we have the height difference going on, but I don’t think it will be an issue.”

“Never let it be said that I wasn’t willing to give things the effort they deserved.” Within a moment he’d removed his shirt and tossed it to the floor.

Once I’d slid my capris off, I reached over and began to help him with his jeans. That led to me becoming fascinated with his chest—he had just the right amount of hair and oh, his nipples were hard—as I leaned in to kiss his warm skin. Eric groaned, stopped what he was doing, and cupped my face.

Our kiss this time was anything but soft and slow. Frantic would be a closer description. My head spun from the lack of oxygen as I panted between kisses. I wanted to feel everything, touch every square inch of his skin, play with his hair. His muscles in his arms and shoulders flexed beneath my hands as he lifted me up by my ass and carried me the short distance to my bed.

I wasn’t even completely aware of him putting me down. Not until he pulled back and took my bra with him.

“How did you—”

“Not my first rodeo.” He tossed the bra over his shoulder and bent his head to capture my nipple in his mouth.

My breasts had always been super sensitive. When I pleasured myself, I always made sure to pinch and flick the tips, as it always amped up my arousal. Having a lover pay them particular attention drew me close to the edge of release far faster than I liked. I only lasted a few moments before I had to push his head away. “Too much.”

Dear God, he pouted.

“I promise I’ll make it up to you. Take off your jeans. I want to suck your cock.”

His face was flushed and with my words it spread down his throat to his chest. I’d never known a guy to blush like that. I was totally going to have fun with him.

When he freed himself from his jeans and briefs, he leaned down and ran his hands along the tops of my thighs. “I think for this to work, I’m going to have to get on the bed with you on top. Otherwise I’ll smother you.”

Sorry, officer, I smothered her with my massive body during sex. Yes, I can confirm she died happy. No charges? Thank you.
“I’ll scooch over. Lie down.”