The Other C-Word (20 page)

Suddenly, Rick sat up and seized my shoulders, pulling me towards him.

“I wasn’t finished,” I pouted.

“Let’s finish together, because I want to be inside you again.” His expression changed abruptly as he studied me. “Unless you’re sore?”

I shook my head. “No way, cowboy.”

He smiled lustily before smashing his mouth into mine and kissing me senseless.

“Jesus,” he moaned as his head fell back on the bed.

I straddled him, knowing what he wanted. He held his cock, steady and erect, up for me as I slid down its length, feeling every velvety inch of him.

I pinned his hands with mine and stared into his beautiful eyes, not wanting to miss a moment of the pleasurable expression on his face. I moved up—almost until he was out of me—then back down again. I couldn’t believe we were still capable of intercourse. Surely, this wasn’t normal. It wasn’t anything that I’d ever experienced, at least. Rick drove up into me as if he was impatient for another release. The movement was shocking but enjoyable, and it implored me to increase my speed. I felt completely uninhibited. He moved his hands to my hips, shifting me more rapidly. We both climaxed almost simultaneously. I fell on top of him, laying my head against his firm, comfortable chest. Rick surrounded me with his strong arms. We lay there breathless, completely spent—at least I was—and pleasantly sated. After a few minutes, Rick rolled us onto our sides and gently eased out of me. Then he pulled me into his chest, resting his chin on top of my head.

We lay in silence, not needing to add any words to the epic experience we’d just shared.

“You’re amazing too, Marley. I thought my expectations were unrealistic, but you managed to exceed them. I imagined all the positions I wanted to put you in, but I didn’t think it was possible to make such a dent in that list.”

Huh?
We’d only made a dent—we’d just run the gamut of my list. Maybe my imagination wasn’t as good as I thought.

“How sore are you? Don’t lie, please.” Rick sounded concerned, his voice dropping to a lower pitch.

I hadn’t been thinking about it until he’d asked, but I was very sore. I wouldn’t complain. Every ounce of the pleasure he gave me was worth it.

“It was awesome, Rick, but let’s just say you made good on your promise to fuck me until I can’t walk.”

He chuckled then shocked me by springing out of the bed, as if he wasn’t tired at all. He ran to his dresser—yes, the man was still capable of running—and grabbed a pair of sweat pants and a T-shirt. He made quick work of getting dressed. Then he looked at me on the bed, clutching the sheet over my breasts.

He puts his hand on the back of his neck and stared at me guiltily. “I’m sorry about your shirt.”

It didn’t bother me except that I obviously couldn’t wear it home. My mom would be able to sew new buttons, but I’d have to think of a way to tell her how the last four on my shirt had miraculously popped off at the same time. “Don’t worry about it.”

Rick took out another T-shirt from his dresser and tossed it at me. “You can sleep in this. Hungry? I can order us something.”

I smiled at the Nirvana
concert T-shirt in my hands, but grimaced at his statement.

“Rick, I’m not spending the night. I have to go…now.”

He blinked at me in disbelief, as if I’d sprouted wings. “Marley, your car will be safe at the office.”

“I know, but that’s not the point. I told you that I wouldn’t spend the night, remember?”

Rick’s expression didn’t change. He strolled over to me, sat on the edge of the bed and started massaging my shoulders. “It’s late and you’re tired. It would make me feel better if you stayed with me tonight.”

I glanced at his clock and gasped at the time. We’d got to his apartment over four hours ago. Had we been fucking for over four hours? I mean some of the time, we’d been kissing, showering and just petting each other, but he had been inside me so much. Surely, this type of sex was reserved for professionals, like porn stars and prostitutes, not amateurs like myself. Regardless of my shock and discomfort, I forced myself to get off my ass.

I pushed his hand away and eased myself out of the bed. Thankfully, the shirt was long enough to cover me completely. I swayed when I stood and Rick’s hands instantly gripped my waist to steady me.

“Marley, don’t be stubborn.”

I stumbled away from him towards the bathroom. “Don’t worry about giving me a ride, I can walk.”

“You just said you couldn’t walk!” He followed closely behind me. Damn, he was right. It was a short distance, but there was no way my legs would carry me.

“I guess I’ll call a cab from the lobby.”

Rick placed his arms around me so his hard chest was against my back. My body automatically melted into his despite my resolve.

“The hell you will. I’ll drive you back to your car if you really want to go home.” His voice was quiet, but convincing. He walked us backward until we were by the bed again then turned me around, gripping my waist. “Sit.”

I was ready to protest again, because I really did need to go. I was extremely tired, and I knew I’d fall asleep if I didn’t leave now, but Rick silenced me with his determined look. He surprised me by walking to the bathroom and the living room, retrieving all my discarded clothing. He bent down on the floor before me, holding my skirt out. I put my feet inside and used his shoulders to steady myself as he pulled it up. He even buttoned it for me before motioning me to sit again. He slid each of the boots back onto my feet, zipping them closed. I was grateful because I honestly didn’t know if I could have handled this small task on my own. Rick held up my bra. “Do you want me to put this on you?”

I shook my head. He got an empty shopping bag and folded my bra, my button-less shirt and my belt then placed them inside. Oddly, it felt more intimate than when he’d undressed me. “Do you want these?” he asked, holding up my shredded panties.

I chuckled. “No, they’re beyond repair.”

“Sorry, Marley, I was caught up in the moment.”

“It was a great moment for me too.”

He didn’t throw them away, instead choosing to lay them on top of the dresser.

“Do you want me to find the missing buttons for your shirt?”

“No, don’t worry about it, Rick,” I replied with a reassuring smile.

He took my hand, and I had to rely on him to help me up, like some kind of invalid. I could walk, although shakily, but he slid his arm around my waist letting me lean against him as we made our way down to the lobby.

He opened my door and eased me into his car as if I was fragile. I wanted to tell him to stop being so gentle, but part of me was enamoured with his gestures and truthfully, I was completely drained. Rick even secured my seatbelt for me. As sweet as he was, I knew he was cross and irritated with me too. He might have even felt rejected, which was the last thing I wanted. I wished it didn’t have to be this way, but it did. This was my hard-and-fast rule, and he would have to learn to accept it or, as epic as the sex was, I couldn’t be with him. The thought of not having him again made me incredibly sullen.

We were silent on the ride back to the office until he reached into his console and pulled out a Zesty bar for me.

“Don’t freak out, this isn’t a reward for a good job or anything. Please don’t start making spreadsheets or throwing it at my head.”

I stared at him. “Then what is the occasion?”

“Because I know you’re hungry, and you won’t let me properly rectify that.”

I didn’t respond because it was true. I wouldn’t let him take me anywhere because sharing food meant making conversation, which included the possibility of uncomfortable questions. It was raining like crazy, but I didn’t even bring up the mundane topic of weather with Rick. It was just another reason for him to suggest I spend the night.

“Thank you for this,” I said, tearing into the protein bar.

“Your original hypothesis wasn’t that off,” he said, with an amused smirk. I was relieved we were shifting away from the seriousness of the previous moments.

“Explain, please.”

Rick grinned mischievously. “You wore a skirt, I went to the gym and I stopped at the café and brought Zesty bars. It was a vicious cycle. I went to the gym when you wore a skirt because I needed to. You were torturing me, Marley. I swam laps…lots of them. I drained myself physically so I could concentrate mentally. It’s not a direct correlation, but definitely a cause and effect relationship. If anything, I suppose you could say you inspired me to find suitable, physical outlets.”

“Ha, I knew I was onto something!” His confession made me wish I’d worn a skirt every day. Mostly, though, I was disappointed we’d wasted so much time. We would definitely need to make up for that.

When he pulled up next to my car, he put his hand on my knee before I opened the door.

“Give me your keys.”

I tilted my head, wondering if he planned to throw them out of the window. “Why?”

He sighed. “So I can start your car and warm it up.”

I handed him my keys, feeling stupid about my obvious misguided assumption.

“Stay here,” he commanded, stepping out into the rain and into my car. I watched while he turned on my ignition and adjusted the defrost.

When he came back to his car, he leant back into his seat, staring at me with a soft smile on his face. “That was some pretty intense, crazy sex, wasn’t it?”

I laughed, grateful that his mood had improved. “Yes, it was.”

“So, I’ll see you tomorrow?”

I shifted uncomfortably. He wanted to do that again…so soon? As if reading my thoughts, he added, “I promise I’ll be very gentle. I just want to give you a chance to…finish.”

I chuckled. “Okay, I can handle that. I’m just surprised you want it again so soon.”

His eyes darkened. “Let’s get something straight, Marley. I will want you tomorrow and every day after that until I leave. As long as you’re up for it, I want you. The German chocolate cake was so addictive that I want it every night.”

“Surely, even you can’t have that much sex,” I replied jokingly, but his intense gaze didn’t shift.

“We don’t always have to have sex. We could eat, or go to a movie, or just talk.”

I crossed my arms and looked out of the window. “That wasn’t our agreement, Rick.”

“Fine then, I guess we’ll just fuck a lot.” He looked out of his window, and I wondered if I should step out of the car since it seemed we were done talking. “Unless you think you’ll get bored with me.”

I had to laugh at his statement, but regretted it when his expression registered hurt. I didn’t find it humorous because it was funny or true. I laughed because what he’d said was preposterous.

“Rick, it was the best sex I’ve ever had.” He was going to ruin me for any other man. Rick broke out into a wide grin.

“Likewise.” One word, but my insides melted.

I cleared my throat, coaxing my next question to come out clearly, “Perhaps you’ll get bored with me?”

I searched his face in the dark for any misgivings. He shook his head as a sad smile crept across his face. “I hope so, Marley.”

The words clung to me due to their deeper meaning—he wanted to get bored with me because it would make it easier for him. It brought everything into sharp focus. This was temporary and fleeting. I decided I wanted to get bored with him too. I hoped the intensity and passion I felt in this moment would become mundane by the time he left.

I didn’t know what to say, so I uttered a statement that would get us back to banter, to lightheartedness, “You owe me a pair of panties.”