Chapter Five

Mirjam woke some time later, delighting in the feel of strong arms wrapped around her and a hard, muscular body along her backside. “Mmm.” She squirmed her butt a little and rubbed against him.

A deep-throated, “Mmm,” sounded near her ear, causing little hairs to stand. His rumble of pleasure vibrated through her skin.

His hand stroked up her stomach and cupped her breast. His erection grew harder, and she became wet thinking about him. He moved his hips, rubbing against her. God, he felt so good. He seemed to know exactly what she needed.

Soon, their breathing became faster as he continued to move sensually against her. His hand brushed down to her slit and stroked her, spreading her juices up and down her folds in slow, leisurely movements. Then he grabbed the box of condoms. A crinkle and a curse sounded behind her. He lifted her leg over his and slowly pushed into her.

His strokes were languorous and long, as if they had eternity and not only this morning left. The slowness of it, the sweetness, made her nerves more attuned to him and the pressure built. His hand returned to her breast, kneading and stroking it to the same rhythm. She needed to touch him, hold him, so she reached back and clasped the back of his head. It lifted her breasts and his hand pressed and molded, stroked and tweaked. Oh, and he nuzzled the sweet spot behind her ear. She reveled in each unhurried stroke, each one telling her something different about him or herself. A new song. A new tale.

He skimmed his hand to where they joined and massaged her nub. Her pleasure stoked higher until it became too much. She clenched her hand in his hair, arched her back, and cried out as one of the sweetest, most intense orgasms rocked her. His breath caught then came faster, matching his strokes. All while he continued to tease her. Another wave of pleasure burst upon her. As she trembled, he tensed, gripped her tightly, pulled back, and drove into her one last time, exploding in her.

When her heart stopped pounding in her throat, reality seeped in. How could she feel such a connection with a guy this quickly? Never had she experienced such trust and openness with anyone before.

The thought that they’d soon say goodbye depressed the hell out of her. She’d been happy before to share a night with him, but now, it wasn’t enough. But it had to be. That was the agreement. What was she going to do? Besides, he lived in Richmond and had his own company to run. She lived in Ann Arbor.

She steadied her breathing. This is what you signed up for. At least now, she knew this kind of connection was possible and something she wanted in her life.

She reached down and entwined her fingers with his. He moved their hands up so they rested near her heart. Don’t think about the morning. Just enjoy the moment. Maybe this was the lesson she was supposed to learn?

* * * *

“Morning, sunshine.”

Mirjam opened her eyes. Riley peered down at her, an adorable and trusting smile animating his face. He brushed some of her hair from her cheek, leaned down, and gave her a quick kiss.

“You hungry? Thought we could order room service.”

“Starving.”

He gave her butt a quick smack. “I’ll make the call. Pancakes sound good?”

“Delicious.”

When their breakfast arrived, she tried to maintain a cheery front, but it was difficult. Don’t think about the fact you won’t see him again. One thing she did know, however, was she’d never let her life get so off-kilter again. She’d lost herself in her work and lost track of who she was. She’d make time for her hobbies again, like hand-mixing herbs for tea, gardening. She gazed into Riley’s eyes and truly smiled. Seeing herself through his eyes had reminded her what she’d been like, and she was thankful for the gift he’d given her—finding herself again.

Their conversation danced around the elephant in the room; everything they said felt like subtext and she started analyzing.

No! Stay in the moment.

Riley wiped his mouth with his napkin and tucked it under the lip of his empty plate. “Let’s move over to the couch. What time’s your flight?”

How could he talk so casually about this? He obviously had no trouble contemplating being away from her. “I need to be at the airport in two hours.”

Her fears were confirmed when he didn’t sit next to her but left several feet between them. She curled her legs under her, already in defensive mode. Last night, they’d created their own space, giving them the freedom to know each other. But this new physical distance burst it like a bubble. The real world rushed back into this space, smothering them with its implications.

She scrutinized her fingernails and pushed back her cuticles. A warm hand clasped her ankle and tugged. She whipped her head up and caught his intense gaze. He pulled her feet into his lap.

“Sit back. Relax. You’ve gone all stiff.”

Of course I have, you idiot.

He massaged her ankles and applied pressure to her feet, kneading and smoothing, forcing her to relax. She breathed a sigh.

“Talk to me, Mirjam.”

“Not much left to say. Well, not much time anyway.”

“Is that the case?”

“Yes, Riley. The deal, remember? One night.”

His eyes turned darker, and some kind of emotion flitted across his face, too quick for her to read. What was he trying to accomplish here, torture?

He looked down at her feet and worked harder at her kinks. He tilted his head then peeked up with his eyes only. He appeared so vulnerable, gazing at her from beneath his thick eyelashes. Her heart beat faster.

“Is that what you want?” His voice pitched a little lower.

“It’s what we agreed to.”

“That’s not what I asked.”

Oh God, she felt like prey caught by a dangerous predator. He wanted honesty? About this kind of stuff? When the risk was so high? After all, he hadn’t said anything yet.

Her gaze tracked to the balcony, and she remembered their night together. She didn’t want it to end. She wanted to explore what they had. But to say it out loud when he might not feel the same way? Humiliating! She’d feel like the stupidest fool. It’d be just like a girl to read more into everything, expect more from it, say so, and scare the guy away.

Wait. Scare him away? He was going anyway. If she said nothing, she’d never see him again. So in a way, this moment still formed a bubble outside of reality. She remained free to be herself without negative repercussions, because the worst was already guaranteed to happen without her actions causing it. She could risk honesty since the worst consequence would be the same.

She took a deep breath and looked back into his warm, brown eyes. Their conversation in the elevator about being honest with each other played through her mind.

“No. It’s not what I want,” she whispered.

His breath blew out in an explosive sigh. “Thank fucking God.” He yanked her by her feet and pulled her into his lap. “It’s not what I want either. What I want is you.” He drove his fingers into her hair and tilted her head up. “I want to be with you. Learn you. Explore you. You.” He punctuated each sentence with a kiss. “And I can’t imagine never feeling this way again.”

He captured her mouth and kissed her tenderly, as if she was a precious gift. Her heart swelled.

When they came up for air, she asked, “Would you have let me walk out this door if I hadn’t said anything?”

“Hell, no. I would’ve risked complete humiliation. You’re the best thing that’s ever happened to me, and I wasn’t about to risk that. Not for pride.”

“Riley. One thing. Can you promise we’ll always try to remember this night and—”

“—I can’t see how I couldn’t remember!” He wiggled his eyebrows.

She punched him. “I’m serious. I don’t mean what we did, I mean the feeling this moment was important enough to be fully in it, a safe place to be honest and fully ourselves?”

“You got it, babe.”

She hugged him against her, her gaze going to the ceiling in a silent thank you. There, hanging precariously on the blade of the ceiling fan, his Marvin the Martian boxers. She snorted with laughter.

“What? You don’t want me to call you babe? How’s sweet cheeks, then?”

She pulled away and shook her head, tears running down her face.

“No,” she gasped.

He pretended to pout. “I didn’t take you for a high maintenance chick. Pumpkin? Lammy-toes?”

She pushed him. “Stop!” She pointed to the ceiling.

“Oh, I wondered what happened to them.”

Eyes all for her, he added, “An earth shattering kaboom!