I’m exhausted.

Grace is sleeping in my bed completely naked, half covered with black silk sheets. Her breathing is steady and slow. I look at the alarm and I realize it’s almost noon. I grin shaking my head as I lazily get up and furtively sneak out of my bedroom leaving the door slightly ajar.

Everything has changed now.

I can’t pretend this has not happened, and the sensations I felt when I claimed her were so powerful that when I tightened my grip around her body, grunting loudly on her earlobe, we both exploded uncontrollably, trembling and merging completely, sweating, groaning, and breathing hard on each other even after our spasms had faded. And when we recouped we did it over and over, until we were utterly drained.

It’s not going to be easy to keep my promise now, I think as I fry a few scrambled eggs. Grace is like no other girls I’ve ever met. Not only did I have fun with her last night, but when we woke up this morning, she drove me crazy. I’ve never felt such a strong sexual tension and attraction for any woman before. I clench my jaw breathing in deeply. The intense odor of fried eggs makes my stomach flutter and my mouth drool, and when they are ready, I half seat on the stool before the long counter and I eat them voraciously, polishing the plate with a slice of white bread. The steamy coffee mug in front of me sends its regenerating smell into my nostrils and I suddenly revive. I take a generous sip, almost burning the tip of my tongue and I sigh staring at the gloomy skyline out of the large floor–to–ceiling window.

I’m slightly taken aback when I feel Grace rubbing my waist from behind. “Good morning Zac,” she murmurs into my ear.

“Hey, good morning again.” I grin turning back and kissing her tender warm lips.

She sidesteps me and sidles between my legs staring at me with a bright sincere smile. She has borrowed one of my long sleeves shirts, and it looks like she’s naked from the waist down. For a second I’m tempted to find out, but I have an appointment in less than an hour and I know if we start, we won’t be able to stop.

“That’s funny. This is the second time in a couple of hours we say good morning.” She chuckles, then takes a whiff at the air. “Hey!” She widens her eyes. “Did ya just have eggs? I want them too!”  She squeals sitting on my right thigh. “I’m starving Zac!” She kisses me sending tingles of lust up my spine. “Are you gonna fix some for me, or shall I do it?”

I grunt. “I’ll do it, but don’t get used to it.” I chuckle jokingly.  “By the way, I need to run to my shop in a few, but you are welcome to stay if you like,” I gently grab her waist and put her aside before getting up from my stool before heading to the fridge to grab a couple of eggs.

“Oh, no thanks anyway. I’ll go down and rest a little bit. Yesterday was pretty hard at work.”

“Alright cool,” I reply, hiding my real feelings.

I crack two eggs into a small pan and the frying noise along with the smell of succulent butter instantly fills the air. Grace stares at me with a slight smile. I love the little dimples on the sides of her lips, I think as I glimpse at her.  Suddenly I remember her telling me something about her past last night and I’m curious about what made her move.

“Hey,” I groan as I keep an eye on the eggs placing two slices of white bread in the toaster.

“What?”  She smiles.

“Do you mind telling me what you meant last night?”

She bits her lower lip and her brows furrow. “What ya mean?”

“You said you had shit happening… What happened? Is that why you moved here?”

She sighs and looks away. “Yeah, well, I guess I don’t mind… After what happened this morning.” She grins.

I sneer. “Ok, tell me… Please.” 

“Here.” I serve her the steamy eggs with hot toasted bread and a fresh cup of coffee.

“Thank you.”  She smiles. “Well, it’s not easy for me to talk about that, especially with you. Ya know? I haven’t had sex for months.”

I raise an eyebrow.

“Yes, months.” She takes a bite and swallows it eagerly. “Hmmm yeah! I needed this.”  She giggles and scoops a stream of red yolk under her bottom lip.

“You hungry uh?”

“Oh yeah!”  She says before taking another generous bite along with a piece of bread. She chews and swallows voraciously and after taking a sip of hot coffee she looks up. “So, anyway, yes, I’m not gonna lie to ya. It’s been my choice not to have sex with other men so far…  You know?  I’ve been hurt badly by my fiancée and I decided I wouldn’t take the chance again.”

‘Damn it!’

 “You so serious!  Are you scared?”  She chortles.

“Scared?” I chuckle.  “Not at all, why should I be?”

“Don’t worry, I don’t expect anything from ya.”

I spread my hands apart pouting my lips.

“What happened between us is something I finally decided to do because we had a great time, and opposite to what I thought in the first place, you are a good person, but I know you are not the type who wants romance, and I’ll do my best to avoid putting ya in a bad spot.”

“Woha! Wait, I didn’t say anything.”

She opens her mouth and widens her eyes questioningly. “Why, are you that kind of guy?”  She chuckles.

I pause for a few seconds. “Well, no.”

She snortles sarcastically. “I knew it, but don’t worry I have a shield now, and if I finally decided I could have sex, it’ll be fine. I’m not gonna fall in love.”

“Jeez, what did he do?”

“You mean my ex?”  She chuckles resignedly.

“Yeah.”

“What most men do… He cheated on me. But what’s even worse is he did it with a girl I knew, so I’ve been betrayed twice.”

“Well, saying I’m sorry would be pretty trivial…” I mutter.

She lets out a half grin.

“But ya know what? Hey, if he didn’t we wouldn’t have met.” 

“She smirks pouting her lips and giving me a thumb up.”

A sudden tingle pinches my heart and I feel I need to tell her about the experience that made me behave like I did for so many years.

“Listen, I have to tell ya something,” I blurt.

She raises an eyebrow. “Shoot.”

I tell her about the girl I loved when I was in high school and the way she treated me; then I tell her about my father and my mom leaving us when I was a kid.

Grace nods slowly. “That must not have been easy for you. And this would explain many things,” she murmurs.

“Only my father knew what I’ve just told ya, and now is dead.”

“I’m sorry about your dad.” she lowers her glance than she looks up. “Really? You’ve never talked about it with anyone?”

“Yeah, you are the first.”

“Wow.”

After opening myself up with Grace I feel like I’ve never felt before. It’s like a rebirth. I feel lighter and free, and for a moment, I wonder if she’s the one who can change my life and heal my fears. But could I be the one who heals hers?