Page 38 of Consorting with Romance

I couldn’t have stopped the wide smile that crossed my face in response if I’d have wanted to.

“Seems pretty serious.” He indicated our rings with a nod. “How long?”

I simply continued to grin. “Just over a year now.”

He chuckled a bit and nodded. “That makes sense.”

I raised an eyebrow in question.

He looked like he was trying not to offend me as he started speaking. “You’ve been…” He contemplated his words carefully. “Different this past year.”

My brow furrowed.

“Not bad different.” he continued quickly. “For years you’ve been…” He hesitated, trying to come up with the phrasinghe wanted. “Sexual, and confident, and everything your clients need you to be. Recently, you’ve been calmer, I suppose. It’s as if you’re content instead of overly confident. You simply know who you are and what you offer and that’s enough. As a friend?” The term was clearly a question. I smiled and nodded before he continued. “It’s been nice to see. I just wasn’t sure what brought about the change.”

Even though he'd saidit wasn’t a bad thing, I wasn’t entirely sure how I felt about the fact I had apparently changed when I was with my clients. To be honest I wasn’t entirely sure how I felt about anything at that moment. All I could manage was a weak half-smile. “Well, I’m glad it wasn’t a bad change.”

He wasn't sure how to respond, and we sat in silence for a few moments.

Eventually Casey spoke. “I don’t have a ride until Kim gets here to pick me up from my appointment, but if you want, I can wait in the café.”

“Don’t be absurd. You’re more than welcome here. In fact, go get a cup and join us.” Jesse responded before I could get a word out.

Caseylooked slightly more at ease and nodded briefly before following the suggestion. As he left the room, Jess leaned his head back onto my lap and I let my fingers play in his hair. We sat together, the three of us, quietly drinking tea until Kim arrived; each trying to process what had happened that afternoon. When Kim joined usand we explained what happened, she expressed her concern and support. They only stayed a few moments before hugging each of us, and Jesse walked them out, locking the door behind them.

As Jesse came back to me, his eyes caught mine. He looked tired. Tired and scared. I smiled gently as I stood, letting the sheetaround my hips fall to the floor asI pulled him tightly into my arms, crushing him in my embrace. He returned the gesture; his arms holdingme so tightly I could barely breathe. I didn’t care. We stood there, each thankful for the other, for a long moment.

“Shower with me before we go home?” I whispered into the bend of his neck.

I heard him sniff quietly before he answered. “Of course.”

Fingers tightly intertwined; we made our way to the bathroom. The bedroom was a mess. Thesheets had torn in the altercation, and the broken lamp Casey had used lay on the floor.

“Later.” I said, as I led the way to the bathroom whenJesse paused to look around.

I turned on the water and stepped in as Jesse stripped. I wanted all traces of the giant off me. I had already scrubbed myself down once before Jesse followed me under the water. I repeated the process a second time.

Jesse’s fingers found my skin. As they roamed along my collarbone and up the front of my throat, his forehead furrowed deeply in anger at the bruises already darkening on my neck. I’d caught a glimpse of them in the mirror as we entered the room.Eventually he backed away and gestured to the marble seat on one side of the shower. I sat without hesitation and leaned my head back against his belly as he stepped behind me to work mint-scented shampoo through my pale tresses.

The first time he’d done this was the night he’d silently taken me home after his school mixer. He’d done it a few times since, and it was always an intense and intimate experience. I closed my eyes and found nothing else in the world existed. I made no attempt to hold myself up as he stepped backward, I knew he’d support my weight as he rinsed the suds away.

He moved in close once more and worked a cream through my hair, untangling the mess it had become during the struggle. We lingered under the nearly too-hot spray until the water began to cool before dressing quietly. Neither of us had much to say as we made our way to the train station and home with our fingers tightly interlaced the entire journey.

We’d barely stepped through the door before his jaw was in my hand and I crushed my mouth to his. Deep.Deeper.I thrust my tongue into the warmth to dance with his. I needed him. I needed to be his. Without a word I pulled away and led him to the bedroom, stripped us both, and fell onto my back, pulling his strong, warm body over mine. There were no words; none were needed.

His mouth possessed mine; grateful I was still here. His body did everythingit could to show me how much he needed me. I stroked his silken shaftbriefly as my knees tightened around his hips and I guided him to my entrance. His lips left mine and glowing, golden orbs hovered so close they were all I could see as he pressed forward. Our gaze held as he inched his way into me, and I fought the urge to let my headfall back as the ecstasy I always felt when his body became a part of mine engulfed me.

My arms wrapped tightly around his back, fingers digging into his shoulders, clutching him to me as if he might disappear. As his hips settled against mine, our lips met once more in a kiss that was as loving and intense as any I’d known. We moved together rhythmically; when his hips pulled back, mine would follow likewaves follow the pull of the moon. He was everything.

We writhed together, bodies slick with sweat,taking pleasure in every inch of connected skin, in the scent and warmth and strength of the other. By the time my body found release, I was long lost to reality. The sudden eruption of heat deep inside as he joined me was all it took for the last remnants of the world to fall away.

As he softened and slipped from me, Irolled him to his back so that I could curl up against his side with my head on his chest. He held me close as he whispered into the darkening room. “I thought I’d lost you. The way you looked on that bed, unmoving…” He trailed off.

“But you didn’t.”

He said nothing as his arms tightened around me.

When we woke the next morning, I felt almost normal. A night in Jesse’s arms had remedied all for me. Still, when he shifted at my side and I knew he was awake, I mumbled into his chest. “Will you cancel my appointments for the rest of the week?” It was Thursday, so only two more days of clients would need to berescheduled.

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