Page 24 of Romancing the Rude Guy

My room smells of sex and a throb of desire pulses through me at the thought of her naked body underneath that one thin cover.

And she’s too good for me. I know that. She deserves someone a thousand times better than I’ll ever be. As she kissed and touched me I wanted nothing more than to flip her onto her back and take her. To feel her pussy gripping my cock as I fucked her. To hear her screams of pleasure as I took her again and again.

Instead I had to settle for fingering her as she brought me to a shuddering climax.

Adapting and settling was what this new part of my life was all about. Just like she would be settling by being with me.

But because I’m a selfish jerk, I’m going to enjoy having her in my life as long as I can.

I return to the bathroom and do my entire nighttime routine before turning out the light in the hallway and then, as carefully as I can, I work my way under the covers and lay my head down on the pillow next to her.

Without the light I can no longer see her, but I can feel her warmth and hear her soft, even breaths.

She lets out a few incoherent mumbles and then wiggles her way next to me, pressing her body against mine as her arm slings across my chest.

Closing my eyes, I heave a contented sigh. It’s been a long time since I’ve gone to sleep with a woman in my bed with me. And never one that made me feel this way.

Sleep claims me and when I wake up, I pat the mattress next to me, but Alice is gone.

A sense of loss fills me and dimly I stare up at the ceiling.

The flush of the toilet has my head jerking to the side and after a minute Alice comes out of the bathroom wearing her wrinkled dress from yesterday. Spotting me, she laughs. “Oh my, I never used a bathroom like that before.”

“The bathroom in the hall is a regular one. This one was adapted for me, remember?”

“It’s your house. That makes sense.”

“I could get a regular sink put in for you…” I trail off, realizing how presumptuous that sounds. We’ve spent one night together. That doesn’t mean I should go ring shopping just yet.

“Forget I said that,” I mutter, turning my head and gazing back up at the ceiling, even as my face burns in embarrassment. “Let me get up and I’ll make us breakfast.”

“I’ll get started while you go do…Ummm… well, whatever you need to do.”

Laughing, I turn to look at her again. “What do you think I need to do? Polish my toenails or something? I just need to pee and then I’ll be out.”

“Marcus, has anyone told you how odd you are?” Alice says, grinning at me.

Her hair is a glorious mess and my fingers itch to get lost in there again. “A few might have mentioned it, but it sounds far nicer coming from you.” I sit up and push my way to the end of the bed, feeling a stiffness in my shoulder that isn’t usually there. Remembering that’s the side Alice slept on makes the discomfort more tolerable.

We make breakfast together, but a bit of the carefree and easy mood of last night is gone. I’m kicking myself for letting my tongue run away with me this morning.

“Forget what I said about the sink.” I snap, cracking the eggs with more force than is needed and sending shells into the bowl along with the eggs.

“Why?” she asks, handing me a spoon to scope the shells out. “That was very sweet. A lot of men shy away from commitment.”

She found some pancake mix in the kitchen that I don’t even remember buying. After handing me the spoon she goes back to dumping an alarming amount of chocolate chips into the mix. “I take dating seriously.”

I hand over the bowl of eggs and watch as she adds it to the pancake batter. “Have you ever been married, Alice?” It still shocks me that someone as lovely and nice as her is single.

“Not quite.” Her answer is short and something cold flashes in her blue eyes.

“Got left at the altar?” I joke.

Hurt tightens up her face. “Yes.”

I gasp. That wasn’t what I was expecting. Who would leave this perfect woman?!

“I suppose it was better than going through a divorce,” she says lightly, stirring the batter. “But being humiliated in front of my family and friends isn’t something I would wish on anyone.”

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