Page 12 of Love Like Lightning

Only, when my eyes adjust to the dim lighting, I find him splayed in my bed like a starfish. He has his boxer briefs back on but is otherwise still undressed. The closer I get to the bed, the more comfortable I realize he looks. He doesn’t look like a man who’s about to throw his clothes on and disappear from my life.

“Uh, hey.” Some post mind-blowing sex nerves cling to my words as I stop just at the foot of the bed. His eyes flutter open, finding me quickly. A slow smile pulls at the corners of his lips as his eyes slowly drag from my head to my toes.

“Hey.” His voice still holds some roughness, and just hearing it makes my toes curl into the soft carpet.

The knowledge that I’m standing in front of this man completely naked while he’s at least partially covered shouldn’t make me blush fiercely. I mean, he just had his tongue on every part of my body. He was literally inside me not ten minutes ago.

None of those facts stop me from full body blushing at the way he looks at me. He’s not…staring exactly. It’s more than that. He’s caressing me with every pass of his gaze, and it’s making me want him to stay and maybe go another round or two. Despite the fact that it’s almost three in the morning and I have to be up and on the road in seven hours.

So not the plan. Do not deviate from the plan.

Tearing my eyes from him, I walk over to my open suitcase in the corner, grab a fresh pair of panties and one of my sleep shirts, and pull them on. Maybe I’ll feel a little more in control of this whole situation once I’m semi-clothed.

I can feel his eyes track me the entire time. I take a deep breath, trying to prepare myself to see him again without begging for another orgasm.

Or three.

When I do turn, he’s pulling the covers up over him a bit, and now I’m confused.

“You look pretty comfortable.” The comment comes off a little more accusatory than I’m aiming for, but I’m not following.

“Oh.” He sits straight up. “I’m sorry, did you want me to leave?”

“No. Yes? I don’t know. I thought you’d want to leave.” The words tumble out one right after the other. “I told you, I don’t do this. What’s the protocol?”

Swinging his legs out from under the covers, Henry stands and walks over to me in all of his half-naked glory. “Protocol for post sex?” He quirks an eyebrow and smiles at me. It’s the same smile he gave me before when we were talking, and my heart jumps in my chest.

Cut it out, heart. You’re not supposed to be involved.

“I’ve obviously had sex, but I don’t know how one-night stands are supposed to go. Do you leave? Do you stay? Do we have sex again?” Just asking makes me feel stupid, inept, and completely out of my element.

He opens his mouth to answer, then seems to think better of it and pauses for a moment before he finally speaks.

“It’s—I mean, the rules are whatever we make them, Gianna. Just like what we just did.”

Deciding to lean into my new bold personality, I go with my first instinct.

“Would it be completely out of line to ask you to stay?”

His eyes widen, and the question hangs between us for a long moment.

A long enough moment that I backpedal. Hard. “Unless you don’t do that, in which case forget I said that completely. Actually, forget this ever happened. I told you I don’t know how this all works.”

Instead of saying anything to put me out of my misery, he shifts toward me with a small grin on his face.

“I can stay.”

5

Henry

My offer to stay isn’t exactly my usual move. Sometimes the people I hook up with ask; sometimes I say yes. But more often than not, once the deed is done, I part ways with whoever I’m with.

Again, with Gia, there’s something here that I don’t want to let go of yet. That, and it’s clear that she wants me to stay. Who am I to deny her?

Yeah, I’m pretty great at sex, but cuddling? I’m a world-class fucking champ.

“No, seriously, maybe you shouldn’t.” Her eyes dart away from mine and focus on the carpet beneath our bare feet.

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