Page 42 of Shifters in the Night

“Well, the same goes for Alex. I’ve dated a dozen guys just like him and I’m bored with it. I like you! I think it’s very possible that I could love you!”

“Well, great because I’m pretty sure I’m in love with you already!” He pulled her close and kissed her, which had the added side effect of preventing her from yelling at him some more. She tensed up for a moment, and then melted against him. And he could have wept for all that she poured into the kiss. She’d been hurting just as much as he was, and he felt like a prize idiot for putting her through that. All this time, she’d thought she could lose him to Eva, the way he thought he could lose her to Alex.

Eva would laugh her ass off when she heard that.

Maybe he wouldn’t tell her.

All that time wasted when they could have been doing this. He slid his hands along her back, losing his grip on the blanket. It was only held up by the force of pinning her against him.

“So, we’re just a couple of giant messes, huh?” she whispered against his mouth.

He nodded. “Apparently.”

She pulled away, blinking up at him. “I think the only thing that will resolve all of this uncertainty is for you to drop the blanket.”

He glanced downward, frowning. He wasn’t sure how that would help. Well, certain parts of him were sure of how they would like to contribute, but … “Are you sure about that? I don’t want to rush you into anything.”

“I’m willing to live with it if you are,” she said, panting lightly.

He nodded sharply. “OK, then.”

He picked her up by her waist and let her wrap herself around him. The blanket dropped and he carried her towards his room.

“Condom!” she yelped all of the sudden and he stopped.

“Oh, no.” He didn’t have condoms in the house. He hadn’t had need of them. And Will had told him many, many times that dating had changed over the years and sex without a condom was an absolute no-go, don’t-even-think-about-it proposition. And while he was disappointed, they could do other things, right?

“My purse,” she said, leaning over her shoulder and stretching towards the couch, where she’d left it. He walked her back to the couch so she could rummage through it for a few seconds. “Got it!”

Lia straightened, brandishing a little foil packet and looking very pleased with herself indeed. She giggled as she kissed the little divot in his chin, the curve of his jaw. He walked into the master room, to the old brass bed and gently dropped her on it with a squeak of the springs. She laughed, kicking off her shoes as he crawled over her.

Jon realized he was nervous. It had been a very long time since he’d had sex and while he was pretty sure the basic techniques were still the same – oh, no, what if there were new techniques he didn’t know about?

Will was right, he should have gotten the internet a while back.

“It’s going to be all right,” she told him. “I promise.”

He nodded, settling his weight over her carefully as he sought out her mouth. How could kisses make a grown man feel drunk? Could he just spend the next few years or so kissing her? Would that be wrong? Bad for business, sure, but morally wrong? His thumbs trailed over her cheekbones, tracing the curves of her face as if he could memorize them.

Meanwhile, she’d reached down to take him in her hand, squeezing with a confidence that made him hiss. She giggled into his neck and pumped her hand … and he was very concerned that this would all be over before it began, even if that did feel … oh … He gently took her hand away and placed it on his shoulder.

“This is payback for seeing you naked that first night, isn’t it?” he murmured against her collarbone.

“No, I just happen to think you have an attractive penis. Also, you’re a very nice man and I’m glad I let you see me naked,” she told him.

He nodded. “Same. I’m very glad you let me see you naked.”

She laughed and tore carefully at the little foil wrapper while button by button, Jon removed her clothes. She was just as glorious as she’d been in moonlight, even more now because she was here, in his arms, and she loved him. Or at least, she could see herself loving him, which made his heart stutter. He hoped she could see every feeling pouring out of him – how much he admired her, how much he wanted her, how happy he was that they’d managed to work around the misunderstandings. She rolled over him, scattering kisses across his face, his chest.

Jon slipped his fingers between her thighs and found her wet there, and so warm. He groaned, and she took him in hand again and he grit his teeth in concentration as she aligned them. He kissed her, trying to focus on anything but how good she felt, because he wanted it to feel good for more than a moment. Carefully, he surged forward until he was inside of her and he could only sigh at how blissful it felt, to be so close to her.

He smoothed his hands down her thighs and wrapped them around his hips. She rolled over him, grinding down and clearly enjoying the sensation of being in control of her own pleasure. Grinning, he angled his hips and drove up, hitting a place inside her that made her scream. He stilled, his eyes wide, before he realized the scream was a good thing and then did it again. And again.

He felt a buzzing euphoria building at the base of his spine and knew that he was too close to worry about finesse. His hand moved between her thighs again, and he rubbed as he moved. It took forever and no time all at once. Suddenly everything seemed to seize inside her and she howled, tightening around him until he couldn’t breathe. He shouted, tucking his face against her breast as he lost himself in her.

Lia fell to the side of him as Jon panted, practically melting into the mattress. She closed her eyes, pressing her face against his shoulder … wondering if it would be bad form for her to fall asleep. They hadn’t discussed her spending the night, but she was just so tired.

She almost jerked in surprise when he said, “Good thing I don’t have neighbors.”

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