Lifting myself up slightly, I grasped his erection, resuming the hand job I hadn’t given him in the studio. He moaned as I worked his shaft up and down.
“I want all of you,” he said gruffly.
“Then take me,” I replied.
In the studio, he had promised to be slow and intimate, and he moved purposefully and with an obvious look of concentration on his face as he did his best not to rush things. With strong hands, he grasped my hips, positioning my opening over the tip of his penis and lowering me until he was inside me.
It was my turn to moan as I felt his thick manhood thrusting into me. His thumb found my clitoris, rubbing it firmly but carefully as I increased our tempo, burying him inside of me repeatedly.
If I thought our encounter in the garden had been hot and heavy, it was nothing compared to what I was experiencing with Nile right now. Our bodies moved in sync with each other—a perfect dance of passion and trust. I felt a throbbing in my core as I came closer to the pinnacle of my release.
Using my thighs as handles, Nile pulled himself into a sitting position before wrapping his hands around my back and up to my shoulders. I arched my back as I felt his erection penetrate deeper than ever at this new angle. My heart beat faster as our bodies moved together, quicker and more urgently.
“Look at me,” Nile said, tilting my chin down until our eyes met.
My lips parted as I focused on maintaining eye contact. Our breathing became shallow as we struggled for breath, moving faster and faster until we finally climaxed.
My fingers dug into Nile’s shoulders as waves of pleasure coursed through me. I collapsed into the crook of his neck, unable to keep myself upright any longer as my legs shook beneath me. He held me tightly, keeping me from falling over while I recovered.
“That was amazing,” I said, using his shoulder as a pillow.
He chuckled lightly. “You can say that again.”
I moved off of him and lay down on the bed, pointing my toes to stretch my legs. Nile lay down next to me, tracing his fingers along my collarbone. I turned my head to look at him and saw that he was staring into my eyes.
“Vi,” he said quietly. “Will you stay?”
I knew what he was asking, but I hesitated. The last time I had fallen asleep with him, I had woken up alone. While I knew in my head that we were mated for life, my body still felt the trauma of that rejection. My muscles tensed as I considered it.
“I’ve been dreaming of spending the night with you for so long,” he admitted. “If you don’t want to, I would understand. But if you did…”
“You want me to stay?” I clarified.
Nile wrapped both arms around me, pulling me into a hug and resting my head on his chest.
“I want you to stay,” he assured me.
“Then I’ll stay,” I answered, holding onto him in the darkness.
We shimmied our way under the covers, and I felt him reach out to pull me against his chest once again. My heart felt torn by everything that had just passed between us. I had meant what I’d said about the sex being amazing, but I was confused by what had changed Nile’s mind about me. I had always believed he felt nothing for me after the way he’d abandoned me in the forest. How could you leave someone you cared about in such a callous, unfeeling way? But maybe I had been wrong.
I replayed the night over in my mind as I fell asleep to the sound of Nile’s steady breathing and the feeling of his body pressed against mine.
***
Nile was still lying next to me when I woke up in the morning, but in the harsh light of day, I felt more exposed thanever. He had said good morning and tried to kiss me, but I brushed him off. I got out of bed quickly and went to my room to get ready, telling him I needed to get to work.
Now that I was standing in the studio talking with Walter, I wondered if I had made a mistake in leaving so quickly this morning, but it was too late to change that now. I could only focus on what was happening right now. And that happened to be pretty exciting news.
“Phyllis and Margaret both have asked for commissions from you,” Walter said.
“You’re kidding,” I replied. “Both of them?”
Although I had finished one of Walter’s requests last night, I still had the second one to work on. With two more paintings on the docket, I wondered if I would have time for anything else.
“Actually, Phyllis wanted two. I left the details on the counter over there, but you’ll want to call them to discuss your fee,” he said. “Speaking of fees, what do I owe you for this beauty?”
I gave Walter my quote, and he disappeared into the office to write me a check. He had been impressed by the quality of the work as well as by how quickly I’d completed the painting for him.