Page 83 of Midnight Enemy

“Would you like me to?”

“Yes.”

She nods. “Okay.”

I stroke her back. “Do you think the Elders will be okay with it?”

“It’s none of their business.”

“No, I don’t think it is, but I don’t want you to get into trouble.”

“I won’t. Will you get in trouble with your father?”

“What he doesn’t know won’t hurt him.”

She gives a short laugh.

We lie there like that for a while, wrapped around each other, and it’s not long before her breathing deepens, her body releasing its tension, relaxing against me.

Tomorrow we’ll both have to face the music. My father will assume that I asked Scarlett back here, and he’ll be angry about it. He’ll say she only came here because the Elders asked her to seduce me for the extra two and a half million. And I’ll have to admit I’ve promised her I’ll pay it.

I wince. There was no other way to prove to her—or, rather, to myself—that she was sleeping with me because she wanted to. Even so, it makes me uncomfortable. I can find two and a half million down the back of the sofa. Kingi will say I’ve been an idiot, but he’ll sort it out for me. The money isn’t the issue.

The problem is that we come from worlds that are so far apart, we can’t even see the other from where we are. It’s as if she lives in the Arctic Circle and I live in Antarctica, and we’re separated by the curvature of the globe. She doesn’t even have penguins. Or is it me that doesn’t have penguins? I can’t remember—I’m getting tired. The point is that one of us doesn’t have penguins, and… fuck me, I can’t remember the point.

Right now, all that matters is that Scarlett’s hair smells of strawberries, and her breath is warm on my chest, and her skin is soft beneath my fingers. I’d like to make love to her again, but I don’t want to make her sore. And anyway, I need some sleep.

I close my eyes and let myself sink into darkness.

*

When I wake, the sun is just peeking above the horizon. I’ve slept right through—something I haven’t done in years. I usually wake around two or three, and sometimes I even get up and do some work. So to discover it’s morning is a pleasant surprise.

I yawn and blink, then focus on the person in the bed next to me. She’s lying on her stomach, hugging the pillow again, face turned away from me.

I move a little closer.

She smells warm and sweet. Her hair spills across the pillow like chocolate ribbons. I press my nose to it, then kiss her light-brown skin in the crook of her neck. She doesn’t stir, so I continue. I kiss her shoulder. Then duck under the covers and kiss down her arm. She moves then, bringing her arm forward, which leaves her ribs and waist exposed for me, so I continue to kiss down, shifting on the bed. I kiss over her hip, then press my lips to her beautiful ass, at which point she stirs and murmurs, “What are you doing?”

Without answering, I roll her onto her back and open her legs.

“Oh my God, Orson!”

“Just relax.”

“Oh… let me have a shower first…”

“Nope.” I move between her legs and lower down, and before she can complain or get up, I bury my mouth in her.

“Argh! Oh my God. You wicked man…” She covers her face with her hands.

She smells warm and intoxicating, and I slide my tongue down from her clit and tease her entrance gently. She moans and tilts her hips up, and so I stay there for a while, adding a couple of fingers, playing with her gently so she doesn’t get too sore. It doesn’t take long before she’s swollen, and we’re both covered in her moisture, my fingers sliding slickly through her, into her, while I tease her sensitive little button with my tongue.

“Aaahhh…” She begins to move her hips, so I know she’s close to coming. “Mmm… please…”

“Just relax,” I tell her, replacing my tongue with my fingers for a moment, not letting up the pace. “There’s a good girl.”

“Oh my God, don’t start.”

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