Page 82 of The Reluctant Reaper
“Of course you will.”
He smirked. “But?”
“But it’s more about you being pissed about being tricked, and more pissed about being left out, than it is about backing my play. You’re irked and have scores to settle.”
“... True.”
She clapped him on the shoulder. “That wasn’t a criticism. Well, not that big a criticism. I’m in no position to turn down a god’s help. Thank you, truly.”
“And now?”
“Now I have to go fuck my best friend because there’s an excellent chance I’m going to be killed tonight. And I think I’m getting a migraine.”
“... Carry on.”
* * *
“Okay, nowIwant a cigarette.”
Amara snorted, groped for a pillow, thwacked Gray across the face with it.
“Yow! Also, it’s hilarious that La Croix can’t actually indulge his vices unless someone does it for him. No wonder he’s so skinny. Other people chow down the calories for him. What a racket.”
They’d thoroughly trashed the tower guest room and Amara could not recall caring less about a mess. “How about we don’t talk about Baron La Croix right now?”
“Okay. Can we talk about how awesomely hot our first-time sex was?” Gray leaned over her, propped up on an elbow. If it had been anyone else, she’d have felt crowded. Since it was Gray, she wished he would wiggle closer. “You’ve got to admit, that never happens. It’s usually awkward and you’re both self-conscious and there are lots of accidental elbow pokes and maybe even a fart and/or queef. Or both. A feef! No, wait. Quart.”
“Dodged a bullet,” Amara said dryly. “And farts.”
She’d been on him the second he opened the door, and the kiss was more like a grapple. She came up for air long enough to beg for consent, and his response—yanking his clothes off, then hers—was gratifying.
“Crazy-crazy-crazy,” he muttered, touching and kissing her everywhere.
“We’re ruining this friendship,” she gasped, reaching down for him and gently squeezing his lovely long length.
“Definitely should stop,” he agreed, nuzzling her nipples, then coming up for another deep kiss. He slid back down her body and rained kisses along her inner thighs, then nuzzled her pubic hair, carefully parted her, and spent a good five minutes licking and kissing while she clutched at his hair and groaned at the ceiling.
“Nuts,” she gasped as she shuddered through another orgasm. “This is deeply nuts. I never come this fast.”
“Yeah, well.” She tasted herself as he came up for another kiss, as she spread her knees and arched to meet him. “Been a while for both of us.” Before he could elaborate, or she could answer, he stiffened and his eyes rolled back, Amara’s second favorite part of sex.What can I say? Watching that particular involuntary reflex is scorching.“Aw, hell. I swear I usually last longer than two strokes.” Then he’d collapsed over her and it was many minutes before either of them felt like talking. Or moving. When they did finally move, it was for the obligatory bathroom break and grumbling about the wet spot, which Gray gallantly covered with a towel.
Now they were cuddled together in his bed, lovers who wouldn’t share the summer.
“Thanks for acceding to my demand for sex.”
“Thanks for demanding sex.” He leaned down, grabbed the blankets in his fist, pulled them up and over them. “Why’d we wait so long?”
“The friendship,” she yawned. “You’ve long made it clear you had no interest in taking it further.”
Gray sat up. “What?”
“I’m not complaining,” she assured him. “Truly. I wanted you, but I was fine with respecting your boundaries. Sexual and otherwise.”Gah, I sound like a dirty after-school special.“It was worth it to me. Worth it to you, too, I think.”
“Iwantedyou.”
“Gray. Stop. Our default is friends. The status quo has always been friends, and not the kind with benefits. Which you made clear again after our disastrous cave kiss.”
“First, not disastrous. Second, my ass!”
