But there was one thing I definitely needed to ask.
“Why are you afraid of my bed?”
Twenty-Two
“What?” Ryan gave a light laugh. “That’s silly. I love beds.” She smirked. “I love chairs outside even more. What about you?”
“Come here.” I sat up and patted the bed beside me.
She sat reluctantly on the edge.
From his pillow perch, Smoky started to wash as if he had no interest in the proceedings, but I could tell he was a giant faker.
I cupped her cheek and lifted her face toward the light, gently stroking the corner of her lip with my thumb. The place she’d touched herself earlier after our connection had singed my shoulder.
“Ow. What are you doing?”
“It burned. You really did lower your shields with me.”
She swallowed audibly and caressed my shoulder as I suppressed a wince. “Matching war wounds. It’s not always like that,” she said quickly. “Energy exchange rarely manifests physically.”
“Rarely? You’ve had this happen before?”
Silently, she shook her head, her expression begging me not to ask more.
I didn’t. As unreal as tonight had been, I felt hollowed out and raw and like I could sleep for a month. I couldn’t remember when I’d been so exhausted.
Maybe the weight of all the changes were finally crashing down on me, sparked by a back-to-back orgasm chaser.
“Let’s just sleep.” I brushed a kiss over her forehead. “I want to hold you. Will you let me?”
Instead of answering, she drew away to shed her dress before reaching over to turn out the light. She crawled into my arms, settling there with a sigh I echoed.
Until I yawned and glimpsed glowing green eyes fixated on us in the dark.
I jumped and Ryan laughed, bumping my chin with her head. “You knew he was there.”
“Yeah, but his stare is intense. He’s a total creeper.”
“Silly.” She reached up to lift the cat down between us, a furry cockblock. Not that my cock could do anything at the moment.
I’d already perpetrated blood-defying feats tonight. There was no way I was getting it up again before I had a solid eight.
Make that ten, because we woke just before noon.
Ryan’s arms and legs were wrapped around me, and her soft breast was against my mouth. And my dick had suddenly found the will to survive for another day.
Even if Smoky was stretched out on Ryan’s hip and watching me balefully.
Try it, buddy. She’s mine now.
I leaned up to check out the strangely silent clock on the bedside. I had three alarms. None of them had registered in my sex coma.
Since I’d technically quit yesterday, I couldn’t really find it in myself to care—until I remembered Mrs. Donnelly’s irate phone call and her rescheduled appointment for this morning.
Absently, I rubbed my shoulder and tried to tell my dick to simmer down. This wasn’t the time. I had to get my ass into the shower and—
Shit, she really had branded me the night before. I craned my neck to look at the definite wound on my shoulder. So much for it fading overnight.