“Why’s that, Red?” I ask, my head on the pillow, head tilted so I can see her. My fingers reach out and delve gently into her curls—for no other reason than I just need to touch her.
“I think we’ve had more sex in public than we’ve had in your bed,” she laughs, turning so her chin presses into my stomach and she’s looking at me.
“Our bed. I think I like the sound of it being our bed much better.”
“Yeah, right,” she responds, all but rolling her eyes.
I move my hand to cup the side of her face, refusing to let her look away.
“I’m serious, baby.”
“Luke, this has happened really quick and until tonight, I didn’t even know you had a daughter.”
“You can’t deny this feels right, Jasmine. Whatever else is going on, there’s a pull between us that we can’t get away from.”
“It might be better if we could,” she murmurs.
“No way. I like having you with me, Red.”
“Your nose would argue,” she responds, reaching up to touch it gently. “I’m kind of sorry about that, by the way.”
“Kind of sorry?”
“Well you did kind of deserve it. You should have told me about Daisy, instead of making me think you had another woman.”
“Fuck, woman. Do you think with the way you wear me out that I could have energy for someone else?”
“You’re so romantic,” she mutters, shaking her head.
“I’m just me, Red, but you have to know that I want you, hell I’m obsessed with you.”
“Yeah.”
“Is there something wrong with that?” I ask her, when she looks at me, almost…sad.
“What could be wrong. Every girl wants to be wanted by a hot guy.”
“Red—”
“You don’t have to introduce me to your daughter you know.”
“Woman—”
“I know, I know. I got pissy and upset, but only because I thought you had been lying to me and I let that anger fuel me when it came to Daisy.”
“Red—”
“But you’re right. It’s none of my business where or how you raise your daughter. It’s not like we’re much more than fuck-buddies. So, I mean, that’s probably not the kind of girl you should be letting her meet and I’m sorry if I made you feel like you had to.”
She stares up at me expectantly after saying all of that and barely taking a breath. I just look back at her, saying nothing while my brain processes everything she just said.
“Well?” she says after a little more of my silence.
“Oh, sorry, I didn’t realize you were going to let me talk.”
“Don’t be a smartass, Luke.”
She gets up, clearly annoyed with me, and I let her for two reasons.
One, she ruined a good sex buzz and I’m pretty fucking annoyed with her right now and two…Well, two is that she’s naked and watching her move naked is a damn good show. I frown as she throws my shirt on over her body, but at least it’s my shirt, so I don’t demand she yank it back off.
“I was just being honest. Seems to me you have all this figured out and there wasn’t much more to add.”
“Okay, then,” she says, bending down to the small dorm room fridge I have and grabbing a cold water out of it.
“But,” I finally say, stressing the word. “If you are going to let me talk, let me go on record as saying we’re not just fuck-buddies. If all I wanted was to fuck a woman, I wouldn’t leave the club.”
“That would probably be better than this dump,” she mutters under her breath.
“I told you if you didn’t like something here to just change it, Red.”
“Why? I’m not staying.”
“You are.”
“Excuse me?” she asks, her brow creasing.
“Red, we’ve had a good run here. I fucked you hard and came so much my eyes rolled back in my head. I ate that sweet pussy out in the shower, and I can still taste you on my tongue. I fucked you again and then you sucked my cock and swallowed down my cum. How about you put a cap on your sass until tomorrow.”
“Put a cap on my sass?”
“Yeah, babe. I want to sleep with you in my arms tonight and then when the mood strikes me, fuck you again. What I don’t want to do is fight with you over something we both want in the first damn place.”
“And what do we both want, Luke?”
“You here with me and not in some Podunk town in Kentucky around people that don’t appreciate you.”
“They appreciate me,” she grumbles.
“They love you. I haven’t seen a hint of appreciation.”
“You haven’t even met them,” she says with a sigh, her body relaxing slightly.
“I know they made you cry. That’s all I need to know right now.”
“I’m over-emotional.”
She looks at me as if she’s daring me to argue.
“You are, but from what I saw, you had reason.”
“You don’t know the whole story, Luke. You might not like me or take my side if you did.”