“Don’t touch yourself.”
“Graham, please. When can I come again?”
I spoke against the back of her neck. “When I make you come.”
She spasmed around me, spurring me to move faster, love her harder. When I was close to climax, I brought my hand to her clit. She exploded, and I came so hard that my vision blurred.
After I took care of the condom, we fell onto the bed, regaining our breaths. Lying next to her, I pulled her in my arms. She peppered light kisses on my chest, laying her cheek right over my heart.
"It beats so fast," she murmured. We were silent for a long time, just enjoying each other.
After a while, she asked, "What did you think about the dinner tonight?"
"It was great meeting all of them. And I'll give credit where credit is due. Val is the best cook."
"I'd love to see you two in a competition. Chef Graham vs Chef Valentina." She twirled a blonde lock around her finger.
"We could whip up one for Christmas."
She stopped in the act of playing with her hair. Her gaze searched me, as if she wasn't expecting me to think that far ahead. I was surprising myself too, because I usually didn't. But how about her? My stomach was tight as a marine knot.
"I'd love to see that."
The knot loosened. I kissed her forehead and murmured a confession. "Tonight, I thought about my dad. Trying to patch things up, see if there's a basis on which to build a relationship."
"The Connor clan made quite an impression on you, huh?"
“Yeah.” Sitting there, surrounded by the family, it was impossible not to think about Dad.
"Anything I can do to help?"
"I think I have to figure this out on my own. As a kid, I spent a lot of time with sitters. He was around more when I was a teenager, but I was too busy rebelling. I still blamed him for Mom leaving, and it didn't help that our house was a revolving door for his dates. Things cooled off completely when I went to college, and then became very tense when he got the club into trouble."
"Well, Dad used to say, ‘Where there's a will, there's a way,’ so I'm sure you'll figure it out."
I liked her vote of confidence. We talked about my dad for a little while longer, and then showered together. After we finished, Lori hovered in the bathroom, throwing me furtive glances.
“Are you waiting for me to leave?” I asked her.
She blushed. “Yes. I have to do some girl stuff, apply body oil, face cream.”
"Watching you oil up sounds like fun."
"Men." She practically shoved me out of the bathroom.
"What can you do? We're simple creatures."
"I'll lock myself in."
"I can pick locks."
"Wow. Will is going to be pleased to know I'm dating someone with that skill." She pointed at me. "Don't pick the lock. Trust me."
As I heard the door lock, I went to the bedroom, put my jeans on, and then headed for a glass of water. In the hall, I started to whistle before catching myself—what if the sound woke up Milo? I peeked into his bedroom to make sure he was okay. The little dude slept like a rock, hugging his pillow. All good here. I went into the kitchen and downed a glass of water.
Later, after Lori fell asleep in my arms, I wondered what exactly we’d tell Milo in the morning to explain my stay, but I shouldn’t have worried. The little guy’s only question when Lori told him that I spent the night was if I could teach him how to make grilled cheese sandwiches.
“You bet I can, buddy.”