He follows me into the bedroom, but stops me from turning off the light.
“I like seeing you,” he says. “All of you.”
We were so close before that I didn’t get to fully appreciate the view. I’ve seen him shirtless twice before, at the beach and when Anne and I saw him running the morning we got back from San Diego. Even so, seeing him like this in my bedroom makes my breath catch in my throat. I slide my fingers across his firm chest and down his sculpted abdomen. His eyes darken with my touch.
“Are you even real?” I ask, making him smirk.
“I could say the same about you,” he says. He cups my breast, then moves his hand down to my hip, tracing my curves with his fingertips. “Look at you.”
When we finally make it to the bed, he takes his time with me, but he doesn’t tease me the same way he did the first time. This time he explores my body with his hands and with his mouth, kissing every inch of me until I’m squirming and begging for more of him. He parts my legs and enters me, giving me what I want.
It’s slower and sweeter than it was the first time, but it’s no less passionate. When it’s over, he wraps his arms around me. I lean my head against his chest and close my eyes. I can feel the rhythmic thumping of his heart, a steady beat that makes the rest of the world seem a little quieter. I’ve never fallen asleep easily with someone else’s arms wrapped around me, but I do now.
This time I dream about blue eyes, and airplanes, and unanswered letters.
I wake up sometime later when he gets up to turn off the light. It’s not quite midnight, so I don’t have to be up for another few hours. For a moment, I think that he’s leaving, but then I feel the mattress shift and the blankets move as he climbs back into my bed. His arms close around my waist, and his head rests against my chest.
In the dark, I breathe him in. I run my hand over the smooth skin of his back and over his firm arm. He trails his fingertips up and down the back of my thigh, sending a delicious tingle between my legs. I should be getting some sleep before work in the morning, but the way he’s touching me has me feeling restless. I want him. I never knew until now how badly I needed him.
He inches a little closer and nudges me with his thigh. I part my legs for him. His hand snakes its way between my legs, and he touches me, gentle strokes at first, and then he massages deeper, like he knows just what to do to get me to climax. I reach for him again, but in the dark, I only get a fistful of the blanket. I try to move the blanket out of the way, but it’s wrapped around him now and all I succeed in doing is tangling us up more. It feels like I’m back in the dream I was having before he came over, only it’s so much more real now. He’s touching me but I can’t reach him because this blanket is in the way. He lets out a couple of quick breaths, amused and laughing at the way I can’t get the blanket off. He keeps on touching me, not bothering to help free me. I gasp, climbing higher and higher, and I’m right on the verge of tipping over when Luca’s name slips out of my mouth. It comes out in a whispered moan, so distorted that even I don’t entirely understand myself. But I hear it. It’s the only sound in the otherwise quiet room, and I know that he hears it too, because his fingers stop moving.Shit.
For a moment I just lay there in the dark. I can still feel his body pressed against mine, and his hand is still resting between my legs, but not moving. He begins to move, and I’m about to apologize and try to explain myself until I realize that he’s rolling on top of me. He must have not understood me. He probably thought it was just a weird moan. He pushes the blanket off of me, and the next thing I know, he’s parting my legs wider and he’s inside of me. He moves slowly, not like someone who is angry about being called the wrong name. He steadily brings me back to where I was when he was touching me. When I climax, I bite his shoulder, afraid of what else might come out of my mouth.
He finishes shortly after, and he stays on top of me, his body pinning mine to the bed. In the dark, I can’t see his face, but I can feel his breath, and I know that he’s watching me. Our chests rise and fall together with each heavy breath. I wait for him to ask me who Luca is, or at least ask what it was I said, but he doesn’t. He finally rolls over and falls asleep next to me.
ChapterTwenty-Three
IT’S A PROBLEM
Dear Naomi,
I’ve been in Miami for a while. Imagine my surprise when I learned that you live here too. Such a small world. I’m glad you finally figured out how to write back to me. I was getting pretty close to giving in and putting my return address on the next letter. I guess now I don’t have to.
Is that a dare or an invite? Because if it’s an invite, I want you to make it clear. I want you to tell me that you want me.
Love,
Luca
Dear Luca,
Sorry if I led you on. I should probably mention that I’m seeing someone. I didn’t mean to flirt with you, and I think you should stop trying to flirt with me.
Love,
Naomi
Dear Naomi,
I bet he’s not as hot as me. I can send a picture if you want to compare?
Xoxo,
Luca
Dear Luca,
I see you’re still just as full of yourself as you’ve always been. Are you this perverted in real life, or only when you’re hiding behind a pen and paper?
