I laughed nervously, leaning into him. I didn’t know what to say because that quick peck alone was consuming. It made me feel him. That fucking fast.
In one quick motion, his massive arm was around my shoulder and he was pulling me into his chest space as we shifted back against the sofa. Being in his arms was nice, like a necessary warm blanket fresh out of the dryer. I could lay here for hours knowing damn well I should have been taking my ass home. I didn’t though, instead I enjoyed his embrace, closing my eyes until I fell into a comfortable sleep I didn’t realize I was in until I felt myself being lifted off the sofa.
“Shit, how long was I out?” I sat up as soon as he sat me on the sofa.
“Not long. You're good, right?”
“Yeah. I think it’s time I go hom?—”
“Nah. It’s too late for you to be driving and you had wine. Nah, you good, love. I’ll take the couch and you ca?—”
“I’m not putting you out of your bed. I can drive myself home, Oden.”
“But you not.” He looked up from the mess he was cleaning up and those eyes were serious. So pointed and serious that I swallowed hard and conceded. For no man had I ever conceded, but something about this one had me doing just that.
“Well, I’m not gonna put you out of your bed. I think we can share a bed, Oden.”
He laughed, then looked me over long and hard. “You sure, Jade?”
At the risk of sounding like a hoe, my next statement slid from my lips a little too easily. “I’m sure and whatever happens, happens. We are both grown. Now can I help you clean or are you gonna shut that down too?”
He laughed. “Yeah I am. Chill out, sweetheart, let me handle this.”
I wasn’t used to this. I wasn’t used to sitting back and just being while a man did everything. This feeling was foreign to me.
“Well can I at least shower? I feel like I smell like outside.”
He laughed again, this time moving from the kitchen into my direction. “Yeah, since you insist on doing something.”
I laughed and followed him down the hall. There he led me into a massive bedroom with only a bed and a duffle on it. I noted the place was empty, but never came into the bedroom and saw it was this empty. There was absolutely nothing here except the bed and a few light fixtures.
“Told you I don’t live out here, but I keep a few changes of clothes just in case I don’t feel like driving home or my daughter wants to stay with me.”
I nodded, not understanding why he was explaining himself to me. When we entered the massive closet, he grabbed a shirt and pair of his boxers for me to sleep in. Then he left me to shower and went to finish cleaning. Yes, this entire moment was foreign to me, because where had this man come from?
My shower was heavenly…well, after I wet myself the fuck up, hair and all. I didn’t know how to turn the overhead shower off, and by the time I learned, it was too damn late. My fresh twist out was wet and I wasn’t home to twist this shit out again. I ended up pulling my hair into a ponytail before feeling around in his washroom for moisturizer. The towels, soap, and everything were in the cabinet in the washroom, so those were much easier to locate. When I had his clothes on, I couldn’t help but close my eyes in heaven. Oden’s clothes smelled of Oden, not the typical men’s scent filled with cologne, but instead a natural lemon balm and bergamot-flannel scent. The man smelled like peace, no wonder I fell asleep in his arms.
By the time I exited the shower, he was in the bedroom with a towel around his waist. Apparently, he had already showered, that much evident from the beads of water on his chest. I couldn’t look away, because my eyes felt glued to him. So good that I knew I should have allowed him to take the couch, because sleeping next to him would be a challenge.
“You gonna oil my back for me?” he asked and his request landed between my legs rather than my ears.
“Yeah.” This man was something else.
He handed me a glass bottle of aged oil, then took a seat and gave me his back. Shit, him giving me his back was enough to give me whiplash.
His skin was so smooth and the oil he’d given me had a mint smell, like spearmint-lemon with something else.
“This smells good. Where did you get it?”
“I made it. None of those chemicals and shit that make my eczema worse.”
I just looked at his back, my eyes loving the sight of his tattoo. It was an intricate design that overtook his entire back and side. “Well, I like the way it smells and it goes on so smoothly.” He relaxed into my touch and something about that sent my brain into overdrive.
When I finished rubbing his back, I handed him the bottle then went to the washroom to wash off the excess oil. After I finished, I returned to the bed just in time for him to cut the lights out and climb into bed as well.
I didn’t expect him to pull me into his arms, but he did. I wasn’t used to being in somebody’s arms let alone this close to a man unless it was a brief hug from one of my brothers. Of course, the feeling was much different than this. This was intimate, an enclosure sending coordinated shockwaves up and down my spine.
“Are you good?” His voice cut through the silence in the room and my rampant thoughts. His lips were against the side of my face.
