the
strongest orgasms of his life. His knees felt weak and his breath burned in his
chest. The taste of Ainsley’s kiss was sweeter and hotter than any he’d
received in twenty years of kissing girls. And it left him totally wrecked.
They leaned against each other until they could breathe
easily once more. Then they washed each other leisurely. Once dried and dressed
in jeans and t-shirts, they made brunch together, falling into their old
familiar friendly ways. Aric needed the space the mundane tasks provided. The
enormity of what had happened between them and what that meant for the future
sat like a specter in a shadowy corner of the room where he refused to look. He
felt confused and completely out of his element.
Keeping things neutral seemed to be the best way to spend
the day if they weren’t going to head back to the bedroom, so they ended up on
the couch watching football. Aric sensed the tension lying just beneath the
surface of Ainsley’s quiet demeanor. He felt the same tension within himself.
More sex was out of the question. His body had pretty much given up the ghost
in that department, demanding a respite. He could tell that Ainsley felt the
same. They both sat limply on the couch, obviously satisfied but exhausted.
Aric’s base instincts hadn’t all been swamped by exhaustion,
however. Ainsley’s scent teased his senses and he sat as close to her as he
could without touching. By halftime, he couldn’t take it any longer and he
stretched his arm along the back of the couch, his fingers tangling instantly
in her hair. He rubbed the satiny strands between his fingertips, content to
touch that little bit of her.
“My flight leaves in a couple of hours.”
The words crashed into his contentment, sending panic racing
through him. Aric swallowed hard, his heart thudding erratically. Shit! He blinked his eyes closed and drew a deep breath before he reopened them.
Ainsley stared at him warily.
“I’d almost forgotten,” he replied, trying to keep his voice
neutral and even. “But I guess we could probably use some space to think about
this thing between us.” He swallowed hard again. “You should go home.”
Aric was trying to convince himself more than Ainsley. His
instincts set off alarm bells inside him. He didn’t want her to leave, but he
couldn’t tell her to stay either. The specter of their changed relationship and
clouded future left the shadowy corner and loomed over him. It reminded him of
how much he enjoyed being with Ainsley, how intensely he wanted her to stay and
how easy it had been for him to let go of his lifestyle.
“You want me to leave?” Ainsley’s incredulous tone
shook him to the core.
“Yes. No! I— Geez, Ains,” he sputtered, feeling as if
someone had just put his self-confidence in the paper shredder. “It’s just that
I guess we need some space to think about this.”
Ainsley scooted away from him on the couch. She rose to her
feet, her green eyes glittering. “Don’t include me in your ‘we’, Aric. I can
think and speak for myself.” She frowned at him. Anger and something else,
something that looked like pain, suffused her face. “What do you think is going
to happen now? What do you want from me? From this? Tell me what you’re thinking!”
He knew that her exasperation was wholly warranted. He
hadn’t dealt with any of it correctly.
“I don’t know what to think, Ains. This weekend has
been…weird. Strange. Unbelievable. God, I don’t know what to feel, let alone
know what to do. You’ve turned me inside out, and I just want to toss you over
my shoulder, carry you back to bed and chain you to it so no other man can ever
have what you gave me.” His breath came out in frustrated puffs as he struggled
to find the words to explain himself.
“What? First you tell me to go home, that we both need some
space. Now you tell me you want to chain me to your bed. Just what the hell do
you want, Aric?”
“I can’t answer that. I don’t know
strongest orgasms of his life. His knees felt weak and his breath burned in his
chest. The taste of Ainsley’s kiss was sweeter and hotter than any he’d
received in twenty years of kissing girls. And it left him totally wrecked.
They leaned against each other until they could breathe
easily once more. Then they washed each other leisurely. Once dried and dressed
in jeans and t-shirts, they made brunch together, falling into their old
familiar friendly ways. Aric needed the space the mundane tasks provided. The
enormity of what had happened between them and what that meant for the future
sat like a specter in a shadowy corner of the room where he refused to look. He
felt confused and completely out of his element.
Keeping things neutral seemed to be the best way to spend
the day if they weren’t going to head back to the bedroom, so they ended up on
the couch watching football. Aric sensed the tension lying just beneath the
surface of Ainsley’s quiet demeanor. He felt the same tension within himself.
More sex was out of the question. His body had pretty much given up the ghost
in that department, demanding a respite. He could tell that Ainsley felt the
same. They both sat limply on the couch, obviously satisfied but exhausted.
Aric’s base instincts hadn’t all been swamped by exhaustion,
however. Ainsley’s scent teased his senses and he sat as close to her as he
could without touching. By halftime, he couldn’t take it any longer and he
stretched his arm along the back of the couch, his fingers tangling instantly
in her hair. He rubbed the satiny strands between his fingertips, content to
touch that little bit of her.
“My flight leaves in a couple of hours.”
The words crashed into his contentment, sending panic racing
through him. Aric swallowed hard, his heart thudding erratically. Shit! He blinked his eyes closed and drew a deep breath before he reopened them.
Ainsley stared at him warily.
“I’d almost forgotten,” he replied, trying to keep his voice
neutral and even. “But I guess we could probably use some space to think about
this thing between us.” He swallowed hard again. “You should go home.”
Aric was trying to convince himself more than Ainsley. His
instincts set off alarm bells inside him. He didn’t want her to leave, but he
couldn’t tell her to stay either. The specter of their changed relationship and
clouded future left the shadowy corner and loomed over him. It reminded him of
how much he enjoyed being with Ainsley, how intensely he wanted her to stay and
how easy it had been for him to let go of his lifestyle.
“You want me to leave?” Ainsley’s incredulous tone
shook him to the core.
“Yes. No! I— Geez, Ains,” he sputtered, feeling as if
someone had just put his self-confidence in the paper shredder. “It’s just that
I guess we need some space to think about this.”
Ainsley scooted away from him on the couch. She rose to her
feet, her green eyes glittering. “Don’t include me in your ‘we’, Aric. I can
think and speak for myself.” She frowned at him. Anger and something else,
something that looked like pain, suffused her face. “What do you think is going
to happen now? What do you want from me? From this? Tell me what you’re thinking!”
He knew that her exasperation was wholly warranted. He
hadn’t dealt with any of it correctly.
“I don’t know what to think, Ains. This weekend has
been…weird. Strange. Unbelievable. God, I don’t know what to feel, let alone
know what to do. You’ve turned me inside out, and I just want to toss you over
my shoulder, carry you back to bed and chain you to it so no other man can ever
have what you gave me.” His breath came out in frustrated puffs as he struggled
to find the words to explain himself.
“What? First you tell me to go home, that we both need some
space. Now you tell me you want to chain me to your bed. Just what the hell do
you want, Aric?”
“I can’t answer that. I don’t know
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