"If I go to sleep without putting on underwear, I might get attached to the sheets in an unpleasant way. Bodily fluids are Elmer's glue, not Post-it note adhesive."
He brought the covers over them as she giggled. When he drew her close once more, she twined her arms around him, resting her head on his bent arm. She was in Geoff's bed, being held by him, and he wanted her to stay and sleep with him.
Her mind was buzzing with a million possibilities and future plans, but inside his arms, as she curled her arm over his back, tucking her other one against herself, she let out a little sigh and with it some of that energy. Right now was a time to shut it all off and just enjoy the moment. Follow him into dreams.
His other hand slid down her waist to her hip, fingers stroking her flank in a casually intimate way. He moved his palm over both her buttocks to cup them, his middle finger pressing between the seam to rub against her rim, a peculiar and not unpleasant sensation that pushed sleep back again, especially when he spoke against her temple.
"I want to be here first, Sam. Has any other man done that?"
"No. I've been a pretty vanilla girl. I haven't really been with anyone who had an interest in that or, you know, who I trusted that way. I've played with toys some. It felt good when I did it."
"Hmm. A pretty vanilla girl with very unvanilla thoughts. You pushed me about as hard as any sub could without getting herself into the wrong kind of trouble with her Dom." His lips pulled into a smile against her.
"It was worth it," she whispered.
He grunted at that. A few moments later, his breath started to even out. Geoff never got as much sleep as he needed, so when it came to postcoital effect, he was obviously a goner. Letting her fingertips glide up and down his back, she nestled her face against his chest, gratified when his arms tightened around her even in sleep.
He was right. She couldn't hold the New York skank from months ago against him. But he was hers. She thought of him that way, him and Chris, but . . . oh God, she'd gone with the divide-and-conquer idea, but what if Chris wasn't on board? Was this a package deal for her, for all of them? Both of them or nothing?
No. Yes. She didn't know. It was clear both men were attracted to her, in a way that was strong yet not competitive, not in the usual way. In light of what had just happened between her and Geoff, she thought she had a better sense of what the nature of the competition was. It wasn't She belongs to you or me but She belongs to us both, but I take the lead. Which meant any tension had more to do with Geoff's Dom nature and Chris's undefined one. Up until now, whenever she'd felt any hint of the usual competitiveness between two men interested in the same woman, the two of them were quick to back off in deference to each other.
She'd been surprised by what Geoff had said about how he and Chris had interpreted the trip to Naughty Bits as a halt to any plans to date others until the issue was pursued. They'd been far more in tune with her feelings on all this than she'd given them credit for. Which meant she probably could and should have waited until Chris returned.
Christ, Sam, it's a little too late for second thoughts. Don't chicken out now. Let it happen, like Geoff said. Just see how it unfolds.
"If you don't stop thinking so loud, I'm going to gag your mind," Geoff muttered against her. "Go to sleep, Samantha Beth."
With a little quiver at the tone to his voice, even sleep slurred, she nestled deeper into him, held on and tried to obey, slowing the wheels of her mind so she could fall into slumber with him. She'd be waking up with his arms around her. One-half of her waking dream had been realized.
She'd be crazy to cut and run now, just for fear things wouldn't work out. Right?
***
When she woke, she was alone in the bed. It brought a groggy ripple of unease, then she realized she wasn't going to have to worry about a lover bailing on her. Not when he lived in the same house. Her sleepy smile disappeared as she realized there were other ways Geoff could bail. Maybe he'd woken up and decided this was a bad idea, and was even now concocting ways to put her at arms' length again. He'd promised he wouldn't, but that was last night, during the aftermath, when things had seemed far more dreamlike and possible.
How many times would she have to break through? The first two times had been hard enough. The results had been incredible, which should enhance her confidence and courage to coax him to that same edge, as often as it took. But the plain fact was she embraced a submissive orientation. She didn't really enjoy forcing a Dom's hand. Her Dom's hand. Sure, once things got rolling, he took the reins, but if she was always having to get him onto the horse, it would start to feel like she was pushing him into it. Not a great feeling.
Rolling out of bed, she shivered in the cool morning air. When she saw her robe lying at the end of the bed, it both helped and added to her worries. She'd slept naked in Geoff's arms, his warmth keeping her company throughout the night, but when he left, he'd left her another way to get warm. He and Chris always watched after her.
When she detected the pleasantly reassuring scent of coffee, she smiled. Geoff had a cup before he went for his morning run, and the time suggested he'd be well into his third of six daily miles by now. She'd get cleaned up while he did that, because anything was possible after a good hot shower.
Donning the robe, she made herself leave the sanctuary of his room and the cocoon of memories they'd created there. Once in the bathroom, she turned on the shower to get the water hot and put toothpaste on her toothbrush, taking it into the shower with her. The heated water cleared her mind and soothed sore muscles, though she kind of liked feeling that strain. Geoff was a powerful lover, demanding a lot from her physically, even if she'd thought at the time that all she was doing was just hanging on for the ride. She thought of him thrusting into her, the grip of his hands, that intent look in his gaze.
When they had sex, a lot of guys turned inward, their focus on getting off, even if they were still being reasonably generous and making sure she was headed the same way. Geoff's focus had never left her. It was as if controlling and directing her climax, her responses, was as much a component of his release as the proper friction on his cock. For a Dom like him, maybe it was.
She slicked the soap over her neck and shoulders, down over her breasts, imagining his hands there, sliding over her nipples. She moved from there to her sex, fingers gently rubbing the crevices. Her nostrils flared, taking in the musky postsex smell. She'd told him she was protected from pregnancy, and he'd said he didn't have to use a condom going forward. She thought of him taking her like he had last night, only his release would go into her, jetting deep inside her cunt, instead of being trapped by latex. She leaned against the wall of the shower, the water pattering around her fingers. She should take the shower head out of its bracket and let the pounding water pressure push her through a quick climax while she imagined being with Geoff again.
"What are you doing?"
She yelped, eyes springing open to see the object of her masturbation fantasy standing outside the shower. The water running down the shower door blurred his features like an Impressionist painting, but did nothing to dilute the impact of his tall, imposing figure. "Don't sneak up on a woman in a shower," she said emphatically. "Haven't you seen Psycho? Or any other horror movie, for that matter? The person opens their eyes and there's the axe murderer, just watching and ready to cut them up."
"Which never made much sense," the blurry image of her Dom replied. "Why would a killer wait until the person opened their eyes? Wouldn't it make far more sense to jump in there and kill them while you had the element of surprise?"
"If that was all the killer was after, sure, but they want to see the fear. It's not just about the kill." She rinsed the shampoo out of her hair. Even with the door closed between them, she could feel him watching her. Would he be looking at the arch of her body, the thrust of her breasts? Even if the profile wasn't all that clear, the hint of something could sometimes be even more titillating than the actual experience. Or a great appetizer, like looking at Geoff in jeans or Chris in his favored camo pants. Their nicely shaped asses shifting beneath the fabric, the snug hold in the groin area.
"Right." Geoff brought her out of her prurient musings with his dry tone. "I forgot I was talking to the Criminal Minds addict. Has the Behavioral Analysis Unit accepted your employment application yet?"
"They say I'm overqualified, since I've watched every prime-time criminal procedure show that's ever been written. And don't make a face--I can tell you just did. Remember, I was the one who told you about that episode that helped you with one of your cases."