She reached out to the door frame of another room and paused on the threshold as she realised it was his bedroom. Her heart pounded in her chest as she felt him behind her. He leant against the frame, his hand just inches above hers, the warmth from his body crashing against hers in waves as she took in the sight of the large bed. The throbbing of her heart radiated outwards through her entire body and she was filled with desire and need.
‘We don’t have to do anything you don’t—’
She turned and kissed him. To stop his words, to stop the awkwardness she feared was replacing the delighted fizz from mere moments ago. She felt the curve of his lips through the kiss and he gently pulled away, softening his retreat. She couldn’t quite explain the writhing emotions twisting in her because it wasn’t that she was unsure, it was as if she felt embarrassed by it, even though rationally she knew she shouldn’t be.
‘Summer, consent is an important conversation to have,’ he said, his words whispered into her ear, brushing against her neck and filling her with want. ‘It’s not embarrassing. It’s respectful. You have as much control in this as me, and if you want to spend the entire evening making love I will. And if you want me to stop I will.’ He shrugged as if it were that simple.
Summer turned, touched so deeply by his words, his assurance not only sweeping aside the awkwardness she’d felt but making her want him more, making her feel protected and cared for in a way that was somehow more than just moments before. She knew then she’d never regret tonight.
‘This is something I want very much,’ she said, reaching up to cup his jaw. ‘And something I’ve only ever wanted with you. So, I do want you to stop...’ she said, Theron’s nod swift and sure against her palm, ‘...talking,’ she finished and pulled him to her in a kiss that took him only a second to take over.
His hands settled over Summer’s body, reaching for her waist and lifting her up above him so that her hair fell about them. He locked his arms around her thighs and walked them back to the bed, turning so that when they fell he was beneath her, cushioning her as she became a tangled mess of laughter and legs and arms that turned into kisses and sighs and touches that made his heart soar in a way he couldn’t remember ever having felt.
‘You are so beautiful,’ he said, reaching up to tuck a long blonde tendril behind her ear so he could see the golden flecks in her hazel eyes. ‘You should always be in this colour.’
She bit her lip as if embarrassed by his observation, but the blush on her cheeks, the widening of her eyes... He’d pay her compliments until she got used to them, until she welcomed each and every one of them as her due.
He reached for the zip he’d noticed at the side of the dress and slowly pulled it down, his fingers impatient, dipping between the opening and casting circles over smooth skin. She was exquisite. Every touch new, every taste incredible, and if this was ruin then he would go to it willingly and gladly.
She shrugged out of the top of her dress, her arms slipping through the material while holding it to her chest. He could see her nerves but he could also see her desire, her determination and when she let the top go, revealing herself to him, it made him feel so damn honoured. She bent down at the same time as he reached up towards her and they met in an axis point of pleasure and need, and as she rocked against him his pulse roared and his heart leapt.
His arms wrapped around her waist and he pulled her beneath him, drawing the dress down her hips and away from her ankles. He made quick work of his own clothes, hating to leave her even for that short time, but the way her eyes flashed and flickered all over his body was worth every second.
It was as if she were studying and analysing every inch of him and he let her, beginning to understand that it was part of her process, working through variables and collecting data. He retrieved the condom from his wallet, tore across the seal and rolled the latex over himself, her hot eyes not leaving him for a second, turning him on even more.
He placed his hands on her thighs, gently sweeping caresses inch by inch towards the apex of her legs. ‘This may hurt.’ She nodded, her expression serious, understanding that it wasn’t his intention to. ‘And know that I will stop at any time. Any, okay? Nothing is too late, or too far.’
She nodded again and he almost groaned out loud. The look in her eyes was his undoing. He leaned forward and pressed open-mouthed kisses to her neck. ‘I need to hear you say it,agápi mou,’ he whispered.
‘Yes, Theron. Yes. Please... I want...’ she trailed off and the yearning in her hazel gaze exploded like starbursts ‘...everything,’ she finished, as if confused by her own desires. He wanted that for her. He wanted to scoop up the world and give it to her.
He kissed along her collarbone, his gaze snaring on a mole about two inches from her clavicle. He pressed his thumb over it, something jarring in his mind, before she shifted beneath him, beckoning his touch to the valley between her breasts. He kissed back up the long column of her neck and positioned himself between her legs. He longed to taste her, but this wasn’t about his wants. He trailed his hand over her thigh and between her legs the evidence of her need, the slickness dampening the curls made his heart stop.
He bit his lip, grounding the need for control with every ounce of his intent, and as he locked his longing gaze on hers he slowly pressed into her, consuming her gasp with a kiss. He held himself still as she tensed, her eyes flaring wide with the shock, and his eyes held only regret and hope that it would pass for her quickly. She blinked slowly, breathing through it, her body beginning to relax around his. He pressed kisses against her skin, showered her in words he had no hope of her understanding, and slowly began to move within her. Bit by bit her body began to move with his, her thighs hitching around his hips, her ankles crossing behind him, pressing him closer to her, and his heart began to pound. He braced himself, his hands either side of her on the mattress, his muscles beginning to shake as he fought to control the desire that was spinning out of his reach. As if Summer felt it too, her sighs became cries of pleasure, urging him to some impossible point. Sweat-slicked and on a knife’s edge, he held them at the absolute pinnacle until her release urged his own and, together, they fell deep into the night.
Summer woke the next morning encircled in Theron’s arms and decided there was no better feeling than that. A blush heated her cheeks at the way he had drawn from her a pleasure she’d never known existed. She ducked beneath the covers, hiding the smile that felt private yet utterly full of joy behind the cotton. It felt...magical to be with Theron here, in this way.
But, as wonderful as it was, she knew she’d not be able to get back to sleep, so she slipped out from under his arm, tiptoed to the bathroom and turned on the shower. She threw a look in the mirror, wondering who the beautiful woman staring back at her was. The one with pink cheeks, bright eyes and thoroughly kissed lips.
Ducking beneath the powerful spray of the water, she wondered what they might do today. Maybe Theron could take her to somewhere only he knew. Maybe, she thought, she could tell him about Kyros. It was crazy to think that she could trust him with her body, but not that...
Theron was still asleep when she came out, so she grabbed a shirt from his closet, her dress now completely crumpled on the floor, and quietly stepped out of the room. She went to the kitchen and spied a very fancy coffee machine that only took her fifteen minutes of opening drawers, pressing buttons, cursing under her breath and one hair pull to produce a decent espresso.
She took the cup over to the large window that led onto a beautiful balcony, staring at the way the sun swept up from the sea, casting the sky in orange and yellow hues that had her so mesmerised she didn’t hear the key in the door before it was too late.
She spun round, nearly spilling the coffee over the borrowed shirt, and stared.
‘Theron!’ yelled the man with shocking white hair, deeply tanned, lined skin and a scowl. ‘Theron?’
Summer didn’t recognise the rest because it was in Greek, but she certainly recognised the man. It was her father. Two steps brought Kyros Agyros into the apartment enough to see her standing by the window and close enough to break her heart.
The look he cast her was barely a sneer, the distaste in the gaze he raked over her cut her deeply and brought a sheen to her eyes that she feared might fall down her cheeks. Turning her back to him, she bit her lip so hard from trying not to cry out, she tasted blood. Her breath shuddered out of her lungs as she heard Theron emerge from the room, throwing back to Kyros whatever response was needed. She tried to tell herself that her father didn’t know, that she didn’t feel mortified, humiliated or shaken, but she couldn’t.
Summer held her breath through the short exchange and let it go only when Kyros had left the apartment. But something had changed. Something irrevocable. She turned, blinking away the sheen, to find Theron standing there in his trousers from last night and nothing else. He was staring at her and, no matter how much she tried to hide it, he’d seen enough.
‘Care to explain to me what that was about?’ he demanded, doing up the button above his trouser zip without taking his eyes off her.
‘I don’t know—’