Chapter Twenty
Zadie
IwokeinAmir’sarms. He was kissing and sucking my neck, humming against my skin. At first, I kept my eyes closed, blissful in the state between asleep and fully awake. His lips were so soft, but when he sucked, my toes curled.
“Mmm…I like mornings with you,” I murmured.
“Yeah?” He latched on to my pulse, sucking a little harder, at the same time his hand slipped between my thighs. Bare from the waist down, he had nothing impeding him, and he took advantage, dipping into my opening with a warm finger, swirling around my clit with another.
He made me come within minutes, before I had ever opened my eyes. Then he curled around my back, holding me close, sliding inside me.
“You like that?” he asked softly. “Do you like waking to me kissing you? Getting my cock inside you before you leave the bed?”
“Yeah.” I took his hand from my belly and kissed his fingertips. “This is perfect.”
“We could have this, mama. All the time.”
I twisted my head around to find him staring down at me intently. Reaching up, I ran my fingers along his scruffy cheek. “We will.”
He didn’t reply. Instead, he shoved his face in my neck and rolled my body so I was almost on my front. His mouth latched to the curve of my neck, biting and sucking while he moved faster inside me. I let myself sink into the feel of him and block all the rest out. I’d wanted this moment, dreamed about him holding me, touching me, kissing me, since he held me captive. Now that I had it, and the reality of Amir and me together was a hundred times better than anything I could have imagined, I wasn’t going to overthink and ruin it.
The way he moved inside me made it impossible to think coherently anyway.
He may not have been happy with my choices, but he treated my body like a treasure. Any self-consciousness I should have had rightly felt fell away with my thoughts. His tightly muscled body riding my rounded curves was the most carnal feeling in the world. He kept kissing me, grinding into me, rolling my nipples around between his fingers, murmuring sweet, filthy words in my ear, and I was a trembling wreck. I said his name, he answered with mine.
The end came quietly, but no less consuming. We held tight to each other, staying attached for as long as we could before he had to pull out. I turned over, watching him pad to the attached bathroom. I hadn’t thought I was into men’s butts before I saw Amir’s. His was tight, round, and dimpled on the sides. If I didn’t think he’d go ballistic, I’d bite it.
Hmmm…maybe I’d chance it one day.
He came back wearing a pair of basketball shorts, stopping at my side of the bed. He trailed his fingers along my breasts and stomach, dipping one in my belly button.
“What time is it?” I asked.
“Early. Thought you’d want to sneak back to your dorm.”
I caught his hand before he could wander between my legs. “That was surprisingly thoughtful considering you didn’t want me to leave last night.” I pushed my borrowed shirt down and sat up, smoothing my palms along his bare sides. “Did I kick you while I was sleeping? Hog the covers? Snore?”
He grinned, pushing my hair back from my face. “I don’t know. I had the best night of sleep I’ve had in…I don’t know. A really long time.” He nudged my chin with his knuckle. “I don’t want you leaving, but I’ll let you this time.”
I held back from rolling my eyes. “That’s magnanimous of you, Amir.” I kissed his stomach, then pressed my cheek to his warm skin. “That night of sleep changed you.”
I felt his laughter through the muscles in his stomach. “Come on, funny girl. I’m taking you home before I change my mind.”
Like every Sunday morning, Elena was on our couch, reading the newspaper, her ankles crossed on the coffee table. It was her one habit that didn’t fit anything I knew about her, but she had done it almost every morning we’d lived together. When I had asked, she said she’d been reading the paper with her father since childhood. Back then, it was the comics, now the financial section was her favorite.
She lowered the paper when I opened the door. “Hmmm.”
“Good morning,” I whispered.
“No need to whisper, you floozy. Helen’s at Theo’s.”
I sank onto the love seat opposite her. “I’m not…I didn’t…”
Her eyes raked over me in last night’s rumpled dress with Amir’s T-shirt slung on top, stopping on my neck. “Hmmm.”
“Elena—”
She folded the paper, set it down beside her, and scooted forward, bracing her elbows on her knees. “Please don’t lie to me. Tell me you won’t answer, but don’t lie. Your neck is covered in hickeys.” My hand flew to the side of my neck. Crap, I hadn’t even looked. “And you’re wearing a man’s T-shirt. Not to mention you didn’t sleep here last night. If you try to tell me you fell and hit your head and neck, got temporary amnesia, and spent the night in the hospital, I’ll be very disappointed.”