I squeezed the washcloth over April’s breasts, and then dropped it, using my hands to massage the soap around her firm tits. I felt, rather than heard, her tiny gasp of pleasure. And when I tweaked one tight nipple, she wound her arm around my neck and turned her head to give me a searing, tongue-tangling kiss. After returning it with equal fervor, I bent her over, placed her hands on the shower wall, and positioned myself behind her. As I held onto her hips and thrust into her silken depths, I swore that I could, and would, keep her at an arm’s length for at least one more day,no problem.
Until I remembered our sleeping arrangements.
Once April and I had finished up in the shower, I stocked the stove with the little bit of wood left near the fireplace. As the fire kindled, I ran down to the basement to turn off the generator for the night. By the time I returned, April was in the room, climbing into bed in slightly more realistic pajamas, which was a small relief. I saw that she had also brought two of the candles in to the room, as well as some extra blankets.
All very practical, thank goodness.
I checked and rechecked the stove again, making sure that it was safe, and then slid into bed next to her. We blew out the candles, and laid side by side, without speaking. It had been fine to have sex and go our separate ways, but now she was just inches away, her skin soft and warm, her hair smelling like coconut. I wanted to touch her, but I knew that I shouldn’t. April hadn’t moved since we’d gotten into bed, so I could tell that she was just as unsure how to proceed.
“Goodnight,” I finally said, before rolling over to face away from her.
“Goodnight,” she responded, before shifting on her own side.
Between the stress of making sure I kept an eye on the fire, and the temptation of April lying next to me, it was going to be a long night.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
April
I snuggled deeper into the mattress, not ready to wake up. It had taken me forever to fall asleep, with Ryan so close to me. I wasn’t sure what time it was, but I doubted that I had gotten more than five hours of sleep. As I wiggled around, I bumped into something hard.
Opening one eye, I saw that Ryan was facing me, and was only about an inch away. We had gone to bed on the far sides, but at some point during the night we had rolled into the middle together. My knee was now between his legs, and his hand was grazing my thigh.
“Are you staring at me again?” Ryan mumbled; his eyes still closed.
“No, I am not.”
“Yeah, right.” He responded. And then he promptly fell back asleep.
I debated moving away, but I was still groggy too, so I closed my eyes once more.
The second time I woke up, we were tangled together even further. My leg was now wrapped around Ryan’s hip, our arms around each other’s waists. My face was buried in his neck. We couldn’t have gotten much closer if we tried. I was too warm, but I didn’t want to move. Despite his rule, it actually felt really cozy, and safe, to be this close to him.
Knowing that I should extricate myself before he fully woke up and freaked out, I was shocked when I felt little kisses on my shoulder. Seconds later, I felt his hand tighten on my ass, and something hard poking into my abdomen.
“April,” he murmured, still kissing his way towards my neck.
My shock turned to lust as his hand traveled up under my t-shirt to grasp one boob. Now I knew how he had felt getting woken up this way yesterday—it was pretty awesome. I just wasn’t entirely sure that he was awake either. With superhuman will, I leaned back, searching his face. His eyes were tiny slits, and he was definitely out of it. As much as I wanted to continue, I also wanted to make sure that he knew what he was doing. Just like last night in the shower, it felt different than our normal energetic romps.
“Ryan.” I whispered. “You awake?”
He tried to grab my arm to pull me back in, but I evaded him. I poked his bicep, and said his name again.
Finally, he opened his eyes all the way. Then he looked down and saw how we were intertwined. And where his hand was. He pulled it out from my top, blushing.
“Oh. Sorry. I was…uhm, dreaming, I guess,” he said, not meeting my eyes.
“No worries,” I told him, unsure of what to say.
Part of me wanted to ask him if he wanted to finish what his dream-self had started, but I didn’t. I understood why he had been against the whole bed sharing thing, because it did make things more complicated. It was best to get out of this awkward position, and resume our meaningless, emotionless, sex later on with clear heads.
“By the way, Merry Christmas!” I told him, trying to change the subject.
A warm smile touched his lips, even as he slid back to give me some space. “Right. Yeah. Merry Christmas to you too.”
“Why don’t we get up, turn on the generator long enough to make some of those cinnamon rolls, and hang out by the tree we worked so hard to chop down,” I suggested.
He agreed, and after we enjoyed the cinnamon rolls, we sat on the floor next to the tree, sipping more hot cocoa. We swapped stories about our favorite holiday memories, and surprisingly, Ryan even talked about his parents a little bit. As far as I knew, he only ever did that with my brother, and even then, not very often. I tried not to show how much that meant to me.