And as if he sensed that change in her, he began to move. Slow, steady strokes at first that took her breath away, and then the rhythm began to increase. Harder. Faster. And words began to tumble from her lips that she never said in her life. She urged him to go harder. Faster. More. She was out of her mind with it. He made her into something she didn’t recognize. Something she didn’t know she could be. And she liked it. She liked this Violet, who somehow knew innately what she wanted. Whose instincts were right, and not wrong. Who didn’t have to police her behavior to make herself acceptable, because...here, it was good. Here, this very particular sort of bad was just right.
“Come for me,” he whispered against her mouth. “One more time.”
He moved his hand between their bodies, rubbing his thumb over her again, and she shattered. She arched against him, clinging to his shoulders, and then he thrust into her one last time, growling his own release as he pulsed deep inside her.
It only took a breath for him to withdraw, moving away from her. He went into the bathroom and closed the door behind him. She felt stunned. Completely rocked by what had just happened, and cold because he had moved away from her so fast.
She tried to catch her breath. Took a moment to orient herself to her surroundings.
She was no longer a virgin. So there was that.
She looked down at the sheets, and saw blood. And she cursed. Because she was the one that was going to have to clean that up.
Of course she was going to be one who bled. Because that just made it all the more...medieval.
He came out of the bathroom a moment later, the protection dealt with. “Why didn’t you tell me?” She noticed then that he had a washcloth in his hand.
“Why didn’t I tell you what?”
“You know full well.” He came over to where she was on the bed, and much to her horror, pressed the warm washcloth between her thighs. When he pulled it back, it had some blood on it. He winced. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah,” she said. “I’m fine.”
“Dammit,” he said. “You really should have told me. I would’ve been a lot more gentle with you. I knew you were inexperienced but...hell.”
His words were scolding, but his movements were tender, and she blinked back tears as he soothed her.
“Have a lot of experience with this?”
“No. It’s been a hell of a long time.”
“How long?”
“Not since I was a virgin myself, thank you.” There was something that passed over his face. Something regretful. Something sad. But it went away as soon as it appeared.
She wanted to ask about it. But he was gone again, back into the bathroom. He left the washcloth there.
“You know, I’m the one that has to do the laundry.”
He shook his head. “I don’t know what to say.”
“Nothing. There’s nothing for you to say. I knew. It’s not like I’m surprised.”
“Well...”
He couldn’t seem to form any words. “Look, it’s just that I knew I shouldn’t. You’re too young for me.”
“Am I?”
“I’m thirty-two.”
“Oh. That’s not so bad.”
“Isn’t it?”
“I don’t know.”
He sat on the bed and looked at her for a moment, and then he pulled her into his arms, and underneath the covers. “You know, I don’tsleepwith women.”