Chapter 136

A gentle touch woke me, and my heart skipped a beat. I rolled and found myself nose-to-nose with Charles.

“I’m sorry,” he whispered. “I didn’t handle last night very well.”

Fresh tears leaked up and out. “I don’t think I did, either,” I said.

He shook his head. “No. I shouldn’t have implied you cheated on me. You would never, and I know that.”

My lower lip trembled. “And I could just as easily have said the words that you wanted to hear, that I didn’t cheat on you and never could. It just hurt that you would even go there.”

He kissed my forehead and wiped my cheeks dry with his thumbs. “It was the middle of the night, and I was kind of shocked by your request. If I had been in a better frame of mind, I would have handled that much differently.”

“I would still want to know why you need me to wear a condom, but I don’t think I would have let the accusation in. It was defensive and stupid of me. I’m sorry.”

I grabbed his face and kissed him. “Forgiven. Because I love you.”

“And I love you,” he whispered back between kisses.

His lips strayed from mine to kiss the corner of my mouth across my cheek and down my neck. When he reached the top of my blouse, he popped the top button and worked his way lower.

I put a hand between his face and my breasts. “I really meant what I said last night. Charles, I really want you to wear a condom.”

He propped himself up on his elbows on either side of me so that his chin sat right between my breasts and his eyes locked on mine. “Do you mind if I ask why?”

I let out a long sigh and tipped my head back, breaking our gazes. “That’s what I was trying to work up the courage to tell you last night. Not because I’ve done anything wrong, but because I’m afraid you’ll be disappointed. I-I’ve given it a lot of thought, and I don’t want children right now.”

“There’s one hundred different reasons,” I rushed before he could protest. “We’re in too much danger—”

He reached up, putting a hand across my lips. “That’s all the reason I need,” he said. “I just wanted to know why. I can think of many reasons, too. And it doesn’t really matter whether your reasons and mine overlap.”

He grinned at me, keeping his hand over my mouth. He rummaged around in his pockets and came back, holding a silver square above my face.

“I stopped on the way home,” he whispered. “So now that you’re out of excuses, should we have some make-up sex?”

I loved him more in that moment than I could possibly have imagined. Why hadn’t I just shared my worries with him sooner?

The fact that he was so accepting and that he’d even gotten the condoms… I never found a man more attractive than one who cared deeply for me and was willing to go out of his way to make me comfortable.

I was going to do the same for him. I pushed him over and lifted his shirt, kissing down his chest, working my way slowly toward the line where his abs disappeared beneath the waist of his pants.

Charles let out a sigh and spread out across the bed, closing his eyes. I slipped his pants and boxers down to find him erect and waiting for me.

I took him in my mouth, slowly working my way up and down his shaft, using my tongue to trace the sensitive skin. The whole while, his breathing caught in his chest and throat, and shuddered on the way out.

He gently stroked my cheeks, and then my neck and my shoulders, reaching around until he found the back clasp of my bra and undid it so that he could reach inside and work my nipples in time with my slow licks of his head.

After one particularly strong suck, he gave my head a tap. “You need to quit. I want to come together.”

Again, it was romance beyond anything I had ever expected. And my heart seemed to swell in time with his attention.

He undid the foil wrapper with his teeth and handed me the condom so I could roll it on. He trembled in anticipation at my touch. Then he pulled me up so that he could kiss my face and wiggled his hips, inviting me to straddle him and sit across his lap.

“Do you know what’s good about the condoms?” he asked.

I shook my head. “Aside from the obvious?”

Charles grinned. “They’re going to allow me to go way longer. I’m aiming to get you to come three times.”

Some talk about make-up sex being rough and primal, a way to take out all lingering aggression and reconnect on the most personal level. But I found it to be more tender and thoughtful. Charles and I both took time to make sure that our partner neared the crest time after time, nearly reaching climax and pulling back so that we could come together.

I was about to squirm away yet again, but Charles bit down on my ear and pulled himself out of me. He replaced his cock with his fingers, rubbing frantically against my lady parts. I squirmed and bucked, my back arching.

“Come,” he demanded.

As if in response to his request, I passed that peak, and stars exploded in front of my vision. My body trembled, and my legs clamped around his hand, making it difficult for him to continue. I cried out as waves of ecstasy rolled over me.

“But what about you?” I gasped.

“In a minute.”

Wandering lower, he pressed my legs apart with his hands, slipping his tongue into the spots that were still overly sensitive. His slow licks of that stimulated skin quickly drove me back up to the peak.

I ran my fingers through his hair, gripping his head. “I’m close,” I breathed. “Oh, Goddess. Charles…”

“Come,” He ordered, slipping his fingers inside to work in and out while his tongue traced the edges of my clit.

Fresh shutters rippled through my body. I moaned, not sure whether those noises were the end of what had come before or in response to this new pleasure.

When the last pulses settled from my body, I flopped limply against the pillows. Charles crawled up along my body, kissing my thighs, my stomach, my breasts, my neck, and finally my mouth.

“Don’t get too comfortable yet,” he warned. “I told you to expect three.”

All I could do was smile.

He mounted me, pressing my legs aside and taking his weight on his elbows on either side of my chest. Our lovemaking dropped into straight romance, full of passionate kisses and long, firm strokes.

Everything moved slowly enough for me to connect with him on a very deep emotional level. I’d never felt more loved.

Charles’ pace quickened and altered. And I could tell he grew more excited, but still, he kept the passionate kisses. I swear I could even taste his vetiver. Could he taste me the same way?

My own pleasure rose in response to all of these stimuli, and my fingertips dug into his back. I broke our kiss with the first breath of climax, and it sent Charles over the edge.

His back stiffened, and he rammed himself into me over and over, crying out in deep guttural pleasure. He thrust himself deep inside me, his balls pulsing against my body, emptying themselves. But this time, I didn’t have to worry. The condom would protect me from his release.

In response to that comfortable thought, my own pleasure crested again. My back arched, pressing my breasts to his chest, even though he reared back away from me. I cried out, my nails digging into his skin and drawing fresh cries from him.

He flopped beside me, and the two of us lay panting on the bed. He reached over and ran a hand across my thigh.

“That was quite the escapade,” he panted out. “It’s a good thing we don’t have to have make-up sex all the time. We wouldn’t have the energy to do anything else.”

We both laughed. He rolled and pressed a kiss on my temple.

“I’m glad things are settled between us.”

“Me, too,” I agreed.

I reached down and twined my fingers through his. He gave my hand a squeeze and then pulled away.

“I’m going to go take a shower. Would you care to join me?”

“I suppose I probably should,” I said. “I’ll sleep more comfortably clean.”

A small part of me worried that he might try something in the shower without a fresh condom. But I didn’t need to worry. We simply spent the shower petting one another in a relaxed state of arousal.

I was positive neither of us had another orgasm in us, but just the gentle caresses were enough to keep the lingering feeling of closeness so that when we curled up in bed together, I drifted off into the most peaceful night of sleep I’d had in a very long time.