“Is that a problem?” I asked. “If I use you for your body?”
He answered by unbuttoning the shirt he’d just put on. “Not at all.”
While he was making quick work of his clothes, I knelt on the bed. He was fully aroused again, even though he’d come less than fifteen minutes ago. In fact, it seemed even bigger now. If I hadn’t been so turned on, I might’ve been a little scared of that thing.
Caine was watching me, so I went for it—gave him actions to go with my bold words. Turning to face the headboard, I got up on all-fours and looked back over my shoulder at him. My voice was hoarse. “I believe you said something about my hair and wanting me on all-fours?”#p#分页标题#e#
It was two in the morning by the time we’d finished rounds two and three. Or was it three and four, since technically round one had started in the living room earlier? Either way, I learned something about Caine this evening—his fight to keep me out was weakened when he was physically exhausted. Considering the method for getting him physically exhausted was pretty damn spectacular, I’d say the discovery was a pleasurable one.
My head nuzzled his bare chest while he stroked my hair in the dark. When he spoke, his voice was low. “How did you get that scar on your back?”
“Fell out of a tree when I was a kid and took some branches with me on the way down.” I’d told the same story for so long whenever anyone noticed my jagged, three-inch scar, I almost felt like it was true.
“Ouch.”
“It wasn’t so bad. It healed fast. How about you? Do you have any scars?”
“No visible ones,” Caine said. “Although the invisible scars are the hardest to heal.”
I understood that sentiment more than he knew. I placed a soft kiss on his chest, right above his heart. After that, we were both quiet for a while, and I wondered if he was thinking about his scars.
“Do you mind if I stay tonight?” Caine broke our silence. “I think you sucked the strength out of me. Literally on that last round.”
I giggled. When was the last time I giggled? “Of course not. I want you to stay.”
He squeezed my shoulder in response.
A few minutes passed, and I thought he might have drifted off, so I whispered, “Are you sleeping?”
“No.”
“Can I ask you something, then?”
I wasn’t looking at him, but knew he was smiling when he spoke. “Would it stop you if I said no?”
“Don’t you miss this?”
“What?”
“This…snuggling with a warm body and companionship.”
Caine was quiet for a moment. “That’s not an easy question to answer, Rachel.”
“How come? Isn’t it just yes or no?”
“Very few things in life are that simple.”
“I think you make things more difficult than they need to be.”
He sighed. “I spent a year on academic probation for giving in to wanting a warm body. You’re my TA, and I’m your thesis advisor. I’ve never had a relationship that didn’t end badly. There is no simple yes or no.”
It hurt to be reminded that I wasn’t the first dip Caine had taken in the academic pool. I was quiet, and he must have sensed that I was feeling needy.
He kissed the top of my head. “I’ve never spent the night with anyone from the college.” He paused. “And before you jump to any incorrect conclusions, I’m never too tired to get up and go home. Even now.”
I took that as a victory, however small. “Okay… When was the last time you—”
Caine interrupted, snuggling me closer in his arms. “And this warm body feels really good. Now get some sleep. You can interrogate me more while you make me breakfast in the morning.”
A few minutes later, Caine’s breathing slowed as he drifted off to sleep. I kissed his chest and shut my eyes to follow him to dreamland. I smiled and thought to myself, I can’t wait for breakfast.
My eyes fluttered open, and I immediately reached over to the other side of the bed. Instead of finding Caine, I was met with only a cold sheet. My stomach sank. Stretching for my phone on the nightstand, I squinted at the time and was shocked to find I’d slept until almost eleven-thirty. The last time I’d slept that late…well, I couldn’t remember the last time I’d slept that late. No wonder Caine was gone.#p#分页标题#e#
Yawning, I dragged myself to the bathroom to wash up and brush my teeth. I was still completely naked, and when I looked in the mirror and saw my wild hair and the faint red marks on my neck from Caine’s incessant sucking, I couldn’t help but smile. God, did I have memories. And not just etched into my brain—muscles I hadn’t even realized I had ached, and between my legs was swollen and sore. Yet I felt better than I had in a long time. I actually liked the crazy way I looked, and I didn’t bother to fix it, feeling some sort of odd connection to Caine through my disheveled appearance.