Mandy slipped her tongue into James’ mouth, and the eldest Hardy brother welcomed it with his body and heart. They would get through this, he knew. This was just a blip. Mandy slowly started moving her body up and down on top of James, grinding her own pelvis into his to stimulate them both.
Their mouths were fused together each time she climbed to the heights of his length and then plunged down the cliff to engulf him in his entirety. This time, their lovemaking lasted longer – and the need associated with it wasn’t quite so great.
James recognized the stutter in Mandy’s hips when it started to build and he matched his pace to hers from beneath. They dropped over the chasm together this time, their bodies entwined and weary, their hearts joined and happy.
Once their shudders subsided, James stood – never releasing her from his arms – and staggered around the side of the bed. He reached down, pulling the covers back so he could climb beneath them.
He was careful when he situated them for sleep, pulling Mandy completely on top of him so he could wrap one hand in her hair and hold her lower waist in place with the other. His heart was still hammering, and sleep was threatening to overtake him, but he had to be sure.
“Are you okay?”
Mandy sighed, snuggling closer to him. “I’m sorry.”
“For what?”
“For everything.”
“We’ll talk about that later,” James said. “I need to know that … I need to know that I didn’t hurt you.”
“You didn’t hurt me,” Mandy said. “You could never hurt me – not in that way. You made me feel better. You always make me feel better.”
James brushed a kiss across her forehead as he pressed her head down so her ear was situated over his heart. “I need to hold you so I can sleep,” James said. “I just … you’re probably not tired.”
“I need you to hold me,” Mandy said. “I’ve slept more in the past week than I have in the prior month, and yet I’m still exhausted.”
“I guess I didn’t think about that,” James said, yawning. “Then sleep right here, baby. Just … stay with me.”
“I love you,” Mandy admitted, tightening her arm around his waist.
“I know,” James murmured into her hair. “It’s really nice to hear – and you have no idea how much I needed to hear it today. You can tell me again in a few hours when we wake up and do this all over again.”
Mandy chuckled, although she was losing the battle with sleep, too. “Okay.”
“Okay,” James agreed, his body sinking into sleep.
“James?”
“Hmmm.”
“Was that a bouquet of stuffed sharks on the dining room table?”
“I was playing to my audience and I was desperate,” James said. “Sue me.”
This time, when he slipped into sleep, James Hardy’s nightmares were kept at bay by the belligerent blonde on his chest who refused to let them by. For the first time in almost ten days, James found respite in slumber – and the arms of the one thing he loved beyond all else.
Things were – finally – better.
Thirteen
Sunday morning found Mandy in a state of bliss she worried she’d never discover again. The warm man underneath her was the reason why – although the bright light of day cast a harsh glare on her unruly actions from two days before.
She shifted when she realized James was awake, and he was texting with his arms around her. “What are you doing?”
“Telling Grady to bring breakfast when he comes,” James said, pushing the “send” button and then dropping the phone on the nightstand. “You have nothing here, and I’m not eating leftover pizza for breakfast.” Once his attention was on her fully, he greeted her with a sweet kiss. “Morning.”
“Morning,” she murmured, his words slowly sinking in. “Why is Grady coming? I thought we would have the day here together, just the two of us.”
“We are going to have the afternoon together, just the two of us,” James said. “After we clean this place out and get you home.”
Mandy’s brain was always jumbled in the morning, but she was especially slow today. “Clean this place out? I don’t understand.”
“Well, you see, this comes back to that whole men-and-women-thinking-differently thing,” James said, pressing another kiss to her forehead. “I was under the impression we were already living together. I didn’t realize you didn’t feel the same way.”
“I … .” Mandy bit her lower lip. She wasn’t sure what he was getting at.