“I do,” he said.
“Then what’s going on? You’re super intense right now. Not in a scary way.”
“I just feel...” He trailed off, tipping his head back on the pillows. I rolled over and propped onto my elbows, waiting. “At a disadvantage, I guess.”
“Why?”
“I haven’t had a girlfriend since I was fifteen, Courtney. You had Eli...and then Amy, maybe other relationships, too. You have more experience at being a partner than I do, and I’m so afraid I’m going to fuck this up.”
Guilt slithered over me; I shouldn’t have taken his concerns lightly. “The fact that you care means it’ll be fine. I’m not saying we’ll never disagree, but that comes with the territory. Don’t let it stress you out, okay? As long as you’re honest about what you need from me, we can figure it out as we go.”
“I need everything,” he whispered.
“Wow.” I shivered a bit. “You don’t have anything to worry about, you’re great at this.”
“At what?”
“Putting it all on the line.”
He smiled slightly. “I’m really not. You’re the only person in the world I can talk to like this, the one person who might believe I’m capable of it.”
“That’s good...because it would probably piss me off if you spread your deepest feelings around like some kind of emotional harlot.”
“All my feelings are belong to you?”
“Yep. Which means I want to hear if you have a shitty day and you need a hug, or if you have amazing news and want to celebrate. I should be your first stop, no matter what. Get me?”
“I did that before we got together,” he said in a quietly marveling tone. “It was—we were—all of this already, just without the sex.”
“I like sex,” I pointed out.
“Me, too. And it’s even better with you.”
“How would you know? We’ve spent the past hour talking. You could’ve fucked me four times by now.”
“Complaining will not get you laid any faster.”
“What will? Bacon sandwich? Because I’ll totally fry some. Naked. And that might be painful, so I hope you appreciate what I’m willing to sacrifice for you.” I made like I was going to climb over him and Max pulled me down on top.
“You know the sexiest thing about you?”
I furrowed my brow in mock-thought. “Is it my ass? I hear it’s pretty juicy, if you like them big and round.”
“Your brain.”
“Is this where you tell me you’re going to drill holes to let the demons out and then make sweet, sweet love to my skull? Because I think I have to pass.”
He muffled a laugh. “Courtney. You make it really hard to be sincere, you know that?”
“Fine, tell me all about my beautiful mind.”
“You make me laugh, no matter how bad my mood is. You always listen, even when you’re busy or tired. And you’re on my side, whether I deserve it or not. What I’m trying to say is, I’d want you if you were a dude, a robot, or a head in a jar, as long as you were still you.”
“You win,” I whispered, hugging him.
“What’s the prize?”
“Me. I hope you don’t feel cheated.”
“No way.” His arms came around me, and I snuggled my face against his neck, kissing a path toward his jaw. “You are my golden ticket, baby.”
“Eh.” I eased back. “Maybe not. I’m not opposed to pet names but let’s find one that doesn’t infantilize me.”
“Fine, I’ll work on it. Sweetheart.”
“Better, but it still doesn’t feel right.”
“Do you intend to critique my sexual skills, as well?” He eyed me with a mixture of amusement and chagrin.
I grinned teasingly. “Dunno, would it push you to try harder?”
“You’ll give me performance anxiety.”
Wriggling on top of him, I decided that seemed unlikely. “Did you tell your dick?”
“He’s headstrong, doesn’t listen to me.” The faint stress delivered the joke.
I snickered as I leaned down to give Max a lingering kiss. “Ten points for a sex pun. You can’t fall asleep like this. So should I get off or should we?”
“We already did, but you’re making me curious about the sequel.”
“Sequels are never as good.” I kissed his shoulder.
“That’s a dirty lie. What about Mad Max 2, Aliens, Star Trek: Wrath of Khan—”
“I’ve never wanted you more. Your secret geek makes me want to tie you up and lick you all over.” Demonstrating, I eased down his body and ran my mouth over his rib cage to his abdomen, tasting, nibbling, nuzzling.
Max sucked in a sharp breath. “I think you might be kidding about the bondage, but you should know, you’re seriously turning me on right now.”
“That’s the point.”
“I wasn’t sure you’d want to—” His voice broke on a groan when I put my mouth on his nipple, sucking lightly.
“I do, so much.”
“Yeah?” His eyes burned with longing, fixed on my face until I squirmed on top of him.
Max’s skin felt incredible, hot and smooth. He was so tan compared to me, a lovely contrast in the moonlight. I remembered how much he liked it when I told him how I fantasized about him. At the moment, I wasn’t sure how to incorporate that without it seeming like something from a porno, but I wanted to figure out how to make talking natural.
Oh. Maybe...
“I want to make you come again.” His cock throbbed against my stomach in reaction. Yeah, definitely on the right track. “But how? Should I use my mouth, tease you, until you can’t take anymore and you—”
“Yes, that. Do that.” He worked his hips against me, getting hotter as I spoke. Phone sex with him would be amazing.
“Or I could strip off your underwear right now and climb on. It feels like you’re ready to be fucked. Hard and fast, gentle and slow?”
I pretended to consider while Max ran desperate hands over my back, stroking, urging me on. He cupped my ass and kneaded, licking his lips as he gazed up at me. At any point, he could’ve taken control but he seemed to be waiting for me to decide. I liked his hungry patience; God, I was so wet, partly from the orgasm he’d given me before, but mostly from the incredible rush of tenderness and desire flooding through me right now.