Instantly his expression took on a wary look. “Why?”

It dawned on me that maybe Jackson had never been read to as a child. “I just thought I would paint a mural on the wall.”

His smile slowly spread across his face. “Alien gets his own mural?”

“We could do Winnie the Pooh, Peter Rabbit, The Jungle Book…” my voice trailed off as I tried to manage this conversation diplomatically. “Why don’t I find some children’s books and then we can decide.”

He had a faraway gaze as he struggled to recall his memory. “My mom used to read me this book…there was this little bear and the bear family wore old-fashioned clothes. There was a grandma and grandpa bear.”

Pain reflected in his green eyes before he turned away.

I worked to keep my emotions inside of me. “I know that series well. Those are beautiful books.”

His voice sounded conflicted. “I haven’t thought about that story in years.”

“You remember your mom?”

“That’s my vote for a mural,” he said as he moved away towards the paint brushes.

My only concernwas the fact that Jackson came to bed after I was asleep and left the house hours before I got up. Without the dent in his pillow, I wouldn’t know that he slept in the same bed. Everything was so tentative and fragile between us. I didn’t know what to do. Did he only want Harper now that he had seen her? Was I too inexperienced for him? The whole thing baffled me, but I had no framework in which to deal with it. I started going to bed naked in hopes that he would take the hint, but nothing changed.

I woke up,curled up against Jackson’s naked chest, my hand on his hard abs. I lifted my head. He was lying beside me, on top of the covers, with only a towel wrapped around his waist. He was dead to the world.

My hand flattened to spread over the smooth, hard muscles of hisstomach. He had the most beautiful skin. My hand moved in one slow circle. I could feel his even breath rise and fall beneath my hand.

I peeked up at him. He was very much asleep. Whenever we had sex it was crazy, intense and I was usually so blown away, I never really had the chance to explore him. Feeling like I was taking advantage of him, I did another slow circle over his skin, this time, moving my hand a bit farther down.

The first night I had arrived, Jackson had come to our bed and woken me up in the most intimate of ways. My breath was slightly uneven as I contemplated returning the favor. The problem was, I had never given a blowjob before. What if I did it wrong? What if he didn’t get turned on? I lifted my head and moved the towel over a smidgen. His member was there for the taking, right in front of me. I moved my head closer, pausing to make sure he was still asleep. Something dangerous was throbbing in the pit of my stomach. I wanted to try this.

I lifted his length gently up in one hand, and tentatively put my tongue on it. It felt smooth. I closed my mouth around the tip, uncertain about how to proceed. I swirled my tongue around it and liked how silky it felt. I was careful as I explored with my mouth. My eyes widened as I felt it begin to grow more firm. I sucked more of him into my mouth, using my tongue and lips to play with it delicately. The bigger and stiffer it became, the more my own body responded. My stomach fluttered as a familiar yearning inflamed my body. I incorporated swallowing into my new found act. Loving that he was now fully erect and straining against my mouth.

Jackson’s hips jerked up, driving him further into my mouth as two big hands wrapped around my head, holding me down. I froze, my eyes wide as his huge girth practically choked me.

“Emily?” Jackson’s voice sounded strained, as his hands released my head.

I lifted my mouth off him.

My voice was small. “Yeah?”

He sat up, and then I was being hauled over on top of him, so I straddled him.

“What are you doing?” he was out of breath.

“Nothing.” I lied.

“You looking for something?”

“No.”

His fingers slid between my legs.

“Did you like doing that?”

“Maybe.” I moaned as his fingers teased me.

“Seems like you more than liked it. Did that turn you on?”

“Can’t you tell?”