Page 116 of Defend Me

“Twat.”

“Cringe lord.”

“Gremlin.”

“Slut.”

I gasped. “That’s offensive.”

He laughed and I was momentarily mesmerized by his expression. We were on day five of this relationship, which was still a weird word for me to use. I’d become used to it way more quickly than I expected, almost to the point of being obsessed with him. We hung out in his dorm or at my apartment and we slept in each other’s arms every night except for one, which was only because we were trying to be ‘healthy.’ He’d been at my door at seven AM and we crawled into bed together until we had to get up for class.

To keep myself from getting lost in him, I held out a sour strip. He leaned forward and snatched it with his teeth, then licked part of my finger.

“You adorable little seductress,” I groaned. “If you’re not careful, I’ll fuck you right over there against that window.”

“Imagine the view.”

I stared out at the city and did just that. “It would pale next to you when I make you cum all over the glass. You’d look stunning on your knees licking it clean.”

His mouth fell open, then he composed himself. I didn’t know exactly how experienced he was. He got flustered easily, but that might’ve been his personality.

“How many guys have you slept with?” I asked.

After snagging his lip between his teeth, he readjusted on the couch. “Four.”

I honest to god couldn’t tell if that was a normal amount. That might’ve been sad, but my life experiences were wildly different than his. I’d breached a hundred before I came to Seattle. Not once had I cared about that. I felt a little concerned about telling him now, though.

“When was the last one?”

“Over a year ago,” he replied.

“I assume you’ve been tested and everything?”

He nodded. “I’m Mr. Responsible.”

I chuckled and scooted closer to him. Since he was sitting sideways, I grabbed his legs and settled them on either side of mine. Both of our knees were up and he began to stroke my calves. It was oddly intimate and made me shiver.

“What about you?” he prompted.

“A week ago was the last time I tested.”

“Preparing for something?” he teased.

“I do it every month.”

“Hm.”

“Does it bother you that I’ve had a lot of sex?”

“No, of course not. I don’t judge for that. When was the last one? You asked me,” he added when my lips flattened.

Holly’s face assaulted me immediately and I felt nauseous again. I had to set the sour strips on the coffee table so the smell wouldn’t make me throw up. Tilian’s hands stopped on my knees and he squeezed them.

“You okay?”

I smiled at him. “Yeah. Last time was a few weeks ago. Protected, just so you know.”

“Are you gonna tell me your number or is that classified information?”

---