Page 44 of Almost Love

She arched an eyebrow, a hand dangerously close to the bulge in his pants. “Bossy.”

“Tomorrow, Clem.”

“Does that mean you’re not going home?”

He searched her eyes. “I can, if you want me gone.”

“No,” she whispered, lips hovering over his. “Stay. Because tomorrow…”

“Tomorrow, we start over.”

CHAPTER 13

As she woke up, the first thing Clementine registered was that she wasn’t alone in bed. The arm around her waist held her against a strong body, warm breath brushing the back of her neck. It shouldn’t have surprised her that he was still there. She wasn’t a cuddler and given that she hadn’t shared a bed with someone in a while, she forgot that sleeping in someone’s arms could feel good.

When they got into bed last night, they’d stayed on opposite ends. At some point of the night, their bodies had clearly gravitated towards the other. She was tightly wrapped up with him and it felt, despite the frown marring her face, incredible. She still wore her black dress, though it was bunched up around her waist at that point.

After much hesitation and mental acrobatics, she slowly turned to face Oakley as his arm tightened around her. She couldn’t help but smile as she admired the man. He was beautiful when he was awake. But asleep? He looked so young and boyish. He was on his stomach, face smooshed into the pillow, hair in disarray from all the tugging and teasing she’d done last night. Dark rings hugged the underside of his eyes too.She resisted the urge to touch him, to trace the shape of his straight nose, the perfect curve of his mouth.

When she’d suggested a no strings attached sex deal, she assumed that they’d be naked all over the place. Instead, she’d panicked and he’d been gentle and communicative. He asked what she wanted, didn’t take unless she gave and waited for her to make all the moves. She had really enjoyed him pulling her back in for a kiss that first time, but shelovedthat he asked before doing anything the night before. Even when he was being bossy, she felt in control of the situation. There had been minimal kissing, which was wild since she really liked kissing him.

Over the course of the evening and the way he responded to her, Clementine learned that she had some amount of power over Oakley. The little things she did got him riled up and she felt how hard she made him. She might not be experienced in sexual pleasures with men and she might never have had a real penis inside her, but she understood attraction and what the body wanted.

Their entire arrangement had changed and she hadn’t been expecting that. Strings were attached, strung all over the damn place. They were getting to know each other, and not only sexually, which took away the possibility of casual, detached sex. Not that she was complaining, because she liked that he was being gentle with her. That he wanted them to understand each other.

“Why are you watching me sleep?” he mumbled, snuggling closer.

“Because you’re pretty.”

He grunted. “Why are you awake?”

“Don’t know.”

Oakley opened his eyes slowly. “Wow,” he whispered, lips tugging into a half smile. “Best thing to wake up to.”

“Lame.”

He laughed and closed his eyes again. “Morning, Clem.”

“It could be afternoon.”

“Maybe. Glad I asked for the day off when you texted me.” She scoffed and his smile widened. “Even if nothing happened, I knew I’d need a day to recover from you.”

“That makes me sound terrible.”

“Makes you sound dangerous, actually. I was prepared to be fucked senseless. What we did last night might be a lot more powerful than anything I’ve ever done before.”

“I bet you say that to all the people you charm into bed.”

“Clem,” he grunted, turning onto his side so they were facing each other.

“Oak…ley. You need a nickname.”

“I’ll answer to anything you call me.”

“Stop it.”

“Stop what? I’m not doing anything, just trying to sleep.”

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