Page 73 of The Exception

Yes. Shut up, Sonya.

The last thing she wanted was to discuss the professional ramifications of this. She could ignore them for as long as she was beneath him, his mouth inching closer to her center. Besides, this was so far from the dynamic they maintained at the hospital that picturing the two of them under the harsh fluorescent lighting ofworkfelt oddly surreal. They’d completely flip-flopped. Trav was in charge here, and the thought of that soaked the skin between her legs.

At the first press of his tongue, her hand clapped over her lips to keep from alerting the whole house that the dream she’d had after the mattress store? Yeah, that was nothing compared to the real thing.

Trav’s free hand came up quick, looping around her thigh and sliding her bottom closer.

The way he so easily put her where he wanted her prickled her skin with goosebumps. She felt small but safe beneath him—free to just lay back and be explored by his strong hands and mouth. Free to let him teachhera few things.

This is what happens when you stop thinking and let things happen, Sonya. This is how good losing control can feel.

As if he’d said it himself, he tipped his chin to peer up at her, a question swimming in the blue of his eyes.

She nodded, her hips arching to meet his mouth.Yes,she wanted to say. I get it.But instead she moaned, “Just like that.”

That was clearly all of the encouragement Trav needed because he doubled down with his tongue and his touch, relentless and consistent. It would be quick, there was no helping it, but the thought of what came next already brewed in the back of her head and deep inside her belly.

“Let go, Sonya,” he said, words muffled and strained. “I’ll catch you.”

Her body took it from there, contracting in waves around his fingers and stealing her breath. He slipped a hand between her thigh and his head to keep her from suffocating him, but he didn’t stop.

When her limbs stopped shaking, Trav crawled toward her and pressed a hand to her neck, grinning. “You okay?”

“Objectively, that was the best orgasm of my life.”

Trav flopped onto his back, laughing. “Please don’t tell me you have a spreadsheet somewhere where you rank them.”

“If I did, I’d throw it away and start over.”

“Mmm. Still grading my performance.” He tugged her onto his chest and kissed her, hungrily.

His eyes stayed fixed on hers as she adjusted herself, straddling his waist, and reached for the condom. She handed it to him and watched as he tore it open with his teeth, then passed it back to her with an expectant smile.

Oh.She suddenly felt wildly insecure about her ability to be sexy about this. How had she lived this long without putting a condom on a man?

To be fair, she and Marcus hadn’t used them in years. And her hookups in college mostly took place in dark dorm rooms. There had been a few guys in between but it never came up.

No matter. She was an experienced, confident woman. And a medical professional, for God’s sake. She could obviously handle this.

She shuffled backward and her belly swooped as she took him in for the first time in the dim light.

That was distracting, but she still had this.

Careful not to puncture the latex with her nails, she pulled the condom from the packet and held it up to the window to inspect it. When she quickly discerned which side was right-side out, her confidence ticked up. But then she realized she couldn’t see all that well in the dark room, and the fit was important.

She leaned closer, rolling it slowly with the pads of her index fingers, checking for gaps or bubbles or anything that looked wrong. It looked right, though. She’d nailed it first try.

She was mentally congratulating herself when Trav chuckled. “What are you doing?”

Her head popped up.Oh God. She’d been studying him like a science experiment. Her face burned. “Nothing! Don’t laugh at me.”

“Hey,” he said, touching her cheek. “I would never. I just think you’re cute when you get all analytical.”

She smiled. He did look sort of taken by the whole thing.

He moved her hand and adjusted the base of the condom. “I’d let you work all night on this, but it’s better to be safe.”

“Right.”

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