Page 41 of Locking Down Qetesh

I cried out as the release ripped through me, completely losing all sense of the world around me. I was dimly aware of him groaning as he found his own release.

Everything started to come back into focus and I collapsed onto the bed while he got rid of the condom and came back to join me. He shifted the covers so that we could get under them and opened his arm to me.

I shuffled closer, hooking my leg over his and resting my head against his shoulder. "That was good," I murmured.

"It was," he agreed.

"No regrets?"

"No." He leaned in and kissed my forehead. "It was fun. I like spending time with you, and I look forward to doing more things together."

"Same." I looked up at him and smiled. There was something comforting about lying here with him and knowing that we both felt the same. That we could do this again without it being something that made either of us uncomfortable. "I'm glad you're staying the night too." I traced a pattern over his chest.

"Me too. I liked waking up to find you in my arms last weekend."

"It was nice. I didn't realise how much I'd missed that part of being with someone."

He pulled me closer. "It's hard not to get confused between physical affection and sex sometimes."

"Yeah, I think so. I've avoided one in order to avoid the other a bit, I think."

"You're not the only one."

"Another date is on the table, right?" I checked. "Without sex."

"I mean, you are going to my sister's wedding," he reminded me.

I laughed. "Yes, but I have my own invite to that, you can't take me as your date," I reminded him.

"True. But Ella is going to ask us what's going on."

"What do you want to tell her?" I asked quietly.

"We could tell her that we're just hooking up. I'd love to see her face."

The laugh burst from me without me meaning it to. "It would probably be funnier if she knew I was ace too."

"Mmm, true. But honestly, we can tell her whatever we want to."

"That we're dating, and it's going well?" I shifted up so that I could meet his gaze. "If you think it's going well."

He tucked a strand of my hair behind my ear, his eyes soft and full of something that looked similar to adoration. "I think it's going well."

"I'm not seeing anyone else. I mean, that was probably obvious from the fact I said I hadn't been with anyone in about five years, but just so it's out there."

"I'm not either," he said. "Which was also probably obvious."

"You say that, but you were at a dating event recently," I teased.

"So I was." His amusement made his eyes dance, filling me with warmth. "But I guess that's what we tell Ella when she asks. We're dating exclusively, and it's going well."

I settled into his arms and let out a contented sigh. "I like the sound of that."

And I did. This wasn't what I'd expected to happen when Aine had introduced me to the new manager at the Jinx hotel, or when Ella had introduced me to her brother, but I liked it, and I could tell that I wasn't going to regret it.

Chapter 17

QETESH

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