Page 91 of The Best Men
I’m not, though. He knows the score. He laid down the rules. I merely agreed to them, since they suited me. No one gets hurt. Everyone gets off.
“Mark?”
He doesn’t stir. My hookup is sleeping.
I tiptoe into the room and circle the bed. His dark eyelashes touch his cheeks. I switch off the lamp, but as my eyes adjust to the dark, I still admire him in the moonlight. Asleep, he looks younger than his twenty-seven years.
Quietly, I unbutton my shirt and then toss it onto the chair. Then I remove my slacks. And, why not, my underwear. Retracing my steps, I slip into bed behind him.
His skin is warm and smooth against mine. I take a deep breath of Florida nighttime air and Mark’s shower soap. It’s a potent combination if there ever was one. Then I press my lips to the back of his neck and lay down a soft, openmouthed kiss.
“Mmm,” Mark murmurs. And when I put a hand on his bare hip, he covers mine with his own.
“You do snore,” I whisper.
“Do not.”
I grin against his shoulder. Then I kiss him slowly right behind his ear. He inches a little closer, his body seeking me out.
“How was your drink with Flip?” he slurs.
Aggravating. I’m not going to share that, though. “We drank a very peaty scotch. I think there might be hair on my chest that wasn’t there before. Feel free to check.”
“Okay.”
I wait for him to roll over.
He doesn’t.
“Baby?”
“One sec. I will rally for 33A.”
“. . . And 33B, and 34A,” I tease. “I’m going to make a bar chart with your data, baby.”
He doesn’t laugh.
“Mark, I just made a spreadsheet joke. A little appreciation, here.”
Nothing. He’s out again.
I hitch my body closer to his, pressing my chest against his back. And that’s when I discover that Mark is starkers under my sheet. He’d set himself up in my bed, naked.
How sexy is that? His confidence just does something to me.
I reach up and run a hand through his hair.
He sighs happily.
Kissing the back of his neck again, I tick through my options. I could wake him up in the most time-honored way. With a blow job, of course.
Or I could just . . . not. As sexy as Mark’s naked body feels pressed to mine, it’s comfortable to lie here beside him. It washes away the aggravation. With him right here, I can feel my own annoyance drifting out to sea till it’s gone.
My mouth comes to rest against his shoulder, and I take a slow taste of his skin. The soundtrack of the night is his steady breathing.
My heart rate slows. This is nice too.
Nice. It’s not something I thought I was looking for. I don’t seduce men with the goal of cuddling them at midnight while the bay laps against the beach.
