Page 140 of Lovestruck at Sundown
“So I can finance the puzzles?” he asked, dragging his fingers through my hair. It felt so good it made me shut my eyes.
“You’re infuriating,” I muttered, feeling my consciousness fading into inevitable sleep and his chest rumbling with a subtle laugh.
“I’m so sorry I made you feel that way.” He wrapped his arms around me and kissed the top of my head. “I promise I’ll always allow you to assemble your own puzzles.”
June 5, 2011
The room waspitch dark when my eyes fluttered open. William’s blackout blinds left no room for guessing what time it was, and the exhaustion didn’t allow me to reach for my phone to check the hour. Not yet, at least. I needed a few minutes to clear away the drowsiness.
To my surprise, I wasn’t wearing last night’s dress anymore. I was in one of William’s soft, cotton T-shirts. He must’ve changed me out of it at some point while I was asleep.
I rolled over toward William and rested my head on his bare chest. My fingers slid down to trace his perfect abs, which were only getting more pronounced and defined. He had started his special workout and dietary routine as he prepared for the role of Haldor Stormbreaker. I had been helping him with meal prep for the past few weeks—not with the actual cooking, but rather with organizing the containers and writing corresponding sticky notes indicating the day and time he needed to consume each meal. The process also included vitamins and all kinds of supplements.
“Mmm,” he groaned, running his arms around me and pressing me against him. “What time is it?” His voice was raspy and barely audible.
“I don’t know,” I said. “Whoever installed those did a great job.”
He let out a low rumble of a laugh and reached out for his phone on the nightstand. “It’s… five twenty-three.”
“Of what day?” I joked, but also wanted confirmation. It felt like we had slept for days.
“P.M.” William dropped a kiss on the top of my head. “Same day.” He grabbed the automated blinds remote to slide them up. I shut my eyes to adapt to the sudden change in luminosity.
“Thank you for changing me into one of your t-shirts,” I said, sitting on top of him and placing my hands on his stomach to keep playing with his abs. He grabbed my thighs and squeezed them.
“Of course.” He took my hand to his lips and kissed the palm, then the back of it.
“Now give me one of those cinnamon Altoids I know you have lying around everywhere.”
He laughed as he stretched his arm, yanked his nightstand drawer open, and pulled out a small, rectangular tin with the mints. He placed one on my tongue and tossed another into his mouth. They weren’t my favorite flavor to eat, but morning breath was real, and I knew better than to try to walk away to brush my teeth. William didn’t seem like he wanted me to go anywhere.
“These taste better in your mouth when I kiss you.”
“Not a fan?”
I wrinkled my nose and shook my head.
Staring around the room, a sudden feeling of dread invaded me. It had been ebbing and flowing for a while. The days leading up to the wedding had kept me occupied, but now, all I could think about was how William would be gone in a few weeks to L.A. for God knew how long. And I didn’t know how to make the thoughts go away.
But through the emotional fog of it all, our conversation about him wanting me to “move in” with him and take down the wall dividing our rooms was bothering me. I’d said yes, and somehow, I’d woken up feeling different about it.
“Tell me what’s going on in that head of yours,” William said, sliding his hands up my thighs all the way to my waist, bypassing the t-shirt. His hands were warm, and the feel of his skin on mine made me feel safe. Loved.
“I was thinking how taking down the wall and sleeping alone in an even bigger room will constantly remind me that you’re gone and will make things harder in the long run.” I wanted to be honest and straightforward about my feelings regarding this situation.
“Is this about last night?” he asked. I could feel him getting harder underneath me. “Are you still upset?” He held my waist and rocked me back and forth at a painfully slow pace against his erection.
“No, that’s not it,” I said, my voice breathy from the need that was quickly building and pulsing between my legs. “I’m not trying to punish you. I just want to make sure each step we take is built on a strong foundation because I love you too much, and if anything—” I trailed off and moaned as William circled his thumb around my clit over my underwear. “If anything happens when you’re away.” I was having trouble thinking. “What if things change? What if you meet someone and—”
William moved my panties to the side, and flesh met flesh. The friction felt so good it was making my brain short out.
“Does it seem,” he said, flipping me on my back next to him in a swift move and pulling down my underwear, “like I’m interested in meeting someone else?” His fingers played around with my folds. “Fuck, Guille.” I could feel the wetness dripping off my thighs as he moved two fingers inside me, making me whimper.
“If things change,” I managed to say between gasps and moans. “It would be harder—to come back from it—knowing we would have to build back—the wall.”
“Your point is?” He kept working me at all the right angles he knew made me go crazy. And I was close. Very close.
“My point is—” What were we talking about again? My head was spinning faster and faster as the pleasure rose and coiled up my spine.
