“Oh, boy,” she sighed.
“And your lips.”
“I was afraid you were gonna say that.”
I kissed them too.
“Here we go.”
“Where?” I teased.
“You know where.”
“Uh-uh. Tell me.” I kissed her again, soft and lingering.
“You’re going to make me say it?”
“Mmm hmm.”
“You never make things easy, do you?”
“It’s only ’cause you make them, ahem, so hard.”
“I was afraid of that.”
“You were? Why?”
“’Cause once I start…”
I kissed her and waited.
“…I can’t stop.”
“Can’t stop what?” I hovered with my lips so close to hers that I could feel her soft breathing.
“You know.”
“No, tell me.”
She cupped my face and kissed me tenderly. Then she sighed and began sucking as I thrust my tongue into her mouth.
I picked her up and she wrapped her legs around me. I had to crack an eyelid to see where I was going, but I made it to the stairs. Then I almost killed us when I misjudged how steep they were. I grabbed the railing just in time, but Christy bit the tip of my tongue in surprise.
“Oh my gosh! I’m so sorry!”
“Ith okay.” I tasted blood, but couldn’t help laughing. “I’m fine.”
“Is it bleeding? Let me see.”
I nodded but then lisped, “It hurth, but I’ll be okay.”
“Are you sure?”
“Mmm hmm.” I found my balance and continued up the stairs.
“Are you really okay?” Christy asked when we reached the guest bedroom.
“Yeah. I’m a little dithappointed, though.”
“I know! I never should’ve—”
“No, not that.” I decided to have fun, so I exaggerated my lisp. “I like kithing you. Thucking your nipples too. And I really like licking your puthy.”
She rolled her eyes.
“Thorry— I mean, sorry, I couldn’t resist.”
“I almost bit your tongue off…”
“So? You didn’t. It still works. See?”
“I love you,” she said affectionately.
“I love you too.”
“Will you let me make it up to you?”
“That depenth,” I teased.
“I promise not to bite.”
I chuckled. “Right.”
“No teeth, I swear.” She looked at me from under her lashes. “Unless…
you wanna use them on me. You know, as payback.”
My eyebrows rose.
“Never mind,” she said immediately. “It’s a dumb idea.”
“Now, hold on,” I said. “Let’s talk about this. Do you want me to bite you?”
“No, of course not. I don’t know what I was thinking.”
Mr. Skeptic gazed back at her.
“It isn’t fair,” she grumped. “I can’t lie to you.”
“Don’t try. So, you want me to bite you.”
“Now you’re just making fun of me.”
“Uh-uh. I told you, I’ll never make you uncomfortable about sex. Never, as in ‘not ever.’ So tell me if you really wanna try something. I might like it too.”
“No. Just forget I said it.”
“I can’t.”
“Please?”
“No.”
She buried her face in my shoulder. “It’s nothing. Forget it.”
I stroked her hair and then kissed her neck. She took a deep breath but didn’t lift her head, so I turned and sat on the edge of the bed. “Tell me,” I said quietly. “You want me to bite you?”
After a long pause she nodded.
“Your nipples?”
Another nod.
“Where else?”
She shook her head.
“Nowhere else? Or you don’t know?”
“I… don’t know.”
“Maybe your lips?”
She hesitated and then nodded.
“And your neck?”
“Yes, please.”
“How about your cute little bottom?”
“Mmm, there too.”
“Hard enough to leave a mark? Or just nibble?”
She thought about it. “Hard enough to hurt.”
“Okay. Now look at me.”
She did, and her expression was more embarrassment than excitement.
“Whoa, whoa, whoa,” I said. “There’s nothing wrong with what you want.”
“But it’s so… weird.”
“No, it isn’t. Remember, I told you I’ll never make you feel bad or dirty about sex. Besides, some things about me might seem weird at first.”
“Like… being a nudist.”
“Mmm hmm.”
“And… wanting me to shave.”
“See? You’re catching on.”
“But those are normal compared to this!”
“‘Normal’ is whatever makes you happy,” I said firmly, “as long as it doesn’t hurt anyone else.”
“But… this is hurting someone else.”
“Ah, but not against your will. That’s the key. If you want me to hurt you, I’ll hurt you. As long as it makes you happy.”
“I don’t want you to hurt me-hurt me. Not, like, for real. Just… maybe…
spank me and bite a little.”
“Spank you too? All right. You know,” I added with a chuckle, “this is so normal there’s even a word for it.”
“I know, but… I don’t wanna say it.”
“Masochism.”
“It sounds so… normal… when you say it.”
“It is normal,” I said.
She looked into my eyes and studied me.
I gazed back calmly.
“You really mean that.”
“I really do.”
Her expression softened and she caressed my face. “What did I ever do to deserve you?”
“You were a bad girl,” I teased.
“And you’re my punishment?”
“What do you think?”
“I think… maybe God knew what He was doing when He made us late to that Art History class.” She was testing me.
“So you think God brought us together?”
“It doesn’t bother you? That I think that?”
“No. I’ve told you all along, you’re changing me as much as I’m changing you.”
She squeezed my neck and pulled my cheek down to hers. “Oh, Paul, I love you so much.”
“And I love you.”
“And now I really want…”
“What?” I asked with a grin.
“To suck your cock.”
“I was hoping you’d say that.”
“And… maybe you could spank me?”
“While you’re sucking me?”
“Yes, please.”
Later, we dined on an international feast: Italian bread, French cheese, English jam, and American wine. We opened the second bottle afterward and took it upstairs. Christy wasn’t anywhere close to drunk, but flirty girl had come out.
“I don’t know what you said to Marianne,” she said as she climbed onto the rumpled bed, “but you sure convinced her.”
“Oh?”
“Yeah. When I first talked to her about us, she thought we should wait.”
“And now?”
She sipped her wine and grinned. “She thinks we should do it when we’re ready.”
“Good news, I’m ready now!” I pushed open her unbuttoned shirt and reached for her bare thigh.
She laughed and batted me away. “Not so fast, Mr. Roman Hands.”
“Hmm. I was afraid you’d say that. I’ll have to get Wren to work on you too.”
“Nuh-uh. She said I should spread my legs for you.”
“So that’s what made you blush?”
“You know me so well.”
“I do. But not as well as I’d like.”
“You said you were patient.”
“I am, but…”
“Besides, I take care of you other ways.”
“You do, but…” I tried another tack. “How long did you wait before you had sex with Simon?”
She gave me a coy look. “Till we were engaged.”
“Don’t do that,” I said flatly. “One of the religious girlfriends pulled that crap. Said she was ‘saving herself for marriage,’ but that was girl-code for
‘give me something I want, and I’ll give you what you want.’ I stopped seeing her.”
Christy gulped.