JAMES
At some point in the early hours of the morning, the sensation of falling knocked me from my slumber. My muscles felt like they jumped out of my skin.
Slinging my head back, I started with a gasp. I was laying on the edge of the bed, feet brushing the floor, with no pants on. My arms quivered as I pushed myself off the mattress.
The pants I'd worn out to the bars puddled on the floor by the door. They were strewn at an angle that reminded me how they'd been hastily torn free of my limbs and discarded.
A pair of black lace panties, a silk bra, and Leah's skirt outfit should have been among the litter on the floor. Their absence brought a tightening in my chest.
I scooped the pants up and tossed them into the hamper by my closet. My shirt followed soon after. Once I pulled on a pair of basketball shorts, I left my bedroom. I stood outside her door for a long moment. No sounds escaped the wood frame. I tested the lock and, finding it unlocked, opened the door.
Amongst the disarray of sheets, a small round figure slumped. Her hair fanned out around her and I could see a single, fleshy ass cheek peeking out from the covers.
I wanted to kiss that ass. If I hadn't fallen asleep on her, I was certain I would have gotten the chance to do so. She worked my poor cock up to his boiling point faster than even my first time had.
Between the force of my load and the long week, I must have taken advantage of her soft warmth and passed out. I hadn't noticed when she left. I was always a light sleeper.
Why wasn't she still in my bed? She could have woken me up. We could have showered together. We could have pushed the sheets back and got tangled up in them.
There was so much more to her delicious body I wanted to explore. Those tits didn't receive a fraction of the attention they deserved and that ass . . . Christ Almighty. My second brain rose to full salute. I squeezed it, studying her sweet rolling hills.
It took everything in me not to storm her bedroom.
Turning the switch off, I shuffled to the bathroom and brushed my teeth. My hair was a mess. Several mindful strands poked out at different angles and the back of my head was completely flat. I stumbled into the shower and scrubbed away the night away.
As I handled my dick, I thought about her, looking up at me. The clearness in her canopy eyes. The natural fit of her palms along my shoulders. The incredible clench of her sopping cunt.
Leah was more than a rutting hole, though. I knew this the moment I looked at her and no longer saw the reason my brother was killed. That precise moment was beyond recall, but I knew it had happened.
She wasn't his old girlfriend. She wasn't at fault for his death. It was as if my brain didn't even want to associate this stunning little female with my brother at all.
She was my woman. Her petal-soft skin felt so familiar under my thighs, my hands, my eyes.
I felt like I'd made love to her for a hundred years and this was just another glimpse of paradise between us.
But that was crazy. We'd known each other for so little time. I certainly could just be intoxicated off her after being sex sober for so many years.
I didn't think this was about that. Not entirely, at least. Leah provided me with a new perspective over these last lonely years. They hadn't been a healing period over Marissa so much as a waiting period for her.
As much as I had felt for Marissa, I couldn't compare the darkness of our sex and love to the beaming, outrageous sunlight I felt with Leah.
She made me smile. I couldn't remember the last time I had without a narcissistic smirk. I'd always been too serious, even as a boy. I allowed myself to take on the burden of everything. My family, my future, and my business.
Never once had I been able to completely forget my responsibilities. I thought it was because of my mind and its ability to continuously labor away.
Now I realized I never had a good reason to not labor away. Could the moon shine without a glimpse of the sun?
Don't be so poetically dramatic. You're just caught in stupid hormonal feelings. The serotonin hasn't worn off yet.
I couldn't sleep after all this thinking. Once I bathed and dressed in boxers, I padded out to the kitchen.
My couch was empty.
Julia had presumably found another place to crash, probably a bed to rock. She had been far too Puritan under our parents' thumb. My home always provided an escape for her. I just hoped she didn't shag a weed eater this time. A genuine man with aspirations and a job other than drug dealing would be a nice change.
My tea supply was low, but I decided to heat a kettle anyway. Coffee wasn't the ideal late-night sip. Whiskey would have been better, but I wasn't looking for a buzz.
My shoulders felt less tense and my cock agreed. I would need to know tomorrow why Leah had slipped out and ruined a perfect wake-up for us both. That could wait.
The kettle screeched from the steam, so I pulled it from the stove and poured myself a full, steaming mug. I dropped a spiced plum bag into the water and watched the rich crimson color seep through. The heat around the ceramic instantly burned my fingers.
I hissed, shaking my hand. This time I grabbed it with a pot holder before carrying it up to my office.
—(—)—
At seven-thirty, I closed my laptop and stood from the desk. I grabbed the empty mug and shuffled down the steps to the kitchen.
Leah spun around from where she stood by the coffee pot. A light blue robe with lace-fringed sleeves swathed her soft figure.
I couldn't help but mentally peel those fine layers of cloth away until I noticed that her eyes were red and wide, exhausted but startled.
"Good morning," I greeted, keeping my voice neutral. I placed the mug in the sink.
"Morning," she said, turning back to the coffee machine. "Were you . . . upstairs?"
I leaned against the counter and stared at how tightly the robe stretched across her ass. Each cheek was an exceptionally round, individually defined globe.
The entire lower half of my body stiffened.
"I woke up and couldn't go back to sleep," I told her, "so I decided to get some work done."
She chuckled once, the noise too forced and harsh against her throat.
"I woke up," I said finally. "You were gone."
Leah's restless figure stilled. After a second, her shoulders rose with a deep breath as she shook her head. "I don't know if we should talk about last night, James."
"And why not?"
"Because . . ." She finally turned towards me but her eyes were glued to the floor. "This can't be anything." Her guilty gaze lifted to me, her cheeks bright red.
"When did you make this decision?" I asked. "Before or after you seduced me?"
She pulled up. "I didn't seduce you. If anything, you seduced me."
"You suggested we leave the bar."
"You kissed me! And kept touching me!"
"So I started it then," I concluded, grinning. "I didn't know we were in elementary school still, Miss Harris."
Grumbling, she turned back to the coffee maker and waved me off. "You just used my body against me. Plucked all the right chords until I landed in your bed."
I mused over that phrase and couldn't help the smirk that slid across my mouth. "I don't think I've plucked them all yet, but I did rather enjoy the music you made last night."
Scoffing, she shook her head again. The coffee maker beeped and she didn't hesitate to quickly pour the fresh brew into her mug.
It was killing me not to walk up behind her and press myself into her backside.
I wanted her to know how badly I ached for her.
How goddamned beautiful she was in anything she wore—most of all when she wore nothing.
How I wanted to feel her plush, warm arms wrap around me so I could kiss her silky neck.
What a way to start my morning.
I couldn't do that, though. She was right that I had taken almost all the initiative last night. Touching her and gazing at her and whispering in her ear every chance I could, hoping I was reading her body correctly.
"I didn't use your body against you, Miss Harris," I said, tsking. "I just gave it what it wanted. You can pretend to be the holy one here, but we both know the truth." I stepped close enough that my breath tickled the loose strands of her hair. "You want more."
Her body grew rigid and I heard the light rasp of her breath.
Turning away, I said, "Leave a cup for me" and headed to my bedroom.
Leah swore as I sauntered from the kitchen.
I couldn't stifle the grin on my face. If she believed that this was nothing, then I would make sure she was the one who made the next move. I knew she wanted this as badly as I did.
She would just have to discover that for herself.