Deep Surrendering (Episode Three) (5 page)

He sighed and tipped my face up to meet his eyes.

And the doorbell rang.

Fin and I carried the food containers and plates and utensils to his room.

“What do you think?” The first thing I noticed was the projection screen, (not unlike those they used in my classes for Powerpoint presentations) he’d placed in front of his other television. The bed was laid out with two trays that we could prop over ourselves to hold the food. It was like he’d planned this whole thing, knowing that I would want to come to his place instead of going out.

“It’s perfect. Just perfect.”

“I also have this for you,” he said, holding up a robe. “So you don’t get anything on your dress. Or, I still have the pajamas you wore the other night. They’re fresh and clean.” Said pajamas were folded at the end of the bed.

“I’ll only wear mine if you wear yours.” I didn’t even know if he had pajamas. I’d never seen them.

Thinking for a moment, he set the food down on the bed and then went to his closet and closed the door. I took that to mean he was going to change. Also that his closet was large enough for someone to change their clothes in. Mine definitely wasn’t that big.

Pulling open the door dramatically, he emerged in a pair of gray drawstring sweatpants and a threadbare t-shirt that had a faded college logo I couldn’t read.

Trés sexy. No, sexy wasn’t even the right word for it. He was beyond sexy. Sexy multiplied to the umpteenth power.

I opened and closed my mouth a few times and tried to form a sentence, but none would come to me.

“I, um, I’ll go change,” I said, ducking my head and walking past him into the closet, shutting the door behind me.

His closet was almost bigger than my bedroom, and even had a chair in it. Most of the space was taken up with jackets, pants, and button-down shirts, but there was a place for ties as well, many of them in varying shades of purple. The whole place was so meticulously organized, it kind of freaked me out. It looked like a closet museum. It was a good thing I let him see my place first before seeing his. Because I would have felt like shit about my place if I’d seen this first.

Thinking I should probably hurry up before the food got cold, I reached behind me to undo my dress, cursing companies who made dresses that zipped in the back instead of on the side. I got the zipper up just fine, but couldn’t get the right angle on it to get it undone again.

After a few futile moments of struggling, I pushed the door open.

“I can’t get my damn dress undone,” I said, pointing to the offending zipper. “Are you laughing at me?”

He shook his head and coughed into his hand, but he’d definitely been smirking about my dress difficulties.

“No, I wouldn’t do that.”

“Good. Then come and help me.” He raised one raven eyebrow perfectly and stalked toward me. I turned my back and waited.

For a moment, he just stood behind me, his breath stirring my hair and the heat from his body warming my skin. And then one of his hands brushed my hair out of the way and over my shoulder while the other stroked the patch of skin just above the zipper.

Well. That wasn’t what I had in mind. I just wanted to get my dress off and put on some comfy pajamas so I could eat my lobster bisque.

His breath hitched for a moment before he gently pulled the zipper down, but he didn’t pull the dress from my shoulders.

“There,” he said, stepping backwards. “If I do any more there won’t be movie watching or eating.” I nodded and numbly walked back into the closet and put my pajamas on, my skin still on fire from where he’d touched me.

“So here’s a question for you,” I said as we got set up and Fin fiddled with his laptop and the projector to get it in the right place.

“Yes?” He sat back and I set his tray on his side of the bed.

“Seeing as how you have these trays and the projector and so forth, did you plan for this date, or have you, um, done this before?” I fiddled with my utensils to try and seem nonchalant.

“You mean, have I done this with another woman? No. Absolutely not. I’ve never even had another woman in my bedroom besides you. And I never did this kind of thing when I did date other women. Mostly I’d take them out for fancy dinners, the opera, wine tastings. Standard activities. That was what they expected and that was what I gave them. But you’re different.”

Good. I liked being different.

“Well, for someone who is supposedly bad at dating, you’re doing a good job right now.”

He smiled and then turned off the lights and started the movie.

I’d seen
Casablanca
multiple times before, but watching it in the comfort of Fin’s bedroom with him and with food? Best. Night. Ever.

“This food is fucking fantastic,” I said as I licked the last of the lobster bisque from my spoon. I hadn’t even started on my beef tenderloin with whipped potatoes and asparagus.

Fin nodded, his mouth busy with his own meal of grilled swordfish. Dooley Wilson reluctantly sang “As Time Goes By” for Ingrid Bergman and I hummed along. It was one of my all-time favorite songs.

“I love the version in
Sleepless in Seattle
by Jimmy Durante as well,” I said, leaning back on the pillows Fin had propped behind my back.

“We should watch that one next time. It’s not quite old enough to be called a classic, but I still think it qualifies,” he said. I shifted closer to him so our shoulders touched, and he grinned at me.

“Definitely a classic,” I agreed.

By the time the movie ended and Humphrey Bogart had said goodbye and put Ingrid on a plane, I was fighting to stay awake. I should have gotten some coffee with my food.

“Here, lay back,” Fin said in my ear, raising his arm so I could lay on his chest.

“I’m sorry. I probably should have slept last night instead of staying up with you. But it was worth it,” I said around a yawn.

“Was it?” he asked and I raised my head and gave him a look like he’d lost his mind.

“Absolutely. Every minute spent with you is worth it. Every single one.”

His chest rumbled with a contented sigh and he stroked my shoulder right below where the sleeve of my t-shirt ended.

“You can go to sleep if you want. Just close your eyes,” he said, and his voice worked like a drug. My eyes finally shut and I curled into him.

“I’ll be here when you wake up. Promise.”

The first thing I heard when I drifted back into consciousness was the scrape of pages of a book being turned. I cracked one eyelid and saw the book right next to me, along with a strong hand that held it.

I opened my other eye and blinked a few times. How long had I been out? The room was bathed in sunshine, the curtains thrown open.

Fin shifted under me, sensing I was awake.

“Good morning, Mari Cherry.”

I lifted my head and met his glorious blue eyes.

“Have you been here all night?”

His lips formed a smile and he nodded, clearly pleased with himself.

“Yes. I was. The whole night. Well, I did get up to use the bathroom and to get some of my books. But other than that, I’ve been next to you the whole time.” He beamed at me with such a sweet boyish smile that I couldn’t resist giving him a kiss, even though I hadn’t brushed my teeth.

“Shit, what time is it?” I asked, remembering that I actually had somewhere to be.

“Just after seven. I would have woken you in another few minutes. Or maybe not. You seemed so peaceful I didn’t want to disturb you.”

“Really?” I said, peeling my cheek from his shirt. “You’re sure I didn’t drool, or make weird noises, or do anything else embarrassing in my sleep?”

“Nope. You looked like an angel the entire time.”

He was so full of shit.

“You’re lying, but I’m okay with that,” I said, poking him in the ribs and stretching out. Ouch. I had a crick in my neck and my ear was killing me from sleeping on his chest. Still, it was kind of worth it to wake up with him.

He put a bookmark in his book and set it aside.

“Breakfast?” he asked.

I nodded and extricated myself from him.

“I really need to shower.”

Fin leaned down and smelled the top of my head. “You smell good to me, but if you want to shower, go ahead. I’m not going to stop you.”

I got up and tipped my neck to the side, trying to loosen the knot that had formed in my muscles.

“Damn, I forgot all my shower stuff though. I can use yours, right?” I’d remembered a toothbrush, thankfully.

“Sure, use whatever’s in there,” he said, going back to his book as if I was bothering him. “I’ll have breakfast ready when you get out.”

“Okay.” I thought about saying something else, but he seemed absorbed in his reading, so I just walked toward the bathroom and opened the door.

I’d been in here before, but I still had to remind myself that I wasn’t walking into a magazine. In addition to a huge shower with multiple showerheads, he also had a large tub with jets and his and hers sinks. Funny that he had two sinks yet never had a woman over who would use the other one.

Until now, I guess.

I stripped out of my PJs and stepped into the shower. I scanned the shelf and found a bottle of my shampoo, conditioner, and body wash. The exact same scents and brands I used, hanging out right next to Fin’s collection.

I shook my head at him and turned on the water, getting a cold blast right in the face. What a way to wake up.

Sputtering, I fumbled for the handle, but an arm that wasn’t mine got there first.

“Too cold?” A voice said in my ear, just before something brushed my back.

“Cold?” I definitely wasn’t cold, and it had nothing to do with the temperature of the water.

Fin pulled my body into his, brushing my hair over my shoulder as the now-hot water pounded down on us. Pressing my hands against the wall of the shower, I waited to see what he’d do. He’d said he didn’t get naked when he had sex, but he was definitely naked right now. All I wanted was to turn around and run my hands all over him and kiss him and taste him. Everywhere.

Sex was definitely going to happen. His dick pressed into my back, and I wondered if he’d take me slow or if he’d surprise me. My skin itched with anticipation. All I wanted was to turn around, but I didn’t dare.

But then his hands ran through my drenched hair and I heard him pick up the bottle of shampoo and pop the top. Moments later, his hands were working my hair and the shampoo into a lather.

I closed my eyes as he massaged my scalp and I leaned back against him.

His hard-on wasn’t going anywhere, but he seemed intent on getting my hair clean first. As he rinsed it, he used one hand to shield my eyes so the soap didn’t drip into them. So considerate.

I didn’t turn around, not even when he worked conditioner into the ends of my hair before piling it on top of my head and securing it with a clip.

“It’s says you should leave the conditioner in your hair for at least two minutes for the full effect,” he said, leaning down to speak in my ear. “But what can we do in two minutes?” Wrapping one arm around my waist, he lifted me until I was on my tiptoes, positioning himself before lowering me onto his dick. The penetration was shocking in its intensity, and if he didn’t still have an arm around my waist, I might have pitched over and crashed into the shower wall.

“Let’s see what we can get done in two minutes, shall we?” He drew his hips back and then plunged into me again, nearly lifting me off my feet. It was as if he was trying to tear me apart.

“Touch yourself,” he commanded, and I took one hand from the shower wall and put it between my legs, rubbing right above where his body met mine. I was fully awake now. More awake than I’d been probably ever.

“Make yourself come. I know you can. Come for me, Marisol.” It didn’t take long for the pressure between my legs to build and burn through my veins.

“Not yet, not yet,” Fin chanted in my ear, and I brought myself higher, higher, higher…

“Now.”

I let myself go as Fin thrust inside me, shattering me into a million bright pieces of light.

He pumped into me a few more times and then came, and for the first time, I realized he wasn’t wearing a condom.

“You feel so good,” he said, sliding out of me. Some of his cum dripped down my leg.

Still in the afterglow of the orgasm, it took me a few moments to get properly worked up about the fact that we’d just had unprotected sex.

“You didn’t use a condom,” I said, turning around, not caring that the water was getting into my eyes. I shivered with a little aftershock, but fixed him with a glare, trying not to look at his chest and lower.

“I … I know. I’m sorry. I wanted to feel you against me with nothing between us.”

I shook my head. That wasn’t good enough. Keeping my eyes fixed on his face was hard when his naked body was in view and I’d wanted to see it so much.

“You can’t do that, Fin. You can’t just make decisions about my body without my consent.” Yes, I had let him take control of our sexual exploits, but I drew the line at this.

His hair dripped into his beautiful eyes and I told myself that I had to stay angry at him so he’d understand the seriousness of what I was talking about.

“You don’t know if I’m on the pill, or if I’ve been tested. Did you think about that? Not to mention you didn’t ask me.” We stared at one another, deadlocked. I wouldn’t look down, I wouldn’t look down…

He wiped his hair out of his eyes.

“I wasn’t thinking.”

“No, you weren’t. And I think I need to finish my shower alone, thanks.” He just nodded and left the shower, closing the door behind me and leaving a dripping trail of footprints in his wake. I didn’t watch him go. I turned my back.