Book 4 - Page 85 (1/2)

Oh.

I was with Niall, in his bed, naked, with his heavy arm slung over my hip.

A glance at the clock told me it was one minute before seven, and in the time it took for the numbers to turn over, I remembered: Niall Stella f.u.c.ked my brains out last night.

I nearly rolled into my pillow to scream.

I closed my eyes and relished every memory: Niall beneath me, thick and rigid inside me, his hips arching and desperate to get deeper. And after I came: Niall flipping me over, laying me down on the rug, Niall growing so rough and wild with his hands holding my hips off the floor as he drove and drove and drove . . .

My eyes opened wide as I was punched with the memory of the rest of it—what had happened before the perfect, obliterating s.e.x. More specifically, the way I’d managed to blurt that I loved him, and the way he’d blinked a thousand times, long lashes fluttering, lips awkwardly forming a hundred different evasions before he kissed my forehead and declared: “You’re lovely.”

You’re. Lovely.

That was easily the most mortifying event of my life. Followed closely by him bringing up Portia mere seconds after being inside me.

Number of Times I Told Niall Stella I Loved Him and He Had s.e.x with Me to Distract Me from the Fact That He Hadn’t Said It Back: one.

Number of Times Niall Stella Ruined Post-Coital Bliss by Bringing Up s.e.x with His Ex-Wife: also one.

Well, technically, he had s.e.x with me twice.

Carefully, I slipped out from under the weight of his arm. My body was worn-out, limbs and joints stretched, b.r.e.a.s.t.s tender in the most amazing way. With each step toward the bathroom, the ache in my muscles and between my legs reminded me exactly how good all that pent-up l.u.s.t and frustration felt when he unleashed it. Max was right, New York should definitely consider hooking Niall up to the grid.

But the feelings after? Not so good. In fact, when he’d initially brought her up—my first instinct had been to knee him in the b.a.l.l.s. Niall’s marriage had seriously skewed his idea of what relations.h.i.+ps could be, and it seemed he was only beginning to realize it. What worked for one couple didn’t always work for another, and thankfully, he appeared to be letting those ideas go.

My body . . . my body was exhausted and still humming from what was easily the most mind-blowing, intense s.e.x I’d ever had. My body knew it had been good for both of us.

But my heart had its own hesitations. I hated the gnawing sense that if I hadn’t declared my feelings last night, we would have kissed, cuddled, gotten each other off, and then happily fallen asleep. Niall was my cautious, courteous giant and I knew that his desire to treat s.e.x with reverence was eclipsed only by his new desire to show me he could try to be what I needed.