Part 13 (1/2)

”So what happened?”

”I caught her one night, with my friend.”

”Caught her? In bed?”

Thorne loosened his collar. ”Yes,” he said. ”In my bed. I come back from a trip that got cut short and I saw them...together.”

”I'm so sorry,” I said, because that felt like the only thing I could say. ”I know how s.h.i.+tty people can be.”

He was gazing at the floor, lost in thought. ”Turns out she really didn't give a d.a.m.n about me,” he said. ”She even told me I didn't deserve her. I'm beginning to think she was right.”

”Thorne,” I said. ”You're a f.u.c.king catch! What she did to you, of course she had to say things like that. She had to clear her conscience somehow! I know because Nick always used to do that too.”

”You don't know me,” Thorne said. ”I have plenty of faults to my name.”

”Who doesn't?”

”Mine are worse than others'.”

”Let me be the judge of that.”

And then, once again, he was looking at me, the same way he had been looking at me all night, except for that one blast-from-the-past moment. ”You like this,” he said. ”You wanted to know me before we got any further. You wanted to see this side of me, didn't you?”

”Is that why you did it?”

”I don't know,” he said. ”I wanted you to know that I'm a real person. That I have real problems, just like you. That I'm not perfect.”

”You don't have to be,” I said, setting the wine gla.s.s down and getting up.

I was feeling bold. I went towards him and he got up too. We kissed and I could taste every hint of flavor that the wine held, in his mouth this time. The pleasure was reaching all kinds of places inside my body that I hadn't intended for them to reach just yet. But that's what he did to me. When his lips touched mine, as always, it was fireworks. I wished there was more than just his mouth to explore.

When his body pushes into mine, the growing bulge inside his pants was pus.h.i.+ng into me, reminding me that he was as much a part of this magical moment as I was. Instead of going to the room, he cleared out the table and held me against it. His hands were fumbling with my clothes and my fingers were trying to pry open the b.u.t.tons on his s.h.i.+rt, wanting to unveil whatever he was hiding. Finally I succeeded and we were both breathing hard, and his hands were fumbling with his belt and then his zipper...and I had the front of his chest to look at. My hands couldn't help but feel the firmness of his chest, and I couldn't begin to describe how that felt. I was still staring at the way his smooth skin gave way to the slight growth beneath his navel. By then his hand was pus.h.i.+ng its way inside my pants and going through the fabric, and it just lingered there and judging by the expression on his face, I was not the only one getting aroused by this. One by one he started to take off my clothes, the pants come off first and then the underwear and his bare hands were touching me deeper and deeper...

”Thorne...” I whispered.

But he was not even listening anymore. He pulled me in closer and I felt his erection against me. He reached into his pocket and fished out a condom and tore the wrapper between his teeth.

He kissed my neck. ”Is this okay?” he asked.

I answered by kissing him back, harder this time. ”Yes.”

And then he was inside me and I had no choice but to let myself go. When we both finally came it was like the whole world was trying to celebrate with us. Life suddenly looked perfect and so complete. He looked back at me, panting and kissed me again. When we looked at each other, we both broke out laughing.

Yep.

Just two crazy people being crazy together.

How often do you get to feel that?

Almost never.

And I knew that only too well.

He pulled off and put his pants back on but didn't bother with the s.h.i.+rt. I straightened my own clothes and he helped me off the table.

”Can't believe we just did that,” I said.

He looked at me, solemn. ”Are you saying that because you didn't like it?”

That's what he was worried about?

”That's not what I meant,” I said. ”I just...I don't do this.”

”Why because some magic rule book said you can't?”

”Pretty much, yeah.”

He smiled. ”I like that you don't follow the rulebook,” he whispered. ”More wine?”

We spent the rest of the night discussing our favorite books, movies, music, what we thought life was supposed to be and we talked about everything we could think of until I couldn't talk anymore. I had so much to drink I didn't think I could stand up straight but even though Thorne's been drinking more than I have, he looked completely fine. Finally, he took me to the bedroom upstairs in his loft.

”You need to sleep,” he said.

The minute my head hit the pillows, I closed my eyes.

THORNE.

When I woke up she was in bed next to me. I could barely believe it. She stirred in her sleep when I climbed on top of her and tried to kiss her face. She opened her eyes. ”Morning,” she said with a smile.

”Morning,” I said, and kissed her.

She kissed back and we started making out. I pulled her dress over her head and lowered her bra, pinched a nipple and she moaned. My morning erection got worse. I slid a hand inside her lace panties. She moaned even harder. I kissed the skin along her neck, lowered my mouth to her b.r.e.a.s.t.s and kissed every inch of skin, used my tongue on those perked up nipples and she s.h.i.+vered under me. ”Want to make it more interesting?” I whispered.

”How?”