Fighting Silence (18 page)

We didn’t talk as we fell asleep even though I was well aware we had a lot to discuss. I wasn’t stupid. I knew Till, and he was probably muddling things up in his head even as I drifted off in his arms. I was much too sated to talk him down from whatever ledge I was sure he had climbed onto the minute he’d come and was no longer driven by his dick. But we could figure it all out later. He had never once lied to me, so I slept easily knowing that forever truly meant forever.

But getting there would be a totally separate issue.

“HEY.” MY CHEEKS HEATED AS I walked into Till’s apartment.

Memories of his mouth against my breast flooded my mind and ensured that my nipples immediately hardened. I would have used that to my advantage, but the boys were present, so I quickly crossed my arms.

Quarry rushed me as soon as my feet hit the carpet. “Eliza, guess what? I won my fight at the gym tonight! So next week, I get to fight Chris. He’s, like, really, really good, but I can take him. He does this thing where he drops his hands. I’m gonna . . .”

He continued to ramble about boxing, but my attention was on Till, who was standing in the kitchen with a spoonful of peanut butter frozen in midair. His free hand jumped to his bottom lip as soon as we made eye contact.

“Hey,
Doodle.
”

His greeting immediately put me on guard. The way he’d said, “Doodle” might as well have been the Great Wall of China for as much as it divided us. The night before, I was
Eliza.

I tilted my head to side. “Why’d you call me that?”

“I always call you Doodle,” he responded, but even that sounded distant.

Oh, yeah. There had definitely been muddling going on in his head since he’d crawled out of my bed the night before.

“Not always.” I narrowed my eyes, and he narrowed his right back at me.

Quarry continued to talk about his day, and Flint read on the couch. As usual, they were both oblivious to the stare-off that Till and I were engaged in.

Finally, a small smile played on his lips as he flipped the spoon over and shoved it in his mouth. I might have moaned as he slowly dragged it out. It wasn’t meant to be sexy, but the memories from the night before made it damn near electric. However, it did manage to soothe my exposed nerves—and drench my panties.

“You hungry?” he asked, breaking the awkwardness that was partially because of our first after-sex encounter and partially because I was openly gawking at him as he ate freaking peanut butter.

“If you are making anything except mac and cheese ramen, yes.”

“Soooo, you’re not hungry, then?” He lifted a bag of shredded cheese off the counter and tossed a fistful into the pot on the stove.

I laughed and continued trying to gauge what direction his mind had taken him over the last twenty-four hours. The nickname had spoken wonders, but his eyes drifted down my body, saying something else altogether.

“No. I’m definitely not hungry, then. Look, I can’t stay tonight. I have a big test tomorrow in accounting, but I just wanted to see if anybody needed help with homework before I disappeared.”

“I’m good,” Flint answered, not taking his eyes off his book.

“I finished all mine at the gym,” Quarry called out, spooning his own peanut butter into his mouth.

“Okay. Good deal.” I turned my attention back to Till. “You still coming over tonight?”

He hesitated for a second. “Um . . . do you . . . still want me to?”

“I just figured since, ya know, you come over every night.”

“Right. So then why would you ask?” He arched an eyebrow.

Then it was my turn to feel awkward. “I . . .” I trailed off.

Quarry’s eyes were bouncing between us questioningly, and even Flint took notice of our uncomfortable conversation.

“All right, you guys get something to eat,” Till instructed as he walked in my direction. Then he guided me to his front door.

“So, I’ll see you tonight?” I asked as he stepped outside with me.

He shoved his hands into the pockets of his jeans and looked over my head as he asked, “Are we good?” His eyes nervously flashed to mine.

It might have been wrong, but his nerves made me smile. “I’m
really
good,” I purred. Deciding to put his fears to rest, I wrapped my arms around his waist and snuggled my head against his chest. “Are
you
good?”

He released a loud breath and then chuckled as he looped his arms around me. “I’m good.”

“So, I’ll see you tonight?” I repeated then glanced up to find him staring down at me. It was a brief second, but whatever worry I had that Till had jumped ship on his promise to me vanished.

Forever blazed from his eyes.

“Leave the window open.”

Both times I had been with Till in the past had been spontaneous, but later that night, I actually had the opportunity to prepare first. I showered, blew my hair dry, shaved—everything. Instead of washing my face like I usually did, I applied makeup before crawling into bed. I donned a sexy, see-through bra that usually hid in the back of my drawer and a matching thong, which was equally as sheer.

“Hi.” I stood up off the bed as he started climbing through the window.

His eyes went wide when he saw me, causing him to momentarily lose his balance on the windowsill and go crashing to the floor. “God. Damn,” he cursed as he rose to his feet while taking in my new wardrobe. “You . . . I . . . um . . .” His hand went to his lip.

He was rooted in place only a few steps away, but his eyes traveled over every inch of my body and back again.

Till was speechless. I had never felt so empowered in my life.

“Are you okay?” I feigned concern as I slowly approached.

“Not even close,” he told my breasts, making me giggle.

After sliding a hand under the edge of his T-shirt, I raked a fingernail over each of his abs before dipping it into the waistband of his jeans.

“I’m sore today,” I announced, closing the distance between us. My breasts were pressed against him, but he still hadn’t even attempted to touch me yet. I had plans to remedy that. I smirked then stood up on my tiptoes, kissing the base of his neck. “Make me sore for tomorrow too.” At the last second, I darted my tongue out to the hollow dip at the base of his neck. It was meant to tease him, but as the taste of his skin hit my tongue, I was flooded with memories of taking more of him in my mouth. The moan escaped before I’d even felt it coming.

A loud rumble shook his chest, but that was the only warning I received. Suddenly, I was off my feet and sailing through the air. Just as I landed on the bed, Till crashed on top of me. His mouth roughly landed on mine.

“Tell me we can’t do this again,” he demanded as his hands found my breasts.

“We’re definitely doing this again.” I arched into him.

“It’s gonna get so messy, Eliza. Please.” He groaned as I reached into the front of his jeans.

“I’m okay with messy,” I breathed, guiding his hand from my breast and into my panties.

“Fuuuuuck” he cursed when he discovered exactly how thorough I’d been with the razor earlier. His finger pressed inside me as his body traveled down the bed and settled between my legs, stripping my panties off during his descent.

He added another finger in a less than gentle but overwhelmingly intoxicating, rhythm.

“Tell me to stop, Eliza. We can’t do this again.” He grazed his teeth on the inside of my thigh.

“We’re already doing it.”

“Tell me to stop.”

“No.”

“It’s going to ruin us.”

“If you don’t stop talking, you’re going to ruin this.”

“I’m serious.” He kissed the inside of my other thigh, his fingers never faltering in their steady pace.

“So am I. Stop trying to talk yourself out of this while your fingers are buried inside me.” I threaded a hand into his hair and gave it a gentle tug.

“Goddammit. Tell me to stop!” he demanded one last time, but his fingers sped before twisting in the most delicious way.

I decided to give him what he wanted, but only because I knew he wouldn’t follow through.

“Stop.” I rolled my hips forcing him even deeper.

“Well, it’s too fucking late now.”

I would have laughed, but his mouth sealed over my clit and stole my breath, words, thoughts, and orgasm. My body shook as he pushed me higher even while I was falling. It shouldn’t have worked like that, but whatever voodoo magic Till Page was working with that night was all right with me. He didn’t stop swirling his tongue until I used his hair to pry his mouth away.

“Too much!” I cried.

He looked up with a wickedly proud grin. His hand disappeared, and seconds later, his cock replaced it.

The sex wasn’t drawn out the way it had been before. He wasn’t desperate to make me come, but he still did. Till coaxed me to the brink of orgasm and then used one hand between us to send me flying off. Then he quickly followed.

With my legs wrapped around his hips, he breathed my name as he came. “
Eliza.”
He rained languid kisses over my mouth and neck as he rocked inside me until he softened. Several minutes passes before he settled next to me and tucked me under his arm. Trailing his fingers gently over my breasts, he whispered, “You’re beautiful.”

There were not declarations of love, but they were as present as ever.

“You worried me earlier when you called me Doodle,” I confessed against his chest, punctuating it with a kiss.

“We’re good, okay? Always.”

“Yeah. Always.” I squeezed him tight. “Hey, Till?”

“I’m right here.” He returned my squeeze.

“Please tell me you’re better at using condoms than you have been with me.”

“Shit. I’m so fucking sorry. I swear . . . I always use one. I just don’t think straight when things start happening with you.”

“Yeah, I get it. I don’t exactly think straight with you either. I’m not on the pill or anything, but I think we’re safe as far as timing goes.”

“Okay, good.” He sighed and kissed the top of my head.

“But next time, we have to use one. No more chances.”

“Next time?” he questioned, and I could hear the smile in his voice.

I looked up to find him grinning. “Yep. There are going to be a lot of next times. You should probably invest in the economy box.”

His smile grew. “Well, in that case, I don’t get paid until Friday, so you’re gonna have to keep it in your pants until then.”

“See, that’s exactly the problem. We
have
been keeping it in my pants. Maybe we should try keeping it in
your
pants for a while.”

We both laughed until Till dropped his head back against the pillow.

“How the hell is this going to work?” He rolled to his side.

I shifted up to share the pillow, and then tucked a stray hair behind my ear as I settled.

“The same way it’s always worked,” I said. “Only now, you get to see me naked.”

“So, like, friends with benefits?”

“Uh. No,” I stated firmly. “Like two people who love each other and have decided to take it to another level and actually be together.”

It wasn’t storming outside, so I couldn’t be completely certain, but judging by how quickly Till scrambled off the bed, I decided that he must have been struck by lightning.