Temporary Bliss (Bliss #1)(21)
Author: B.J. Harvey

“Ah, I’m just gonna go to the bathroom and clean up,” I say, moving slightly to get out of his grasp.

“Just one more thing, Mac,” he says before rolling me over and planting a hard wet kiss against my lips.

I pull away before my traitorous body decides to dive head first into round two. I jump up and make my way to the ensuite attached to my room, giving Daniel a sly grin before closing the door behind me.

Holy shit! That man has telepathic powers. Not only did we have explosive fourth date sex last night, we followed it up with an equally mind blowing sequel performance this morning, and without a condom. It’s not that I’m worried about STDs or the like, and my birth control is firmly entrenched inside of me, but it felt so good, so personal…

Way too f**king right.

I do my morning business and stand in front of the bathroom mirror, bracing myself on the vanity as I stare at my reflection. My lips are swollen, my br**sts are heavy, and I feel perfectly sated. So why am I freaking out like a virgin on prom night? Fuck, Mac, get your head back in the game. It’s just sex, with Delicious Daniel, who I’m starting to believe is a wolf in sheep’s clothing. He’s too perfect, too good, too right. I need to tell him about the others, especially if we’re gonna continue to see each other and sleep together like this. He has a right to know.

They all know about each other and what the deal is. There is no jealousy, no macho bullshit. It’s casual sex occasionally with guys that I am friends with. What’s the problem with that?

‘Oh, by the way, Daniel, I f**king dig your cock, especially when it’s deep inside me. And I want to continue sexing you into the next millennium, but I also have three other equally hot, equally talented friends that I sleep with occasionally, and I wouldn’t not say no to you becoming the fourth member of my penis harem.’

Dammit all to hell!

In all honesty, with sex like that I could be more than happy never leaving my bed as long as Daniel was in it with me. I blew Sean off last week, and after seeing the smug look on Noah’s face at the tailgate party, I’m not too keen on seeing that man naked again anytime soon. And then there is Zander, my gorgeous energizer bunny who makes me do things in places I’ve never contemplated before, but who has been too busy to do anything other than work and sleep lately.

And now, I have to do the awkward morning after walk of shame in my own freaking house!

Pulling myself together, but still clueless as to what is going to happen next, I splash my face with water and brush my teeth. I grab my robe and slip it on before walking back into my bedroom. I’m surprised to see Daniel sitting on the side of my bed, fully dressed in his rumpled clothes from the night before. He smiles at me as I walk towards my dresser, pulling out a clean pair of underwear and sliding them on under my robe. I’ve never been shy with my body. I’m a firm believer of loving what you’ve got and going with it, owning it even, but I’m suddenly feeling really self-conscious around him.

“Are you going?” I ask, genuinely surprised at how easy this is gonna be.

He finishes putting his shoes on and stands up, walking towards me until he’s almost touching me.

“Well, as much as I’d love to play hooky and stay in bed with you, the markets await. And I’m getting the impression that you might need a bit of time to process this,” he says, waving his hand between us. “But I do want to say one thing, something for you to contemplate.”

He pauses for a moment, staring straight at me with those gorgeous caramel eyes of his. They’re filled with hope, with knowledge, and buzzing with the undeniable spark that has raced between us since that first meeting on the L and is now burning brighter than ever.

“I want to see you again. I want to more than see you again, and I hope like hell that you’ll text me later on. But I’m going to leave you now, to freak out, to mull it over, and hopefully reminisce over what just happened between us because gorgeous, I know there is so much more where that just came from.”

And with that, he leans forward and meshes his lips with mine, brushing his tongue against mine with purpose and promise, leaving me to grab a hold of his biceps and let him take what he wants. He tears himself away, kissing my lips softly once more, then my nose, and finally my forehead as he murmurs, “I’ll wait, gorgeous,” and walks out my bedroom door.

I’m left standing there, leaning against my chest of drawers and rendered speechless, my mind racing at his words while also willing myself to stay put and not go running after him to dry hump his leg.

I hear the front door close and look at my alarm clock. 7 a.m. Thank God Kate will still be home. She can help me process the mind f**k that is going on.

“And who was the boy that just snuck out of our house?” Kate asks with a smirk.

“It was Daniel,” I reply wistfully.

I laugh as Kate spits her coffee out and starts choking.

“Goddammit, Mac. I never thought I’d see the day. You like him, don’t you?”

“I do, but I think he wants more.”

“And you’re stupidly sticking to your ‘no strings’ vibe I take it? Mac, you can’t keep it up forever you know.”

“It works for me.”

“You’re easy.”

“I’m not easy. I’m free spirited.”

“Free spirited with your body.”

“Hey now, no need to get jealous. It’s like having one boyfriend with four different talents. They’re all great at what they do, but there are particular things they excel at,” I say with a wink. Our thoughtless conversation breaks me out of my funk.

Kate giggles at that. I know she means well, but I always feel the need to justify myself to her. She comes from a happy home where her parents are childhood sweethearts who married and had three perfect children. Her two older brothers have good jobs and have just started their own perfect families. She reads sappy romance novels where the knight in shining armor comes along and sweeps the damsel in distress off her feet, fighting off all the demons and living happily ever after. Despite being shown many times that life is far from a f**king fairytale, she still holds on to the hope that she’ll be wined and dined and carried off by her Prince Charming, her Mr. Perfect. I find it endearing, but it is so far from reality for me that I don’t understand it.

“Look, it’s what I like. It’s what I need right now. After Beau, I don’t want anything other than sex. They all know the score, and they’re fine with it.”