"This is the real reason men are dogs. Scratch their belly and they're happy as larks."
"I've never actually seen or at least never noticed a lark, so I can't answer. If you keep it up though, I can't guarantee I won't start humping your leg."
"God, I thought I was, but you’re the freak. Is this sweet-talking the way you bag all your women?"
"None of them mattered. The way I feel with you is special. You need to understand that."
"White," she whispers, her hands going still. I cover them with my own.
"It's special, Kayla. I like that it's different with you. I like that I can be myself and be comfortable. That doesn't happen. Well, I can't speak for you, but it never has for me."
"It's new for me too, White, and when I can get past my nerves, I'm happy."
"There's no need for you to be nervous, honey. You know me. I'd cut off my arm before I'd hurt you, Kayla. No matter what goes on with us, that will always remain the same."
"Well, I mean, you've been my best friend forever, but there's just things you don't know," she says, avoiding looking me in the eyes.
"Like what?" I ask, bringing her face back to mine and kissing her forehead. She brings out this protectiveness in me that I've never felt before.
"I'm not very good at sex, White."
"Kayla—"
"I'm serious. I mean, there hasn't been that many men, so maybe it's something you get better with, like with practice or something. But the point is, I'm pretty sure I suck at it."
I would laugh because the whole thought of this woman being poor at sex is laughable. Everything about her body screams sex, but that's beside the point. She's missing something very vital here, something that should have been explained to her before she ever had sex. Mom was never great at that, so maybe that's why. I suddenly want to wring the neck of the man who got to her first and didn't show her how truly amazing she is. Fuck, I'm even pissed at myself that I let someone else be that person. It doesn't matter because with each passing minute spent with Kayla, I know. It was only cemented in my brain last night with the taste of her on my tongue. She's it. She's that mythical creature out there I had heard about, but never experienced. Soulmate. She’s mine. I may have not been her first, but I damn sure will be her last. I'm not about to be stupid enough to let her get away now.
"Honey, did you forget last night? You're amazing."
"Well, yeah, but that was all you. I mean, I didn't really have to do anything other than let the shower wall hold me up and scare my neighbors, which I'm pretty sure I did last time," she mutters, her face heating even more and her bottom lip going between her teeth. Fuck. She's adorable.
It hurts me though that she's so self-conscious. I’m going to have blue balls from the North Pole here, but I need to treat Kayla carefully. She deserves someone who takes their time with her and then some. I make a split-second decision, grabbing the soap and positioning us so that her back is to me.
"What are you doing?" Kayla asks, looking around like I'm crazy.
"I’m going to wash your back and neck," I tell her.
"But I thought we were gonna… I mean, I had planned on giving you…"
"I know what you were planning, and I want it. But I want more too. I know myself well enough to know I won’t stop with just you giving me head. Which would be great, except you don’t have condoms, and neither do I. You want us tested before we have sex. Now I could go back to my place and get some, but the truth is that I don’t want them between us.”
“White…”
“We have to get our tests done,” I finish her sentence. “I understand and I agree. So that means no sex of any kind this morning. I only have so much willpower and you’re tempting me beyond reason,” I tell her, letting my hands move over the delicate lines of her back and along her hips, loving the way they flare out. My attention is zeroed in on her ass, the curve, the angle, the smooth and creamy skin. She has no idea the plans I have for that ass. There’s no way I could tell her; they’d scare her to death. I’m starting to realize that Kayla is almost like a virgin.
“What?”
“You can’t suck my cock until I know that I can enjoy your body and prove to you just how good at sex you are—well, we are together. So until we get all that done, we bathe each other and that’s it.”
"Oh. Wow. Okay. But, well…"
"Each minute you argue means you are delaying the moment I finally get to sink inside of you.”
“I guess I’ll hush, then…”
“Good plan,” I tell her, snaking my hands around her and using my lathered hands to cover her breasts and pull her back into me. I can’t resist pinching the nipples and teasing her. My eyes close as her body quakes against me.
“Oh,” she whispers.
“Want me to make you come?” I ask in her ear. I may have to force myself to wait, but I could pleasure her again—and again.
“If you can wait, I can too,” she says, her voice unsteady as she pulls away.