The Trade(69)

“We?”

“Yeah, we,” he says a little more gently. “Think I want to sleep in a bed without you, after what we just did? Fuck no.”

“But . . .”

He sets me down on the mattress and pulls the blankets over us, then he slips his body against mine. Warm and hard, his arm quickly drapes over my stomach, just below my breasts as his head tucks into the spot where my shoulder meets my neck. He clings to me, like I’m a lifeline, this larger-than-life man.

Still hurt and confused, I try to turn in his arms but he holds me still. “Don’t move away,” he says.

“Cory, I’m . . . what’s going on? Why did you go to the bathroom?”

Sighing, his breath blowing the wisps of my hair, he says, “I wanted you to feel.”

“I wanted the same for you.”

I shift again and this time he allows me to turn in his arms so we’re still pressed against each other, but now I’m looking up at him. “Why didn’t you let me touch you?”

He lifts his hand and strokes my cheek. His eyes soft, the lightest of smiles on his face, and I feel . . . cherished. It’s as if he believes he’s allowed to touch me now. Kiss me. Stroke my cheek. How did that change?

“It was about you, Natalie. I wanted it to be all about you.” He leans forward and presses a warm kiss to my temple, his lips lingering longer than normal before he rests his head back on the pillow. “Get some sleep, beautiful.”

He pulls me in tighter and rests his forehead against my temple. His hold on me is incredibly intimate. I feel like I’m melting into his strength, which makes me believe there could be so much more beyond these walls, that he isn’t the guy who fucks me and leaves.

Of course, he’s not. He’s so sweet, so considerate, and he’s been nothing but kind and caring to me this entire trip.

Guilt washes over me as I consider the awful things I thought about him in my head. I might not understand his reasoning or be able to comprehend what happened between us tonight, but what I do know is if he didn’t find me attractive, if he was playing pity on me, he would not be holding me so tight. He would not be clinging to me as if I’m his only source of air.

Maybe . . . just maybe, he’s not entirely out of my league. Maybe I’m at the very opening and he’s looking my way.

And that’s something I can hold on to.





“Mmm . . . good morning,” Cory says, shifting against me, his head nuzzling my side.

My eyes flutter open, blurry and confused. I lightly shift to feel Cory pressed against me like he was last night, and me sleeping on my back, unmoved from our position.

Neither of us broke apart, neither of us even attempted to move, and not once did I wake up. I slept like the dead last night and that never happens. I’m usually tossing and turning at some point.

Even when I was with Ansel and we were happy, we always broke apart at some point in the night. Getting him to hold me toward what I now know was the end of our relationship was next to impossible, especially when he’d fall asleep without giving me a kiss goodnight. At least I know why now. At least I know not to be sad, but to be angry that he broke our vows.

And that wasn’t on me.

It was . . . all him.

This spooning, this tight hold Cory has on me, it feels new and different and something I want to bask in all morning . . . which I know we don’t have.

“Good morning,” I say, feeling my cheeks blush when his lips press against my temple again.

“You’re so fucking warm.” His hand floats across my bare stomach and that’s when I remember . . . I am completely naked.

His fingers splay across my abdomen and his thumb lightly strokes my skin. It’s a breeze of a touch, but it wakes up a wave of lust, and just like that, I want him again, but I want all of him.

“Touch me,” I whisper, hoping he doesn’t mind how demanding that sounds.

“Fuck,” he whispers into my ear, sending chills down my spine. “You know I want to, so fucking bad.” His fingers drag over my pubic bone, causing my legs to spread wide, connecting with his morning erection. “But we have to be down in the lobby in forty-five minutes.”

Not listening to him, I reach down and connect with the tip of his cock.

“Natalie,” he warns, shifting his body slightly back. “We have to get ready.”

I hear him, but I also know how long it will take me to pack and shower. I can be really quick when I want to be.

“Okay,” I say, flipping the covers off both of us. He groans from the loss of heat, and I sit up on my knees only to stare down at his large bulge. Oh God, how big is he? From how he felt last night while I was riding him, I know he’s really large. It’s intimidating, especially since I’d only been with a mediocre penis before now. Cory looks like he’s extraordinary.

He must sense my staring because when I go to reach for him, he stops my hand and sits up as well. “We need to pack, Natalie.”

I look over my shoulder and catch him staring at my ass before lifting his eyes. I smile lightly and say, “But you’re hard.”

“I’ve been hard this entire fucking vacation. I’ll survive another forty-five minutes.”

I nibble on the side of my mouth. “You have been?”

He sighs and scoots closer, letting his hand fall to my back where he runs his fingers up my spine to the nape of my neck and then back down. “Your skin is so soft.” He drags his hands back up it again.