“Come on, baby,” he muttered. “Make us feel even better.”
The knot of urgency snapped like a bungee cord, propelling Skyler into a frenzied rhythm that left her breathless. Her hair flew in her face as she bounced on his cock, over and over again, until the pressure became too much, the arousal too painful, sending her falling against him again. She moaned with each flick of his fingers on her clit, and eventually stopped moving altogether and let him take over.
He thrust upward, hard and merciless, his rugged features straining as his chest rose and fell rapidly. Fast, deep thrusts, filling her again and again until she came in a blinding rush of bliss. Gage wasn’t far behind. As he groaned in release, he held her so tightly she could barely draw a breath.
Once the pleasure abated, they lay there in silence, his large hands stroking her back, his breath tickling her forehead. Then, with a pained look, he gently eased her off him and left the bed to dispose of the condom.
He was back a moment later, sliding in behind her. One muscular arm wrapped around her to pull her flush against his body, and she practically melted into him, wiggling her bare butt until she found a comfortable position. She became aware of the voices murmuring on the TV, but she was too sated and drowsy to pay much attention. And still very naked, she realized.
“I should find my PJs,” she mumbled.
Gage tightened his hold on her. “Don’t worry, I’ll keep you warm.”
He wasn’t lying. His body was like a furnace, making her feel warm and safe and utterly contented. The first night they’d met, she never would have dreamed she’d be snuggling in bed with this man, and yet…here they were.
“He’s using too much garlic.”
Skyler pried her eyes open. She hadn’t realized she’d closed them. “Hmmm?”
“The dude on TV. He put too much garlic in that dish.”
A soft laugh slipped out. “Yeah? You think you know better than a professional chef, is that it?”
But then to her sheer amazement, after the judges tasted the chef’s dish, all three of them staunchly declared that waaaaay too much garlic had been used.
“I told you.” Gage’s smug voice heated the back of her neck.
“Fine, clearly you do know better.” She paused, then gave in to the spark of curiosity. “Do you like to cook?”
“I don’t mind it, I guess.”
“What else do you like to do? You know, in your free time?”
“I read.”
She twisted her head and grinned at him. “Your monosyllabic responses are adorable. Okay. What kind of stuff do you read?”
“Fantasy. Sci-fi. Some true crime.” He sounded so completely unenthused about the conversation that she wasn’t surprised when he turned the tables on her. “What do you like to do?”
“Uh-uh. We’re not discussing me right now. In case you haven’t figured it out, I’m trying to get to know you better.”
His heavy sigh echoed behind her. “I don’t like talking. Especially about myself.”
The wave of laughter that hit her would have knocked her off her feet if she hadn’t been lying down. “Are you kidding me? When we’re having sex, you talk so much you could script an entire porno movie.” The giggles kept coming, until she had to curl into herself to ease the stitch in her side.
“Sex talk has nothing to do with me. It’s about all the dirty things I want to do to you.” His defensive grumble only made her laugh harder.
“Uh-huh, whatever you say.” Her eyelids started to droop again, probably because the heat of his body made her feel like she’d stepped into a sauna. “Gosh, I’m really sleepy.”
His palm grazed her hip before settling on her belly. “Go to sleep then.”
She snuggled closer and tucked her feet between his, cocooned in his warmth. She was just drifting off when she felt him trying to slip away.
“This was a bad idea.” Uneasiness clung to his voice. “I should go.”
She answered in a fierce whisper. “Don’t you dare. I’m too warm and cozy. You can’t leave.”
After a beat of silence, he smoothed his hand over her hair. “All right. I won’t.”
Skyler gave a little sigh of satisfaction and closed her eyes again.
When she woke up the next morning, Gage was gone.
Chapter Six
“You know what sucks about saying I told you so? You don’t even get to enjoy it! I mean, you’re right about something, which means you should be stoked, but at the same time, it means having to see your BFF bummed out, and that’s no fun at all.” May blew a strand of blond hair out of her eyes while maintaining an awkward-looking downward dog.
On her bright pink yoga mat, Skyler held the same pose, but craned her head to look at her friend. “You don’t get to say I told you so yet. Not until I know for sure if it’s over.”
“He’s been avoiding you for a week,” Lacey grumbled from the neighboring mat. “I think that means it’s over.”
On the television screen, the perky blond yoga instructor finally broke the position and hopped to her feet. All three women sighed in relief and followed suit.
Lacey had found the Yoga for Beginners DVD in a grocery-store bargain bin, and after months of putting it off, the three roommates had finally found the time to watch it. Being on her feet at the restaurant every night and walking across campus on a daily basis, Skyler got enough of a workout, but she’d promised her friends she’d try yoga, and now they were holding her to it.
Didn’t mean she had to enjoy it, though. Because she wasn’t, not in the slightest. Yoga was hard. And it was too slow and motionless, which made it difficult to expend all her pent-up energy. She’d much rather run her frustrations off on a treadmill.
God, it wasn’t really over with Gage, was it?
Sure, he hadn’t responded to the three texts and two voicemails she’d left him, but maybe he was just…busy.
Oh, you silly, pathetic girl. Face the facts.
She bit her lip and moved her gaze back to the TV, hoping the next pose would distract her from the rush of disappointment that flooded her belly. It didn’t. Nope, her mind stayed focused on the intense, sexy man who’d rocked her world and then disappeared like Houdini from her life.
“I don’t know…I just don’t get it,” she blurted out. “I know he was into me.”
“You sure about that?” Lacey asked in a careful tone.
Skyler thought about the urgency of Gage’s kisses, his rough touch, the way his eyes burned when he’d moved inside her. Then she nodded. “I know it.” Her teeth dug into her lip again. “I think I scared him off by asking him about his life. I was trying to get to know him and—”
“Aha!” Lacey cut in triumphantly. “I told you you’d end up doing that! See? No-strings sex is impossible.”
“I guess it is,” she said glumly.
“Guys, mountain pose!” May chided. “You’re falling behind.”
Skyler and Lacey quickly refocused their attention on the yoga at hand. For the next five minutes, they dutifully followed instructions, but it was obvious none of them had a clue what they were doing.