No! Surely she didn’t know the man well enough to be in love with him.
It was just a dopamine rush. New relationships always created a hazy, wonderful rush of dopamine and other “feel good” drugs that mimicked the sensation of being in love. But once they got to know each other better, she’d find things about the man that would irritate her.
For the moment, though, she needed his arms around her. She needed to feel his heartbeat, to know that he was here with her.
“I’m sorry,” he said again, and he tightened his arms around her.
“I’m sorry too,” she told him, pulling back slightly to look up at him. “I should have stopped us.”
He shook his head. “No, I should have remembered.” He lifted a hand, cupping the back of her head. “Think hard, love. When was your last period?”
Once again, she blushed, not used to sharing those kinds of details with a man. Not even the two boyfriends she’d had prior to now had asked her that question. She’d simply told them no whenever they’d started to kiss her and they’d understood that she was on her period and backed off. Of course, the sex hadn’t ever been mind-blowing like it had been with Zantar. Before Zantar, sex…it had been something she’d done simply because she’d felt it was expected of her. But there hadn’t ever been any pleasure in it for her. It was just part of a relationship. An annoying part – but she hadn’t minded because Faye had enjoyed the snuggling after the fact.
“What are you thinking?” he asked, his thumb caressing her cheek softly. Tenderly.
She smiled, leaning into his touch. “I’m thinking that I finally understand what sex is all about,” she admitted.
He looked startled and Faye smiled, shrugging lightly. “Sex wasn’t like this with anyone else, Zantar.”
“What was it like?”
She cringed. “Before you, it was…well, a chore, I guess is the best way to describe it.” She smiled slightly at his stunned expression. “I would have sex in order to get to the good stuff.”
He lifted an eyebrow. “What’s the good stuff?” he asked, leaning forward to kiss her forehead.
“The snuggling and talking afterwards.” She smiled up at him. “This.”
He laughed and pulled her closer. “Ah, love,” he sighed and kissed the top of her head again. “The good stuff should be all of it. But I’ll admit that the sex was pretty…” he paused, and Faye could feel him shaking his head. “It was extraordinary,” he finally admitted. “I’ve never been so far gone that I would forget protection.”
That warmed her heart and that love-sensation intensified inside of her. Just dopamine, she reminded herself, but she rubbed her cheek against his chest, loving the way he felt and the smell of the aftershave he used.
“Why don’t you get dressed and I’ll take you out to dinner?”
Faye laughed and reluctantly pulled out of his arms. “That sounds nice,” she told him. “What should I wear?”
Zantar looked down at Faye’s robe, seeing the taut nipples pressing against the thin material and refrained from telling her that she looked quite lovely just the way she was now. His body ached to make love to her again. Hell, he ached to just hold her like this. For the rest of her life, if she’d allow him. He wasn’t much of a snuggler, but if Faye liked to snuggle, he’d learn to snuggle with her. He wasn’t even sure what that entailed, but he’d learn. He’d learn anything if it made her happy.
Her stomach rumbling broke through his musings, and he pulled away. “Dinner,” he told her firmly, then turned to look at her wardrobe. It was painfully meager but perhaps that was simply because she’d traveled to Skyla with just what she could fit into a suitcase. He’d have to rectify her lack of an expansive wardrobe as well as learn to snuggle.
He reached into the closet and pulled out something red. When he held it up to examine the clothing, he realized that it was a pretty sundress. He held it out in front of her, then nodded. “Wear this,” he told her, then bent down to examine her shoes. There wasn’t really anything there that would match the dress and he made a mental note to ensure that shoes were purchased for all of the outfits he would get for her. He’d hire a professional dresser, someone who could look at Faye and understand both her taste and her body type so that the person would find outfits that Faye would feel comfortable and pretty wearing.
“I’ve only worn this once,” she replied, lifting the dress from the hanger and tossing it over her shoulder. “I’ll be right back.”
“You’re going into the bathroom to change?” he asked, trying to hide his amusement. “You know that I’m going to strip that off of you later tonight and see everything you’re trying to hide from me, right?”
Faye stopped, bit her lower lip as she looked up at him then sighed. “Give me time,” she asked. “I’ll get there.”
Then she was gone, hiding in the bathroom to dress.
Zantar stared at the closed door, wondering if they had the time. How long would they have together? He was only here in Skyla for a couple more days. Then he had to travel back home to Citran.
Would she come with him? He’d put that question to her tonight, he thought as he turned to find his suit jacket. Maybe they should eat at the hotel tonight instead of going out to a restaurant. Looking at his jacket, it didn’t look too bad, but it was obvious that it had been on the floor for a period of time. Mentally, he chuckled at the situation. Normally, he wouldn’t give a damn what anyone thought. Wrinkled jacket and tie…the world could speculate. But tonight, he wanted to be alone with Faye. He suspected that they had some serious topics to discuss and it might be better if they were alone.
When the door to the bathroom opened up, he turned to look at Faye. She stepped out into the room, glancing around nervously and unable to look him in the eye. Tossing his jacket over onto the rumpled bed, he moved closer, taking her hands into his. “Faye, look at me.”
He waited until she lifted those beautiful, wary eyes up to him. “We did nothing wrong.” When she continued to look at him as if he were about to condemn her for something horrible, he pulled her closer. “We’re two consenting adults, Faye. Both of us have a healthy sexual appetite.” Although, his appetite seemed significantly “healthier” with Faye than with any other woman. Even now, feeling her soft breasts press against his chest, he wanted to make love to her again.
“Yes, but normally my appetite isn’t nearly so…” she glanced up at him, “voracious.”
He stared at her then threw back his head, laughing with delight at her word usage. Pulling her close, he kissed the top of her head. “We’ll figure this out, habib,” he promised, then stepped back before his body burned too hot for her. Taking her hand, he grabbed his jacket and tie and, not bothering to put them back on, he led Faye out of the small apartment. Glancing over his shoulder, he vowed that the next time he made love to her, it would be on a bigger bed. One that was a hell of a lot more comfortable than her pathetic excuse for a sleeping surface.