“This is my side,” I said as I climbed in. “You can have that side.”
Brandon dutifully climbed in to the bed on the other side and moved over next to me. There was no talk of making love or having sex, although I was sure that Brandon wouldn’t have objected to the idea.
Instead, he held his arm up and slipped it behind my head while I cuddled next to him. Intimacy was something I had struggled with far more than anything else since losing my husband.
“This is nice,” Brandon said softly.
“It is, isn’t it?”
“I’m really glad you answered my call tonight.”
“Yeah, that was pretty creepy when I turned around and you were standing in the alley, though. Did you plan that? Tell me the truth.”
“No way. I just wanted to talk to you. Josh and I had gone out because I was pissed off about everything that was going on, and I didn’t have the cash to go out alone.”
“Mattie took me out because I thought I was dating a criminal and was a little sad about it,” I laughed. “What are you going to do about your ex-wife and this guy?”
“I really don’t know yet. I guess I need to assess if she knows what he’s up to or not. My gut says that she doesn’t and he must be playing her, which is really sad because she loves the guy. I don’t know how well me telling her what he’s doing is going to go over.”
“Whatever you decide, I’m sure it will be the right thing. Your gut seems to be a pretty good guide. I mean, it told you I wasn’t involved in all this. So, I’m on the side of your stomach. I’m also really, really tired, so I’m going to go to sleep now, if you don’t mind.”
“Sleep your little heart out. I’ll be right here the whole night. I really like this sleeping with you thing. I mean, going to sleep. You know what I mean.”
He had gotten himself flustered and it was adorable. I was glad he was in my bed that night and even happier that we were both so comfortable with just going to sleep. The signs a real relationship was building were right there in front of us. We didn’t have to be perfect; we didn’t need to make love every night. We could both just be there for each other and sleep next to each other.
Chapter Twenty
Brandon
I woke up to my body raging with desire for Del. She was still curled up in my arms and started to stir a little as I did. It was well into the morning because the sun was up and the streets sounded busy with people.
My hands stroked her back and slid up under her shirt so I could feel the softness of her skin against my fingertips. Slowly, I moved my hand up and down her back, applying pressure as I reached the muscles of her lower back. I remembered how much she said she liked having my hands on her body, and I wanted to wake her up feeling as good as she possibly could.
I continued to work on the muscles of her lower back as she woke up a little more and turned around so I could have easier access. She smiled as she flipped over, and I knew she was awake, but still wanted me to massage her. I was more than happy to oblige.
“You should wake me up with back massages every day.”
“Okay.”
“I’ve got to go get Connor soon, just to give you a little warning.”
“No problem. I’m sure I’ll be busy with this disaster of a life I have right now. But let’s not think about all that. I’m your personal masseuse, and I’m here to give you as much pleasure as these hands can possibly deliver.”
Delilah let me massage her back for a whopping five minutes before her hand reached behind her and she found my throbbing member to play with. I did the best I could to try and continue her massage while she massaged me, but soon I had lost all control and had to make love to her.
Morning sex was my favorite, and I couldn’t remember the last time I had had some. Normally, I didn’t like to keep women around for very long in the morning, so I had given up the intimacy that came with morning sex. It was different with Del, though; I was different with her. I wanted to be there as long as possible that morning.
“My breath is horrible; let me go brush my teeth first,” Del said as she tried to climb out of bed.
“Nope, I like your breath just the way it is,” I countered as I pressed my mouth around hers.
Yep, we both had nasty morning breath, and I didn’t care one bit. I wanted to know her and her morning breath. I was excited to see her messy hair in the morning and even how she looked in those sweatpants she had put on for bed.
“Oh, come on, let me brush them,” she continued to protest.
“I don’t think you have time. I’ve got a lot of plans for you this morning,” I said as I nibbled on her neck, taking small breaks to talk with her. “I’ve got all this kissing and licking and touching that needs to happen.”
“Oh, you do, huh?”