Chapter 22

 

The next morning, Gwen woke up to the sound of the shower running. With a languid smile, she turned on her side and figured she would stay there until Crispin was done. In her sleepy state of mind, she thought back to the night before. The tender ache between her thighs served only to remind her of the incredible sex she had experienced. Never before had she felt so connected to another person, or such intensity during the act.

The few sexual experiences she’d had in the past, she had always felt more like a voyeur than an actual participant. Each time would start out great but somewhere in the middle, her mind would often wander. Her anxieties would then creep in and take over. She had often been accused of appearing bored. That didn’t always go over well with the fragile male ego. Yet another reason, her relationships never lasted. At the time, she had blamed herself. Now, she couldn’t help but wonder if being with the right person made all the difference. And if so, what did that say about her relationship with Crispin?

Was it just a case of pure physical attraction and lust? Gwen was not naïve or deluded enough to deny the very real possibility of this being a case of pure animal magnetism. After all, he was the embodiment of the perfect male specimen in her opinion. But she also couldn’t let go of the idea that it went beyond the purely physical. Was it because he sparked her intellect? He was smart, educated and well-spoken for a young twenty-something male. He did have that old-world charm she found so fascinating. Was it because he reminded her of her favourite book boyfriends like he had suspected?

Or, better yet, could she have actually found her soulmate?

Wouldn’t that be wonderful? She certainly felt stronger about him than any other of her past boyfriends… boyfriend… Could Crispin become her boyfriend? Would he want to be? Oh, wouldn’t that be awesome?

The more she lay there, the more her mind filled with endless possibilities of what might come of this unique arrangement of theirs. Sadly, it wasn’t long before a heavy dose of reality and self-doubt kicked in. Surely, he was only making the best of this situation. After all, she had indeed hijacked his vacation. And he had suggested that this was just a trade-off of sorts.

Yet… he’d been so sweet to her. Dare she say… loving? Oh, dear lord, she was losing her mind. Worse yet, she was quite sure her heart wasn’t far behind.

Suddenly she was wide awake and couldn’t get her mind off Crispin and their tryst from the night before. Being with Crispin was unlike anything she could have imagined and his quirky bedroom eccentrics only made him hotter. It wasn’t long before the dull ache between her thighs turned to a newly sparked tingle, a tingle that refused to be ignored.

Dare she? Unable to resist, despite her fear of rejection due to Crispin’s unpredictability where affection was concerned, she padded her way into the tiny bathroom and hesitated just inside the door. Watching him through the gauzy shower curtain, the pesky tingle between her thighs turned into a painful throb. The man was everything she had ever fantasized about and more. After a second or two, she almost felt bad for staring. He had his back to her and she was reminded of his less than receptive reaction to her hug last night. She was about to leave the room when his voice stilled her.

“Wanna join me or are you just gonna stand there, staring at my ass?” Speaking over his shoulder, he startled her, catching her completely off guard. When he turned around and winked, she lost all reservations and nodded like a sex-starved schoolgirl. “Come here, you.”

Unable to keep away, Gwen took his hand and stepped in with him under the streaming hot water. “I wasn’t sure we’d fit in here together.” She giggled when he spun her around, stood behind her and hugged her into his chest. She realized then she had worried for no reason. Whatever Crispin’s aversion to being held was, he certainly made up for it by keeping her well within the fortress of his arms.

“On the other hand,” Crispin said with a deep sigh. “I had no such doubts about us fitting together.” Whatever doubts he did have did not include those of a sexual nature. From the moment he had laid eyes upon this little bookish woman, he had wanted nothing more than to claim her over and over again. With that in mind, he ran his hands over every slippery wet inch of her supple flesh. When she shuddered and threatened to collapse, he held her firm, one arm around her chest, the other down under between her thighs. Before she knew what hit her, he had himself buried deep inside her with one hard thrust of his hips.

“Oh, yes, yes…”

“You’re telling me,” he growled in her ear. Normally, he would have ordered her to place her hands against the tiles, but oddly, her fingernails digging into his arm proved quite pleasant. Pleasant enough for him to ignore that nagging feeling in his gut. Putting it out of his mind, he buried his nose in her hair and lost all logical thought and gave into his baser needs. Hers too, from the sounds she was making.

“Oh, Crispin, yes…” It was all she could manage. It was all she needed to say. The more she called his name, the faster and more purposeful his thrusts, never mind the magic his fingers were weaving between her legs where their bodies met.

When she angled her head around for a kiss, once again, he did not deny her. He couldn’t if he wanted to. “Aw… Gwen.” It was pointless to try. “You’re fucking sexy as fuck.” He kissed her with near animalistic ardour. When she tensed around him and cried out his name, announcing her orgasm to the world, he held her tight, steadied his pace until she came down from her high. He then pulled out of her heavenly heat and spilled his seed all over her lovely round ass cheeks.

Seconds later, they both gave into a giddy case of the giggles. Forgetting himself for a moment, he spun her around, kissed her again, and held her to him. In this state of euphoria nothing else mattered.

Sadly, though, it was over too soon. The moment Gwen raised her arms to hold him, he stiffened and shook himself off.

“Go on, get yourself cleaned up.” He spun her away from him once again. “We’ve got lots of sightseeing to do.” Rinsing himself off, he placed a kiss on top of her head, gave her ass a playful smack, then exited the shower and left her standing there staring after him.

“Yes, sir…”