Lauren woke the next morning to find Ethan between her legs. Not content with expressing his joy in her wanting to go down on him, he was repaying her in kind.
She giggled, feeling her climax draw close, and reached down to rake her fingers through his hair. The noise he made in response could have resembled 'good morning’ if she'd pretended hard enough. It really was just a sigh of contentment.
Her body jerked as he took her the whole way, his tongue rewarding her for her attentions the night before. Ethan looked up at her, smiling as she arched her back, pushing towards him.
"Hey, baby," he said.
She sat up, wrapping her arms around his neck as he sat opposite.
"Well, aren't you just a surprise."
Ethan kissed her softly. "I like to think I'm just returning the favour."
Lauren laughed. "Let me guess. Another thing the former Mrs Stone wasn't interested in?"
He shrugged. "There wasn't much she was interested in. You, on the other hand, Miss Burrows, seem prepared to try anything."
She nodded. "Once, at least. Though there are some things I enjoy doing over and over and over again."
Ethan laughed, kissing her again, this time more forcefully.
"I want to hear about those things. Then we can do them over and over and over again."
"I like it when you grab hold of my hair." She said the words before she could stop them.
"You do?"
"I told you I like being told what to do in bed. I really, really like it when you do that."
He tried to think of how often he had done it. There might have been a couple of times, but he could try more often if she liked it.
Ethan stroked her hair, taking a handful and pulling it tight. "Like that?"
Lauren's breath quickened, and she felt a tingling between her legs that made her gasp.
"Exactly like that."
He gently pulled, bending her head upwards to meet his.
"Lauren," he whispered.
He slid his fingers into her, and his expression changed as he realised just how turned on she was.
"Lauren," he said again. He kissed her throat, continuing to stroke her with his fingers as she pushed towards him.
"Want me inside you, baby?" he asked.
She nodded, unable to form words with her arousal taking over her body.
"How much do you want me inside you?"
"Just do it," she whispered. The urgency in her voice made him smile, and he repositioned her, pulling her onto him as they sat with their legs locked.
Lauren moaned as they were joined, feeling him fill her and ease the throb she felt.
"Is that what you want, Lauren?"
Even the way he used her name was driving her wild.
"Yes," she whimpered, moving her hips to meet him. Ethan pushed back into her, watching her face as the sensation take hold.
"Ethan," she cried as he slid his free hand to her breast, pinching her nipples one by one as he studied her reaction intently.
He let go of her hair, pulling her face towards his so he could kiss her again, his tongue finding hers as she struggled for thought on how to describe the way she was feeling. There were no words.
Pushing her back onto the bed, he stayed inside her, groaning as he found his own climax, kissing her face, her neck, her breasts.
He rolled onto the bed beside her, panting at the effort.
"That was incredible," she murmured, kissing his cheek.
"You're incredible," he said, reaching for her. "Come here."
The emptiness she felt when he was gone was unbelievable. She moped around the house for the rest of Sunday, not sure what to do with herself. No one had ever taken the time with her like he did. Even in bed, he took care to make sure she was satisfied. There had been too many men in her life who didn't care.
His tenderness with her made her feel warm all over. All those years, she’d wanted what Mark and Cassie had and it was staring her in the face. It was terrifying.
As much as she had longed for companionship over the years, being with someone long term was scary. He would want to know everything about her, even the bad stuff.
I don't know if I'm ready for that.
They had already argued about her drinking. It was hard to know just how bad the problem was. She was hardly objective about it.
Mark had guided her, helped her stop if she went too far. With the brakes off for so long, where was the line? Wherever it was, she'd crossed it the night they'd argued. Maybe even done it again with that bottle of wine.
Even after all these years, being an adult was hard.
It was close to two years without Mark now. She felt it more than ever.