Breakfast on Tuesday

13. Sated girl

A period of silence, brief but impactful settled between our pillows, and I bit my lip, afraid to look in Dante's direction.

His eyes were fixed on me and I perceived them like laser beams on my face. He shifted, the mattress moving with his weight. To my surprise, his arm settled around my midsection and pulled me close.

So close, I felt his breath on my cheek, and then his soft but firm lips lowered to my temple, kissing the light indentation there.

Warmth scattered throughout my body, rolling over me like waves in a whirlpool. Weirdly, I didn't feel like I was drowning. Instead, being in his arms like this felt good. Amazing even.

There was a certain danger that I always associated with men - most of the time subconsciously - that drove me to keep my distance from them. My grumpiness was merely a front that facilitated my almost compulsive desire to keep men at arm's length. Beneath it all, was a deeper and darker explanation, one I refused to acknowledge and kept buried deep because I had concluded that it didn't make sense.

I learned that I couldn't condemn the whole male species based on just the horrendous and callous behavior of two men.

Somewhere along the years, I had also concluded that Tuesday wasn't at fault. Evil things happened every day, but for me, Tuesdays used to hold a special meaning, and now all of that was gone because of what those men did.

Without realizing it, I burrowed closer to Dante's marble chest, resting my chin on his arm. I refused to let the thought demons (demons that lived in our thoughts) trap me into a downward spiral minutes after my coochie got eaten like groceries and hammered into submission.

And Dante? What's so different about him? He looks like danger personified. He is going to take part in a war, one I can assure you that isn't backed by any countries government. An illegal war, Carla. So please explain why you're cuddling up to him right now instead of finding the door out of this soon to be ugly mess you got yourself into.

Not today, demon! Not today. It wasn't like me to jump to conclusions, so naturally, I ignored the wise, but highly intrusive voice in my head.

"I took it easy on you, after all," Dante said next to my ear, breaking the silence after what felt like an eon, but had in fact been just a couple of seconds.

His voice rang deeper than ever and I lifted my head to meet his steady gaze. The brown in his eyes were the color of deep earth and the greens were fresh like newly sprouted leaves. And like always, they held me captive.

"You call that taking it easy on me?"

"I would like to think so. Did I hurt you?" He cupped my breast, kneading my soft flesh gently.

"No," I moaned.

"Then we're on for round two, and this time I won't hold back."

I shook my head and smiled at him. Sex with Dante was marvelous and it exceeded my expectations, but I did not believe I had it in me to go another round. My limbs were tired and my vagina felt sore. A round of sleep was what I needed instead.

"Did I shut you up for good?" he asked when I closed my eyes and didn't respond.

"I'm simply enjoying my post-coital bliss. Stop talking."

"I don't think that's what you want, cariño."

One of my eyes opened and I stared at him sideways. "How would you know what I want?"

"The only way to shut me up right now is to have my mouth between your legs." His hand pressed down between my thighs until they parted.

I forced them back shut, squeezing his hand flat like a pancake. "I'm good for now."