Dance for Me

Chapter Twenty-Two

After a couple more rounds of lovemaking, Ransom is out. He snores. Soft, whispers of sound that rumbles subtly in his chest. I'm in his bed, in his apartment, folded up in his arms, and I can't fall asleep. It should be the simplest thing to do, but every time I try, my eyes flip open as if they're spring loaded.

It could be because I am used to keeping late hours at the club, or because my mind is churning over everything that happened tonight and the inability to predict what lies ahead of us tomorrow. But my money is on what's going on beyond the bedroom because, about an hour ago, I heard someone enter the apartment.

They came in through the front door, their keys clanking against a hard surface, suggesting to me that whoever it is isn't an intruder. But who is it? A roommate? Ransom never mentioned having one, but then again, there are still a lot of things I don't know about the man whose bed I'm sharing.

Curiosity picks away at my patience. I want to go investigate, but I don't dare. Do I? It's not my place. How will Ransom and this other person respond to my snooping around? Besides, Ransom's arms around my waist are tethering me to him and the bed and there's no way in hell I'll be able to slip free without waking him.

I don't know how much time I spend lying there, listening to this mystery person move around the apartment. I track their footsteps from the front of the apartment, where they spend some time in the kitchen making all kinds of muffled racket that I'd probably never notice if I had already been asleep.

The television plays on low for a time, and then the footsteps carry down the hall, past the bedroom door, and into the bathroom. I tense as I listen to every minute sound—running water in the sink, the hiss of the shower, the flushing of a toilet. All normal things people do to get ready for bed. I listen until my eyelids grow heavy—the constant rush of the water serving as a lullaby.

I finally fall asleep after everything goes quiet and the footsteps disappear down the end of the hall where a door, that had been closed when we arrived, opens and shuts again.

Hours later, when the alarm goes off, I feel like someone has piled a load of bricks on my chest and legs and taped my eyelids shut. I moan my refusal to get up and turn over, burying my head beneath the pillow. Ransom's body covers mine from behind, his soft chuckle in my ear as he nuzzles me making me squirm.

"Time to get up. Don't want to be late for school," he taunts.

"I'm not going today. Tell them I'm sick."

Hands wandering down my naked body, he kisses the back of my neck. "Sorry, but sexual exhaustion is no excuse to slack on your education, young lady."

"Please," I whine as he rolls me over and positions himself between my slack thighs. He looks up at me, a wicked smile twisting his lips up at the corners.

"Nope, but I know something that will wake you up."

"Ransom!" I gasp and my fingers delve into his hair as his mouth forms a seal over my clit. His tongue flicks back and forth, and the hands cupping my butt lift my hips, pulling me closer so he can bury his face in me.

His fingers penetrate my opening as he continues to lap at me, and my hips buck uncontrollably as he brings me to the fastest climax I've ever had. I lay there, boneless and breathless for what feels like an eternity. I used to think that orgasms were a rare phenomenon, but Ransom's quickly proving that theory wrong.

When I finally manage the strength to open my eyes, Ransom is pulling on a pair of jeans.

Leaning over me, he sucks my bottom lip into his mouth and releases it with a smack. His dark eyes dance with mirth as he pulls away and backs toward the door. "I'm going to start breakfast. Join me when you can walk again."