Not that there was anything exposed to see, and how do I keep managing to make it worse?
“Your mom and dad used it on their wedding night,” Grandma continues, not bothering to hide her implication it could be the same for us. “Just eight months before you were born.”
Humiliation burns through me, fast and deep. She’s brought us the wedding night blanket I’ve had to hear dozens of TMI stories about?
Maybe I’ll just curl up and die of embarrassment right here on the spot.
Simon, unfazed as ever, frees an arm from the tangle of blankets on the bed we’re currently sharing. He stretches his fingers until they curl inside the fabric, accepting it in a smug, overenthusiastic tone, “Thank you, Grandma Naomi. We won’t let you down.”
“Simon.” I thwack his chest with the back of my hand, surprising us both.
Naturally he grins.
Right along with my grandma, who’s either completely missed or decided to ignore my horror. “That’s wonderful. I can see you two are perfect for each other. Well, I won’t keep you any longer.”
Humming to herself, my grandmother turns her wheelchair around and rolls away.
For what feels like forever but is likely only a handful of seconds, Simon and I remain frozen in stunned silence. With him on top of me and me beneath him, I’m acutely aware of all the places our bodies are touching and every place they’re not.
It’s more tempting than expected, to curl my hands around his shoulders and pull his weight on top of me. To request he fill the ache inside me with delicious, euphoric sensations instead. I’m not sure whether to be happy or sad.
I’m not bold enough to follow through with the racing thoughts in my head.
Finally, I manage to force my limbs into motion. I scoot out from beneath him and blow out my breath, wishing it could take my embarrassment along with it. Then I roll my tight shoulders, convincing them-and me-that we can relax.
But then Simon tilts his head toward the door. “I didn’t hear her roll away yet,” he whispers. “I think she might be listening at the door.”
Seriously?
I peek over the top of him, a stray thought about how big of a guy he is snagging in the back of my mind.
Sure enough, I can see the shadow of my grandma’s wheelchair beneath the door, barely visible under the cover of night. I know she and my mom want the best for me, but we’re going to have to have a stern discussion about boundaries.
I’m tempted to groan and loudly mention the breach of privacy, not bothering to hide my exasperation from Simon or my nosey grandma. But again, I know her desire to see me married and happy comes from a place of love.
The fact of the matter is, Grandma Naomi doesn’t have many big life events in her, and she’s already thrown so much of herself into my wedding. Admittedly, it’s another reason I almost settled for a guy like Carl, even knowing I deserve better.
Worries trickle in, sending my thoughts in another direction.
“Looks like my Grandma and my mom are still a little suspicious,” I whisper. If they find out Simon and I don’t know each other as well as we claim, will that be what breaks her? My mom’s burned out and could use a celebration, too.
“I guess that means…” Do I dare say it? It’s the point of bringing Simon home with me, after all. “We’d better put on a show?”
While I hadn’t meant to pose it as a question, I long to stuff the words back in my mouth. Great, first my mom and my grandma mortify me, and now I’m doing it to myself.
The bed shifts with Simon’s weight as he props himself up on his arms, palms braced on either side of me.
“Why act?” he says, brushing my hair off my face. “We are engaged, after all.”
A pleasant shiver cascades down my spine at the brush of his fingers against my cheek. Heat radiates from his bare torso to me, the musky, masculine scent of his cedar and spice cologne invading my senses.
Our breath mingles in the air between us, the tension growing unbearable as the moment stretches out, daring us to give in to the magnetic pull.
Then his mouth finally crashes over mine, urgent and deliberate.
It’s been ages since I was caressed so tenderly. Since I was treated like a treasure instead of a person to be tolerated.
“Yes, Simon. Oh yes,” I exclaim, and while I’m playing it up for our audience, it’s exactly what I’m feeling as his hands rove over me.
My mouth moves under his, eager to yield to whatever he desires now that he’s kissing me senseless. A whimper escapes as his hips come down on mine, until every slight shift, every beat of my heart and intake of breath are all for him.
Simon swipes his tongue over my upper lip before plundering the depths of my mouth, stroking and exploring and turning my blood molten.
Warmth pours through me like liquid honey, and being kissed so thoroughly like this is sweeter still. I’m only human, and when it comes to this man and his gloriously bare torso, I can only be strong for so long.
His groan rumbles through me, my pulse skyrocketing with the vibration of it. “You taste so good. I’m afraid I’m already addicted.”
I swallow hard, curling my fingers around his biceps. I want to hold him against me forever, and before I can second-guess the move, I reach up, threading my fingers in his hair and pull him back to me for another kiss.
My arms wind around his neck, and he splays a large hand on my hip, pinning me to the bed with impressive strength. “I can’t wait to marry you,” I say, the reason for our performance growing as fuzzy as my mind.
“I’m counting down the days,” Simon says, and while I know we’re putting on an act for my grandmother’s sake, there’s such sincerity in his emerald-colored eyes.
We draw out each brush of lips and tongue, taking our time nipping, licking, and exploring. I don’t know what’s happening between us, only that I don’t want it to stop.
Please, never let it stop.
A soft creak outside the door returns me to reality, where I’m in my childhood bedroom and being spied on by my grandmother.
All signs indicate we’ve managed to convince her this is for real, and that was the mission. I’m afraid I’m getting in too deep, so ridiculously fast, and panic rushes in, replacing my bliss.
I lock my arm, going from tugging Simon closer to pushing him back.
“She’s gone,” I say breathlessly, my heart continuing to pump at three times its normal speed.
Simon appears to shake himself out of a daze, allowing me a glimmer that he’s equally affected. “Yeah, right…”
Everything changes, immediately going from completely natural to soupy awkwardness.
Perhaps it’s everything I’ve left unspoken, but I scoot to the edge of the tiny bed and tug the covers up to my chin, needing space to catch my breath and to think.
“Let’s get some rest,” I murmur, cursing myself for it once his weight is gone from the bed.
Simon
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.