Heart of Stone

Chapter Twenty-Seven: Sleepless in Spain

I lay in bed wide awake, waiting for Ed's breathing to change so I could sneak out while he slept. The first round, hot and heavy against his wall, had satisfied the evening's growing tension between us. But after catching our breaths, what had followed was longer, dirtier, yet equally intense, like neither of us wanted to venture into the realms of romantic for fear of what that meant for our relationship.

Ed knew his stuff, and after two months of friendship I'd grown familiar enough with him to allow the sex to take a darker turn in parts. It was like we both thought tonight could be a one-off—just a single chance to play out whatever fantasies had been unfolding in our heads. He'd touched me in places that no guy before him had ever touched, he'd fucked me so hard that my eyes had watered, and he'd whispered words in my ear that would make even a porn star blush.

He craved control in the bedroom because he felt like he had no control out of it. And I'd loved every second.

No longer in the heat of the moment, though, I considered that he probably knew his stuff because he'd slept with hundreds of girls before. He'd fucked enough bodies to perfect his technique. The quantity didn't bother me, but it did remind me why I was in this situation in the first place.

Becca.

Had he used these same moves on her? Unlike me, Becca had never felt comfortable enough to seek one-night stands. Most of her sexual experiences had unfolded within relationships. She hadn't worried about breaking that trend for a night with Teddy Stone, but if he'd pushed these same boundaries with her, and then kicked her out...

I shuddered, the guilt crashing over me. I'd put myself first tonight, and I'd been at peace with that decision. But now on the other side, having experienced a night with him myself, I could understand more clearly why it might have upset her so much, and why she hadn't wanted to talk about it. Had her shame at being used been amplified by how he'd used her?

Unable to lie next to him any longer, I slid out of bed and crept around as quietly as I could to get dressed.

"Sneaking out?"

Ed's voice startled me, and I scrambled for a legitimate excuse. We'd spent the night together before, and I'd been the one to suggest he wait until morning before leaving, so I knew exactly how my attempt at disappearing unnoticed looked.

"Can't sleep," I said, which wasn't a lie. "And I think you've destroyed my body, so I could do with a soak in the bath."

"Use the ensuite, if you like."

"I wouldn't want to disturb you. Go back to sleep."

As I reached for my shoes, he flicked on the lights, shuffling to sit up in bed. The duvet dropped to his waist, and although I'd had my eyes, hands, and mouth all over that chiselled body during the past few hours, I still couldn't stop my gaze from drifting down to the enticing contours of his chest, stomach, hips...