JM BENAVIDEZ

When I awoke some time later, I was tucked into my bed fully dressed and curled under Lael's arm with my head resting on his bare chest. His dress shirt and belt lay on my dresser, but it seemed he was still in his jeans also. It was pitch black outside but he had left a light on in the bathroom, but closed the door so he had enough light to navigate around the room. I shook him gently. "Take of your jeans." He shook his head mumbling as he rolled towards me. "I'm good." I shook him again. "Take them off. You can't be comfortable like that. I'm not." He blinked several times, trying to focus as I slid out of bed and stripped out of my jeans. I also unhooked my bra and dropped it to the floor. He sat up on his elbow focusing on me standing there in a white tank top and black panties. I kicked my jeans against the wall and then crawled back into bed next to him. "I promise not to molest you." He chuckled. "But what about you?" 

I pointed for him to get out of bed and he shook his head. He rolled onto his back and unfastened his pants, before lifting his hips and sliding out of them. He pulled them out of the covers and tossed them off the side of the bed. "Happy?" I snorted. "No, I thought I was going to get a strip tease." He smirked at me and then rolled back towards me, sliding his arms around my shoulders and snuggling up against me again. "You're feisty when you wake up." He murmured against the side of my head and I smiled. "This is nothing. You're lucky I like you." I sighed, snuggling back against him and falling back asleep.

The next time I woke up, the sun was shining through the skylight and bouncing off the mirror so that it made a halo around Lael. I smiled at his beautiful sleeping face. His slow rhythmic breaths were like music to my ears and I tucked my hand under my chin so that I could look up at him. He wrinkled his face and stretched as he slowly came to. I threw my arm up, deflecting his arm as he nearly hit me in the face and he cringed, pulling his arm back. "I'm sorry, I forgot where I was." He reached out, taking my cheeks in his hands and kissing me. "I didn't hurt you did I?" I shook my head, snuggling against him. "No, but you can make it up to me anyway. I was enjoying watching you sleep." He closed his eyes and wrapped his arms around me, holding me close. "Like that?" I smiled and he peeked at me out of one eye. "Were you grinning at me like that?" He asked, opening both eyes so he could look at me. I giggled, shaking my head. "No, that's a new development." 

He rolled back onto his back, throwing his arm out onto the bed and letting out a huge sigh. "I think I slept like a ton of bricks. I can't remember the last time I slept that good." He blinked, staring up at the ceiling. "This bed is very comfortable. My bed sucks." I rolled towards him, propping my head up on my elbow and laying my arm across his chest. "If I remember correctly, your bed wasn't that bad." He turned his head towards me and I looked up at the ceiling, avoiding his eyes. "Of course I was on my knees most of the time." He growled and launched himself at me, pinning me beneath him as he shook his head laughing. "You are so mean to me." I looked up at him innocently. "No I'm not, all I said was that your bed didn't suck. How is that mean?" 

He lifted up onto his elbows, allowing his rock hard shaft to press against me prominently. "Oh no, you aren't mean at all. You're just half dressed, lying in bed with me in my underwear talking about your super steamy sex dream where I had you on your knees the whole time." I shrugged, deciding to push him further. "What? I didn't mention how talented you were with your hands and how you knew exactly how to touch me. Or that you liked to drive me crazy by raking your teeth across the back of my neck when you moved against me." He closed his eyes and I continued. "I could have mentioned how it felt when you wrapped your hand around the back of my neck and pushed me into your bed while forcing me to orgasm with both your hand and your..." Lael placed his mouth over mine shutting me up. 

He pulled my hands up over my head, lacing his fingers through mine as he pulled back, staring down at me. "Enough woman! For Heaven's sake please stop." His breathing was fast and shallow and I lifted my head, bringing my lips closer to his. "That feeling surging through you right now is what you do to me every time you call me love in soft hushed tones. Ask me why? Ask me what you said before I woke up. And then ask me what I said back." His eyes met mine hungrily. "What?" I looked up at him through half closed lashes. "Are you sure you want to know?" He nodded and I brushed my tongue against his lips. "You pulled me back against your body, holding me tenderly and brushed your lips across my ear, just like you always do." 

I spoke in hushed tones and his lashes fluttered as my words painted a picture for him. "You said, 'Are you close love?' And I thought I would die from the mixture of your words and the way that you felt." He closed his eyes all of the way and I whispered. "You were so close, so deep and all I could think about was how it felt to be yours so completely." His eyes met mine. "And what did you say?" I smiled. "I never missed a beat, responding almost instantly with 'Yes Lael, I am love.' And I woke up orgasming with your name on my lips." I could feel his shaft rock hard, pressed into my thigh and I knew it wouldn't take much to push him over the edge. Every inch of my being wanted to but I set my head back on the bed, looking up into his eyes. I had made a promise and I really wanted to be able to keep it. I knew that my little escapade with Zuriel was about on par with where we were so I didn't feel bad about pushing him this far, but any further would be on him.

He watched me for several seconds as his mind recovered from the explicit eroticism I had painted for him, mixed with the physical contact of our bodies. He had warned me once that something like that could take some time to recover from and I hadn't forgotten. He blinked several times as he looked down at me. "You have been holding back." I nodded, still waiting for him to get his wits about him. He shook his head, smiling. "I have no idea how you've done it. But I understand why you reacted the way you did that morning. I probably would have crossed that room and tried to make love to you right then and there." I laughed nervously. "Well, I don't know about that. You probably would have taken me somewhere private. You are a very decent guy after all." He looked down at me. "Am I? Look where we are. Look how long we've been interested in each other." I nodded up into his face. "It's taken you longer than the others and I am just as much to blame." 

He wrinkled his brows. "So you got to this point with Zuriel?" I closed my eyes. "Not exactly, it was different." He released one of my hands, touching my face tenderly. "Does it bother you to talk about it?" I shrugged, looking up into his eyes. "Only because I'm afraid of what you'll say or think." He released me and rolled over onto his back, pulling me next to him so he could hold me. "I won't judge you." I sighed. "Zuriel scrambled my brain where Amadeus didn't, not in the same way. So my logical solution to gaining my senses around Zuriel was to be able to hold my own around Amadeus." Lael nodded and I continued. "Amadeus and I got to about where we are now I guess. Except with more clothing and a lot more kissing." I wrinkled my brows. "Anyway, Zuriel showed up and made a comment about Amadeus being hard and I got pissed off, because believe it or not Amadeus is pretty sensitive." I sighed. "Well I was in my bra when I walked out of the room and I think it made Zuriel a little jealous. It probably didn't help when I told him that some privileges had to be earned." Lael smiled. "I'll remember not to get on your bad side." 

I nodded. "Anyway, long story short, Amadeus gave us some time to sort it out and one thing led to another. And we were pretty much right back to where we are now. Except once again with more clothing." Lael nodded. "That was the first day?" I nodded. "Yup." I closed my eyes and lowered my head. "Anyway, things went a bit further than this with Zuriel. We were a bit more hands on I guess you could say." I wrinkled my brows. "And then, well... yeah. So you get it." I shook my head. "I don't want to talk about it anymore. I'd actually like to forget it happened. Maybe that's why I'm so pushy with you." Lael lifted my chin, turning my head towards his. "Thank you, knowing where you're coming from helps me understand you." 

He narrowed his eyes. "It also prepares me for anything Zuriel tries to throw at me later. Because if he got jealous about Amadeus, he'll probably be thrilled about me." I giggled looking into his face. "So you feel that way about him too?" Lael looked at me curiously. "What way?" I smiled. "Like he's a self entitled pretty boy who has a chip on his shoulder when anyone less beautiful out does him." Lael laughed so hard he snorted. "And this is how you feel about the guy you dated first?" I shrugged. "I told you, I didn't feel comfortable around either of them. I just thought the Creator ordained it, so who was I to argue?" 

Lael smiled. "I'd hate to hear what negative things you have to say about me." I wrinkled my brows thoughtfully. "Let's see, you're stubborn, you don't like people pushing you around but you pick your fights carefully. Eggs are a battle that you must win. You never give yourself enough credit and you always put yourself last." His face softened as he looked at me. "You really do love me don't you?" I smiled. "You're just now figuring this out?" He gave me a quick kiss and then smiled. "Speaking of eggs, we should probably get up and join the others for breakfast." I frowned. "Do we have to? There are so many ugly attitudes out there." 

He caressed my cheek softly. "First of all, I will protect you from all bad attitudes and make you smile regardless. But secondly, Elijah's out there and part of you wants to see him even though you're afraid to find out how his night went." I frowned. "You know what I'm most afraid of?" Lael shook his head. "No, what?" I sighed. "That he might have had a horrible time." His eyes met mine. "That fast huh?" I shook my head. "After talking to him yesterday and having him laugh me off, coupled with seeing him with Aureliana last night it just put a bad taste in my mouth. And everything between us has been so perfect. Adding a third person in this room could be awkward." I laced my fingers through his. "I hadn't even thought about him since I woke up this morning until you mentioned him. It was just you and me and I was thrilled." Lael looked down at our hands. "I'll admit that I'm happy to hear you say it. But Elijah is also my best friend so I have to consider him too. And I think I know him pretty well and everything you're worried about will blow over. If you decide you still want him here, everything will be just fine; both between you and me, as well as between you and Elijah." I shrugged, still reluctant to face the world and he kissed my forehead. "Come on you. Let's get this over with so you can feel better."

I looked across the room at his clothes on my dresser. "Are you going to go back and change?" He looked down into my face. "Do I need to? Or can it wait until after breakfast?" I shrugged. "I guess it doesn't really matter. I'll just throw on last night's outfit too then." We pulled on our pants and I took my bra into the bathroom with me and put it on. I ran a quick brush through my hair and brushed my teeth before stepping back out into the bedroom. "You can't use my toothbrush, but would you like to use my hairbrush?" Lael nodded. "Sure." I got the brush and headed back into the bedroom with it. "Can I brush it?" He smiled. "If you'd like." He sat down on the edge of my bed so I could reach him easily and I smiled. I petted his hair, smoothing it as I ran the brush through it gently. I never put that much time and attention into my own hair, but something about doing it for him made it different. When I hand finished, I wrapped my arms over his shoulder, and hugged him as I kissed the top of his head. He wrapped his arms around mine, holding me there as he hugged my arms back. "Thank you." I leaned forward, kissing his cheek also. "Thank you." 

He turned towards me, looking up into my eyes. "What made you want to do that?" I shrugged. "It just felt like the thing to do." He pulled me down so that I was sitting in his lap and he loosely wrapped his arms around my waist. "I love that you feel so comfortable around me. That you aren't afraid to speak your mind or act out on your desires." I slid my hand underneath his hair, caressing the back of his neck with my fingers. "Don't you feel that way around me?" He smiled. "For the most part." He kissed me and then raised his eyebrows suggestively. "Sometimes, you make it very difficult for me." I giggled and kissed him again. "Well if you'd stop holding back, maybe it wouldn't be difficult." He nodded, his eyes dancing. "That's true, but you know why I've been doing it. The moment I stop, you are in for a world of trouble." I giggled, wrapping my arms around him tighter. "Promise?" He laughed, touching my cheek softly. "With all of my heart." I held my hand up to him and he laced his fingers through mine as I pressed my forehead to his. "I'd marry you too." The most radiant smile lit up his face as he kissed me and I couldn't help but return it. He took my cheeks in his hands looking down into my eyes. "It makes me happy to hear it." He kissed me softly before dropping his hands and patting my thighs. "Ok, let's go." I nodded and we headed outside.