Karma's POV
Consciousness fluttered on the edge of my sleep-filled mind, and I tried to force it away. I didn't want to wake up. I was warm and comfortable and content.
Vague visions of my dream passed behind my closed eyes as I snuggled into the warmest, best-smelling blanket I'd ever slept in. It snuggled back.
Something warm pressed against me, and my eyes fluttered open to see a head of familiar messy blonde hair inches from my face. A hundred images flashed through my mind in that second as the reality of last night came crashing down on my muddled brain.
Holy shit.
It was real.
My heart rate quickened as I lifted my head slightly to see the beautiful woman wrapped around me. Her head lay on my chest, her perfect mouth parted slightly, releasing puffs of warm air across my bare breasts. Her long body lay flush against mine, our legs tangled together and her arms wrapped tightly around my torso.
She stayed.
The intimacy of our position hit with a crushing force that actually took my breath away. She didn't just stay, she clung to me.
I struggled to find my breath and not panic. I was keenly aware of each inch of where our skin touched. I felt the powerful thump of her heartbeat against my chest. My lips ached to press against her hair. It was too much. She was too much.
Something changed last night and I wasn't sure I was ready to deal with it. I didn't know what that change entailed, but it was there. In every move, every touch, every word, and every kiss, we had been together. Nobody had ever made me feel that way, as if my body were made to fit hers.
I'd been with other women and men, but with her I felt as if I was being carried away by a hidden undertow, completely unable to change the course. I closed my eyes, trying to quell the sense of panic that was building. I didn't regret what happened. It was—as always—intense and easily the best sex I'd ever had. I just needed a few minutes alone before I could face her.
Placing one hand into her hair and the other on her back, I managed to roll her off me. She began to stir and I froze, holding her close and silently willing her to go back to sleep. She mumbled my name before her breathing evened out again, and I slipped out from underneath her.
I watched her sleep for a moment, the panic receding somewhat, and was once again struck by just how gorgeous she was. Stilled by sleep, her features were tranquil and peaceful, and so very different from any expression she ever wore around me. Long lashes, perfect cheekbones, full pouty lips, and that jaw.
Christ on a cracker, she's pretty.
I started to make my way to the bathroom but caught my reflection in the mirror over the bedroom vanity.
Wow. Freshly fucked. That was definitely how I looked.
Leaning in, I examined the small red scrapes that were scattered along my neck, shoulders, breasts, and stomach. A small bite mark was visible on the underside of my left breast, a hickey on my shoulder. Glancing down, I ran my fingers along the red marks on my inner thigh. My nipples hardened as I recalled the feeling of her face brushing along my skin.
My hair was a wild and tangled mess, and I bit my lip as I remembered her hands twisted in it. The way she pulled me first into her kiss…
Not helping , Karma
I was jolted out of my thoughts by a voice thick with sleep. "Awake and freaking out already?"
Turning, I caught a glimpse of her naked body as she twisted in the sheets and sat up before pulling them over her hips and leaving her torso bare. I didn't think I would ever get tired of looking at her. Everything about her was utterly perfect. I couldn't believe how lucky I was.
"You're staring" she murmured, a lopsided grin on her face.
I wasn't sure whether to smile or roll my eyes. Seeing her rumpled and vulnerable in her half-awake state was disorienting. We never bothered to close the heaviest drapes last night, and now sunlight streamed in, blindingly bright against the tangle of white linens. She looked so different, still my bitchy boss, but also someone else now: a woman in my bed, looking like she was ready for round. . . five? Six? I couldn't keep track.
And as her eyes raked over every inch of me, I remembered that I too was completely naked. In this moment, her expression was as intense as her touch. I briefly wondered, if she continued to look at me like that, would my skin ignite? Would I feel her touch on my flesh the same as when she put her hands on me?
I fixed my expression into something I hoped camouflaged that I was mentally cataloging every inch of her skin and bent over to retrieve her white shirt off the floor. It had been in front of the air conditioner all night and was a little cold but, thankfully, mostly dry. When I slipped the soft cotton over my head, I inhaled the scent of her skin and then emerged, catching her dark green stare.
Her tongue darted out to wet her lips. "Come here," she growled quietly.
I moved to the bed, intending to sit beside her, but she pulled me so I straddled her thighs, and said, "Tell me what you're thinking."
She wanted me to condense a million thoughts into a single sentence? The woman was insane.
So I opened my mouth and let the first thought out: "You said you haven't been with anyone since we were first . . . together." I stared at her collarbone so I wouldn't have to look her in the eye. "Is that true?"
Finally, I looked up.
She nodded and slipped her fingers beneath the shirt, running her hands slowly from my hips to my waist.
"Why?" I asked.
She closed her eyes, shook her head once. "I haven't wanted anyone else."
I wasn't sure how to interpret that. Did she mean she hadn't met anyone she wanted but was open to it? "Are you usually monogamous if you're sleeping with someone?
She shrugged. "If that's the expectation."
She kissed along my shoulder, to my collarbone and up my neck. I reached around her, grabbing the complimentary bottle of water on the nightstand and taking a sip before handing it to her. She finished it in a few long swallows.
"Thirsty?"
"I was. Feeling a little hungry now."
"Not surprising, we haven't eaten in like—" I stopped as she wiggled her eyebrows and grinned.
I rolled my eyes, but they fell closed as she leaned forward and kissed me once, sweetly, on the lips.
"Is monogamy the expectation here?" I asked.
"After what happened last night, I think you need to tell me."
I didn't know how to answer that. I wasn't even sure I could be with her like this, let alone be monogamous about it. The idea of how that would work made my head spin. Would we actually be . . . friendly? Would she say, "Good morning," and mean it? Would she feel safe criticizing my work?
She spread her fingers over my lower back, pressing me into her side and pulling me out of my rambling thoughts. "Never take this off," she whispered.
"Deal." I leaned back to give her mouth better access to my throat. "I'll wear this and nothing else down to the poster session this morning."
Her laugh was soft and playful. "Like hell you will."
"What time is it?" I asked, trying to see behind her to the clock.
"Don't give a shit." Her fingertips found my breast, and slipped back and forth over the soft underside.
But in the process of leaning away from her, I'd exposed the skin just above her hip. What the hell?
Was that a tattoo?
"What is—?" I could barely form the words. Pushing her away slightly, I looked up to meet her eyes before returning them to the mark. Right below her hipbone was a string of black ink, words written in what I guessed was French. How the hell had I missed that? I thought back briefly to all the times we'd been together. We'd always been rushed, or in the dark, or in only a state of semi undress.
"It's a tattoo," she said, bemused, pulling back a bit and trailing her fingers over my navel.
"I know it's a tattoo, but . . . what does it say?" Miss Serious Business had a fucking tattoo. Another piece of the woman I thought I knew fell away.
"It says, 'Je ne regrette rien.'"
My eyes flew to her, my blood heating at the sound of her voice dissolving into a perfect French accent. "What did you say?"
She definitely smirked. "Je ne regrette rien." She spoke each word slowly, emphasizing every syllable. It had to be the sexiest fucking thing I'd ever heard. Between that and the tattoo and the fact that she was completely naked under me, I was going to spontaneously combust.
"Isn't that a song?"
She nodded. "It's a song, yes." Laughing quietly she said, "You might think I'd regret that one drunken night in Paris, thousands of miles from home, without a single friend in the city, I decide to go get a tattoo. But no, I don't even regret that."
"Say it again," I whispered.
She moved closer, hips rolling against mine, her breath hot in my ear, and whispered it again. "Je ne regrette rien. Do you understand?"
I nodded. "Say something else." My breasts were heaving with each labored breath, my sensitive nipples grazing against the cotton of her shirt
Bending slightly, she kissed my ear, saying, "Je suis à toi." God, this woman was going to be the death of me. I wanted to fuck her so badly right now and was I sure she wanted that too, so I decided to put us both out of our misery by pushing my fingers deep inside of her. She moaned loudly in agreement and whispered a single, profane syllable over and over, staring up at me.
It was so easy, so natural between us, that it somehow just added to the space of uneasiness that I couldn't seem to shake. Instead of focusing on that, I focused on her quiet moans into my mouth, in the way she sucked on my breasts through her shirt, exposing the pink beneath, in how urgent were her fingers on my hips and thighs as she got closer to the edge, on her hips moving faster and harder to meet every one of the movements of my fingers.
" Oh, fuck Karma…I'm so close…"she said hoarsely. Hearing her like this only intensified my need for her to come, so I began to thrust faster and even harder. I was very close to come myself, teetering right on the edge. I used my free hand to found my clit and I began to rub it slowly.
"Oh, fuck." Her voice was desperate, her breath coming out in deep pants. "Touch yourself, just like that. Let me fucking see you." Her words were all I needed, and with one last brush of my fingers, I felt my orgasm overtake me and I felt hers come as well.
She kissed my shoulder and my neck before placing a single kiss to my lips. "Christ, Karma," she said, exhaling a heavy breath, forcing a laugh. "You're going to kill me."
We rolled to our sides in unison, heads on our pillows, and when our eyes met, I couldn't look away. I lost every hope I ever had that the next time would be less powerful, or that our connection would somehow melt away if we just got it out of our systems. I already wanted to move closer, kiss her jaw, and pull her back over me. As I gazed at her, it became clear to me that when this ended, it would fucking hurt.
Fear gripped my heart and the panic from last night returned, bringing an uncomfortable silence with it. I sat up, pulling the sheets with me and up to my chin. "Oh, shit."
Her hand shot out, wrapping around my arm. "Karma, I can't—"
"We probably need to get ready," I interrupted before she finished that sentence. It could be the beginning of a million forms of heartbreak. "We have a poster session in twenty minutes."
She looked confused for a moment before speaking. "I don't have any dry clothes in here. I don't even know where my room is."
I fought a blush as I remembered how quickly everything had happened last night. "Right. I'll use your key to go get you something."
I showered quickly and wrapped a thick towel around myself, wishing that I would've had the sense to bring one of the hotel bathrobes in here with me. With a deep breath I opened the door and stepped out.
She was sitting on the bed, and her eyes rose to meet mine as I entered the room.
I just need . . ." I trailed off, motioning to my bag. She nodded but made no move to speak. I was usually never self-conscious about my body. But standing here in nothing but a towel, knowing that she was watching me, I felt uncharacteristically shy.
I grabbed a few things and rushed by her, not stopping until I was once again safely behind the bathroom door. I dressed faster than I thought possible, deciding I would pull my hair back and finish the rest later. Grabbing the key cards from the counter, I returned to the bedroom.
She hadn't moved. Sitting on the edge of the bed with her elbows resting on her thighs, she appeared lost in thought. What was she thinking? All morning I'd been a nervous wreck, my emotions shifting wildly from one extreme to the other, but she seemed so calm. So sure. But what was she sure of? What had she decided?
"Do you have anything in particular you want me to bring you?"
When she lifted her head, she looked slightly surprised, as if the thought hadn't occurred to her. "Um . . . I just have a few meetings this afternoon, right?" I nodded. "Whatever you pick will be fine."
It only took me a second to locate her room; it was right next door. Great. Now I could imagine her in a bed just through the wall from mine. Her bags were already there, and I paused briefly, realizing I would have to go through her luggage.
Lifting the largest one and placing it on the bed, I opened it. Her scent hit me and caused a heavy pang of desire to wash through me. I began looking through the neatly packed items.
Everything about her was so tidy and organized, and it made me wonder what her home looked like. I'd never thought about it much, but I suddenly wondered if I would ever see it, if I would ever see her bed.
I paused as I realized that I wanted to. Would she want me to?
Putting everything back where it belonged, I gathered up the clothing I chose for her and headed for my room. I was unable to stifle my nervous laughter as I walked into the hall, shaking my head over the sheer absurdity of the situation. Thankfully, I managed to compose myself as I reached my door. I made it two steps inside before I froze.
She stood in front of the open window, awash in morning sunlight. Each beautiful line of her toned form was accentuated in perfect detail by the shadows cast across her body. A towel hung indecently low on her hips, and there, poking out just above it, was the tattoo.
"See something you like?"
I reluctantly returned my attention to her face. "I—"
My eyes drifted back down to her hip as if pulled by a magnet.
"I said, did you see something you like?" She crossed the room, stopping just in front of me.
"I heard you," I said, glaring. "And no, just lost in thought."
"And what exactly where you thinking?" She reached out, moving a piece of my damp hair behind my ear. Just that simple touch caused my stomach to jump.
"That we have a schedule to keep."
She moved a step closer. "Why don't I believe you?"
"Because you're self-absorbed?" I suggested, meeting her gaze.
She quirked an eyebrow and watched me for a moment before taking her clothing from my hands and placing it on the bed. Before I could move, she pulled the towel from her hips and tossed it to the side. Sweet mother of God. If there was a finer specimen of woman on this earth, I'd pay big money to see it.
Picking up her panties, she began to step into them before she stopped, looking at me. "Didn't you just say we had a schedule to keep?" she questioned, eyeing me humorously. "Unless, of course, you see something you like."
Son of a—
I narrowed my eyes and turned quickly, returning to the bathroom to finish getting ready. As I dried my hair, I couldn't get past the unsettling feeling that she was trying to say something more important than "Look at my naked body some more."
Before I could even untangle my own emotions I was trying to guess at hers. Was I worried she would want to leave or stay?
When I returned to the bedroom, she was already dressed and waiting, looking out the large window. She turned, walked to me, and placed her warm hands on my face, staring at me intently. "I need you to listen to me."
I swallowed. "Okay."
"I don't want to walk out that door and lose what we found in this room."
Her simple words rocked me. She wasn't declaring, she wasn't promising, but she said exactly what I'd needed to hear. We might not know what was happening, but we wouldn't leave it unfinished.
Letting out a shaky breath I brought my hands to her chest. "I don't either, but I also don't want your career to swallow mine."
"I don't want that either."
I nodded, feeling like words tangled my thoughts and I was unable to think of anything articulate to add.
"Okay then," she said, looking me up and down. "Let's go."
