I swallow my bite and arch my brow at him. “Little noises? Like what?”

“Like moans. Tiny little whimpers.”

“What? No I don’t.” I unscrew my bottle and take a big sip while he nods at me. “I do not make any noises when I sleep.”

He turns and places his empty plate on his nightstand. Jesus, the man devours his food in a matter of seconds. “Yes you do. You even said my name a few times.” My mouth drops open.

I place my plate down on the night stand before I trample him. “No I did not. Take that back, Carroll.” I’m poking him everywhere, trying to find a weak ticklish spot on his body and he’s only laughing at me in amusement.

“Reese. Oh Reese. Right there.”

I feel my face redden. “You’re evil.” I scoff before I roll off him and lie back on my pillow, pulling the covers up over my head. Good Lord, I hope he’s joking because if he isn’t, how embarrassing is this?

His laugh shakes the bed and I feel the covers slowly slide down to reveal his face hovering over mine. “Love.”

“What?” I try to pull the covers back up but he holds them down. I’ve never been told I talk in my sleep before or make any weird noises, and I’ve had plenty of sleepovers with Juls and Joey. Of course, I doubt they watch me for hours after I pass out. Humph. He climbs under the covers with me and pulls me close to him so that we’re nose to nose.

“So, I hear we’re going to be paired up at the wedding.” His hand trails down my shoulder to my waist and holds me there as I try to keep my smile at bay. “You okay with that? It will be like a date you know. Rather intimate.” His lip curls up and I give into it.

“I’m okay with that. I have been on a few dates before. Have you?”

“No, well not in a really long time.” A really long time? What classifies a really long time? Why is he so against dating now? I push these questions out of my head and focus on another.

“Have you always been monogamously casual with girls?” This has definitely been on my mind recently. I had initially pegged him as a total player with multiple women at all times but had never dared to ask.

His eyes flick to mine quickly before he drops them. “No.” I reach up and run my hand down his arm, rubbing his shoulders the way he likes and seeing his eyes close slowly. “I’ve never really wanted to be before you.” I stop breathing at his admission. Holy shit. Was Joey right? Am I a game changer? My hand stills on his bicep and his eyes shoot open, locking onto mine. “You make me want different things, things I’ve never wanted before.”

“Why?” I force out and continue rubbing his arm. I need to know the answer to this. I want to know if his reasons are the same as mine. I’ve experienced more before but not in the way that I want with Reese. I want everything with him.

He keeps his eyes on me and sighs softly. “I don’t know, but I can’t stand the idea of not being monogamously casual with you. I have no desire to be with anyone else and the thought of you with another man,” his hand comes flying up through his hair, stopping my massage, “it f**king infuriates me.”

Well, that settles that. Like there’s any other man on the planet that I want to ever be with now that I’ve experienced this one. I scoot in closer and continue working his arm, reaching around towards his back. “I know the feeling,” I reply as his eyes close shut again, his lips quivering into a smile. Silence falls between us and I let my mind wander while I work his back and shoulder. I feel like I’m making progress with Reese, progress out of the casual zone and towards something more serious which I am dying to sprint to. But I know I can’t rush him and he’ll have to do this at his own pace if he even wants to. If I’ve learned anything from the past few weeks with him, it’s that he does everything at his own pace. He likes to be in control, even though he told me that I have it all which completely threw me for a loop. I’m chalking that up to him just worrying about my safety. He was obviously scared for me and when you’re scared, you say crazy shit. He likes to show how much power he has and his authority over situations, as he clearly displayed when he destroyed my dress. So I’ll let him control this, control us because I like the pace he’s taking. As long as he takes me with him.

Nineteen

After giving him a decent one handed massage and enjoying all of his tiny little moans of pleasure, Reese flips on his back and pulls me on top of him. He scoots up so that his back is against the headboard and we’re chest to chest. All the tension in his face is gone and the only thing bothering me anymore is my now stiff hand from his drawn out rub down. His hands wrap around my waist, tightening their grip and I feel him, his desire for me growing against my backside.

“Missed your face,” I whisper and see his lip curl up in the corner.

“Just my face?”

“Never.” I move in slowly and capture his mouth with mine; licking along the seam of his lips until he opens up for me, which only takes half a second. I relish his minty flavor and moan into his mouth. His tongue strokes mine in a way that sets my skin on fire and I’m desperate for him. Tangling my hands in his hair, I pull him closer to me and rub my chest against his. His hands run up my back, tickling along my spine and grazing around towards my front. I’m not sure what he’s better at, touching or kissing. Both send me into a frenzy where I feel like I’m going to combust at any moment. His callused hands expertly squeeze my br**sts. “Mmm, right there.” I kiss him along his stubble jaw and towards his ear. “I need you.”