A Perfect Ten

She sucked in a breath and clamped her hands back around my wrists, pinning them to the mattress again. But then she went and challenged me. “Then why aren’t you?”

I tugged my hands free, which made her suck in a startled breath. But instead of going for the light switch, my fingers attacked her hair, burying themselves deep and giving a tug, which she’d seemed to like as much as last time.

“Because I like this game,” I hissed in her ear.

“Ohmigod, ohmigod, ohmigod,” she chanted her orgasm mantra, telling me she was right there. Then the walls of her sex collapsed around my dick, squeezing tight as she came. “Oren.”

Her use of my first name was what tipped me over the edge. I’d wanted to wait until she was done, then try to build her up again, but her orgasm seemed to clutch me by the balls and had me releasing deep inside her.

“Damn it, damn it.” I clenched my teeth and bucked my hips wildly, lifting her from the bed as I tried to hold it back. And failed. “Caroline.”

It felt so good, I couldn’t even think as I pulled her hair and slammed up into her again and again.

When she collapsed on top of me, that thing she was wearing thunked against my chest again. A cool metal chain was connected to it, so I figured it was a necklace.

Silken hair fluttered over my arm as she nestled her cheek on my shoulder. It felt nice. I knew I could keep her there just like that forever and be completely content. But that thing still resting on my chest piqued my curiosity.

“What is this?” I asked as I dipped my face to feather my lips down her neck until I had a mouthful of the chain and gave it a small tug. I picked up the amulet with my fingers and felt out its shape. Sadness rocked through me because I couldn’t remember Caroline ever wearing anything so large.

I didn’t like proof that Midnight Visitor wasn’t her, even though they were beginning to separate in my mind and become two different people.

“It’s a necklace,” she murmured, her voice amused.

“Hmm.” Maybe Caroline just wore it under her shirt. That wasn’t completely unrealistic. It was about as realistic as me admitting Midnight Visitor was her. I continued to trace the rounded oval shape before I pressed it back to her chest and outlined it with my tongue. She let out a hum of pleasure.

“Does it mean anything special to you?”

Her fingers drifted into my hair, making my scalp tingle. “Of course.”

I chuckled and lifted my face when she didn’t elaborate. “But you’re not going to tell me?”

“Do you really want to know?”

I shrugged. Kind of, yeah. I was beginning to grow very curious about my midnight visitor. I wanted to know all kinds of things, including, apparently, the importance of her necklace.

The more time I spent with this woman, the more confused I grew. Whoever I was with now was getting under my skin. She knew how to draw me out. Or maybe I’d allowed myself to grow closer to her because I secretly wanted her to be Caroline. Either way, what we had here between us was pretty sweet, yet I felt like shit because she was a true, live person that I was using.

Then again, this wasn’t Caroline. This was someone I could actually be with, so why couldn’t I stop imagining she was someone else and just...be with her?

Unease stirred within me. There were reasons why I hadn’t had a steady girlfriend in four years, why I didn’t let myself stay long with one chick, why I refused to let myself open up and let anyone in. But meeting Caroline a year ago had changed all that.

And now that I’d loosened my ways for her, this woman here was trying to squeeze in too. That panicked me. I had no clue what she looked like or what her name was, but the girl with me right now had a hold on me.

I had thought I liked the mystery of not knowing who she was. But now I was curious. Tracing my finger down the middle of her chest between her breasts, I kissed her cheek. My gut clenched, because I knew a small part of me would be disappointed. I’d been having fun daydreaming she was Caroline, but I was going to have to get over my obsession with her. And this woman was the closest I’d ever come to what I felt for Gamble’s little sister.

I buried my face in her neck. With our arms and legs wrapped up in each other, I felt as close to her as I’d ever felt to another living human, and yet I also felt worlds apart.

I knew what I was hiding. But what the hell was she hiding? Why didn’t she want me to see who she was?

“I’ve been working on my portfolio,” I said, hoping if I shared something about me, she’d share something about herself.