Roland returned to his home, and I took Mia and Eli out for an early dinner. I spent most of the time as a third wheel to their conversation, but I was happy to just sit in silence while Mia enjoyed reminiscing with his friend. After dinner, we dropped Eli off at the hotel I’d arranged for him to stay at. Mia was so reluctant to leave his friend that I was half tempted to suggest that he stay with Eli at the hotel that night as well. However, Mia acted like coming home with me was assumed, and I didn’t have the heart to argue with him.
I’d never argue with the option that led to him sleeping in my bed at night.
That was one more aspect of our relationship that we’d fallen into without really discussing it. Before, Mia used to come to my bed whenever he needed comfort after a nightmare, but he still spent most nights in his own bed. However, as our relationship grew more physically intimate, he began to spend his nights in my bed whether he had a nightmare or not.
Now, the small bed in the secondary bedroom mostly went unused. I was already considering returning the room to its original purpose as Melody’s bedroom and finally set up a schedule for her to start staying with me for longer periods of time. She liked Mia, and there was plenty of space for her in the apartment if Mia moved into my bed permanently. Plus, I was sure Chantal would appreciate having more free time to spend alone with her own husband. Everyone would win.
But I wasn’t going to bring up the idea tonight. Mia was still reeling from the sudden introduction of Eli back into his life. We needed to wait for the dust to settle before we introduced any more changes to our fragile routine.
As soon as we arrived home, Mia collapsed ontoourbed with an exhausted sigh, showing just how comfortable he’d become in the space that was once only mine.
The atmosphere of the bedroom was too intimate to ignore. Mia looked so happy and relaxed that I couldn’t resist joining him on the bed. I lay next to him, my hand landing on his thigh where the skirt of his dress had ridden up.
Before meeting Mia, I’d never thought much about men’s clothes and women’s clothes, and then I’d only cared about it because it affected his happiness. However, I found that I was starting to really like his preference in clothing for the access it gave me to his skin. Instead of fumbling with zippers and confining pants, I only had to slip a hand under the loose hem of his skirts.
The temptation was nearly impossible to resist when he was already so open and welcoming.
A slight hesitation remained at the back of my mind, and I waited to see if Mia would pull away, but he grabbed my hand and slid it even farther up his thigh.
“Don’t tease.” The hand that wasn’t keeping my own hand trapped started unbuttoning my shirt. “You always pull away at the last second. I know we agreed to take things slow, but if we go any slower, we’re going to start going backward.”
I sucked in a deep breath to clear my head as my shirt fell open and his fingers brushed against my chest. “I just want to make sure you’re ready.”
He leaned forward to press a series of light, teasing kisses against my chest. “I’m ready. I promise, I’m ready. Please, trust me.”
That request did me in. If he’d pleaded for anything else, I might have wondered about his true motivations.
Did he really want me, or was he compelled by some other ingrained conditioning?
But instead of pleading for sex or pleasure or a chance to “repay” me, he just asked for trust.
I could give him trust.
My already unbuttoned shirt was quickly cast aside to the floor. Mia tried to immediately reach for my pants next, but I was determined to continue taking things slow. So, I distracted him by pressing him down against the bed and kissing him. He allowed the distraction, but both his arms and legs wrapped around me, making it clear he wasn’t letting me go this time.
Mia seemed so thin under me, but there was a solidity to his body that hadn’t been there when we first met. He was healthierand stronger than he’d been before, and I was so glad to see him thriving.
It also meant that, even as we were locked in an embrace, he still managed to worm his hand inside my pants. One moment, I was enjoying the gentle pleasure of our kiss, and then the next moment, every nerve in my body suddenly exploded as Mia cupped my arousal with a steady hand.
“Ah— what?” I shouted, trying not to bite my own tongue in surprise.
The smile on Mia’s face was so innocent that I could barely believe what he was doing between my legs with his hand even as he was stroking me.
“What’s wrong?” he asked completely calm, as if he wasn’t driving me insane right that very moment.
“You… menace…” I managed to bite out through gritted teeth.
“You’re the one who refuses to get fully undressed.” He squeezed a little harder and I shuddered. “You can’t blame me for making do with whatever’s in my reach.”
Growling under my breath, I grabbed his wrist and pulled it out of my pants. Then, I ripped off my own pants with the same haste. It was an awkward affair as my legs became tangled in the cloth, and I struggled not to completely lose my balance and fall off the bed.
In contrast, Mia’s dress was so much easier to remove.
As soon as we were both undressed, I practically swallowed him in a kiss. My blood felt so hot in my veins that my vision was swimming, and my lips and tongue felt clumsy. Yet, Mia stillmoaned as my hands ran over him, so I must have been doing something right.
I maintained just enough rational thought to avoid tugging on his hair. He was still wearing his wig because the long hair made him feel more confident, and I didn’t want to accidentally pull it off right in the middle of things when everything was going so well.
During a break between kisses, as we caught our breaths, I fumbled for the drawer of my nightstand where I kept a bottle of lube. There was also a package of condoms, but before I could even reach for the box, Mia stopped me.