slowed her motions to a gentle rocking to help him prolong as much as he could. Only when his eyes finally reopened, looking up at her in wonder, did she stop, settling down to press the length of her warm softness against him.
For several minutes, neither of them spoke.
Inside Tanner's head, he couldn't seem to hold on to a thought long enough to see it through to its conclusion. I just slept with softness, warmth, comfort-
Try again. I just had sex with Alicia so amazing, so strong an orgasm, never before, need it again-
No, again. Now that we've done this together, she'll certainly believe me when I tell her need to kiss her again, taste her, feel her body come against mine as I make her scream and cry out and want me over and over...
Clearly, sleeping with Alicia had scrambled his brains much more than he'd anticipated.
Next to him, still partially atop him, Alicia blinked, moved a little closer against him as she squirmed to get comfortable. A soft little sound, barely even a sigh, slipped out of her, and Tanner inexplicably felt himself harden a little at even that small, barely audible noise. How could she still have a hold on him, even after he'd just attained release?
Finally, Alicia turned, enough so that she could rest her chin on his broad chest and gaze down into his eyes. "So," she said.
That was it. Just "So." Tanner tried to think, tried to strategize, but his brain felt as if someone had run rampant inside of it, wielding a stick blender with reckless abandon.
"So," he repeated back, aware that he sounded like an idiot but not knowing what else to say.
"That..." Alicia seemed to be experiencing a similar struggle for words. "That wasn't what I expected to happen."
"No, me neither." Was this all that they were capable of? Small talk, as they lay naked together after gloriously coupling in Alicia's bed? Fighting that sluggishness in his mind, Tanner tried to find something, anything else to say. "I promise, I didn't do that because..."
Alicia sat up a little more as Tanner trailed off. "Because of what?" she asked.
He wished he hadn't gone down this path. "Because I want to blackmail you, get leverage over you, anything like that."
He expected her to blow up, to get angry that he'd even consider such a repulsive action. Instead, however, Alicia surprised him by nodding, as if he'd stated that the Earth was round, or that she was currently naked.
"Of course not," she replied, her hand reaching up to brush the side of his face. "Because we're on a truce."
Yes, of course! The truce! Tanner's mind seized onto this explanation like a drowning sailor catching onto a life preserver. Because they were on a truce, his intentions were noble! He didn't sleep with her in an effort to seduce her and blackmail her - he just felt a rush of desire, and she reciprocated! That was all!
As he grabbed onto this flimsy excuse, Alicia sat up in bed, shaking her head slightly to send her hair cascading down her back. "And now, I think that I could use a shower," she announced. She spared one last look down at Tanner's nude body, stretched out on full display, and he saw that little smirk once again dance around her lips as her eyes ran over his bulging biceps, the texture of his six-pack, his muscular thighs. Was she admiring what she'd just conquered? Laughing at how easily she got him into bed? Hungry for more?
By the time that Tanner sat up, his lips trying to form one of the dozen hazy questions buzzing around in his head, Alicia was already out of the room, the bathroom door drifting most of the way closed behind her. Seconds later, Tanner's ears caught the rush of water as the shower started up.
What should he do now? Tanner looked down at himself, still naked, still sweaty, goosebumps beginning to pop out here and there across his skin as the beads of sweat evaporated and carried off some of his body heat. He probably needed to get dressed, head home, get away from Alicia and her ability to scramble his
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