Coda Books 04 - Strawberries for Dessert (MM)

There were plenty of other areas on his body that he did like to have kissed, and I stuck to those. We left a trail of clothes from the dining room table to the bedroom. I found a condom, and offered it to him.
    “Do you have a preference?” I asked him. “I’m versatile.”
    He pushed it back toward me. “I never top, sugar. It’s terribly cliché for a guy like me, isn’t it?”
    I smiled at him. “I don’t mind.”
    His body was slim and beautiful. He was only a couple of inches shorter than me, but he felt small and fragile underneath me. I discovered quickly, though, that he was anything but. He was a very enthusiastic lover.
    The only body hair he had was under his arms. Even his groin had been shaven clean. His hair was silky soft, and it didn’t smell like cinnamon at all. It smelled like strawberries. There was a small birthmark on the back of his neck, just right of center, where the skin was a few shades darker than the rest of his body. It was triangular, and it reminded me of a butterfly. I found my lips drawn to it over and over again.
    Afterward, he didn’t lie in my arms or cuddle against me. He moved to the other side of the bed and stretched out languorously, not touching me. “You’re not going to make me drive all the way home in the middle of the night, are you, sugar?”
    “No. You can stay.”
    “I knew I liked you,” he said. If he said anything else after that, I didn’t hear it. I was already sound asleep.

    HE WAS still sleeping the next morning when I left for my daily run, but when I arrived back home I found him in the kitchen, making bacon and eggs. He was already fully dressed, but still barefoot.
    He indicated the pile of dirty dishes in the sink and said without looking at me, “I don’t clean, darling, but I can have somebody come and take care of the mess, if you don’t want to do it.”
    “Are you serious?”
    “Of course. I pay Rosa double for the messes I make in other people’s homes.”
    “Does that happen often?”
    He smiled, but still didn’t look at me. He kept his eyes on the bacon and eggs sizzling on the stovetop. “Not as often as you probably think.”
    “Do I have time to shower before we eat?”
    “If you make it fast.”
    By the time I was ready for work, breakfast was on the table. “Do you usually cook breakfast the morning after?” I asked.
    “It depends.”
    “Did you cook for Jared?” Of course I didn’t actually know that he and Jared had ever been lovers, but I was curious.
    He smiled. “I would have if he’d ever had anything in his house to cook. I’m pretty sure that man subsists on nothing but Pop-Tarts and beer.”
    When I finished, I looked over to find him watching me. “I hate to be rude,” I told him apologetically, “but I have to work today. I really need to get going.”
    “I didn’t think you put that suit on for my benefit, darling. I can go now and leave the mess in the kitchen for you to clean up, or I can wait for Rosa and have her lock up when she leaves. It’s your call.”
    “I didn’t mean for you to rush out. I just didn’t want you to be offended when I did.”
    “I understand.”
    “You leave for Paris today?”
    “My flight is at two.”
    “How long will you be gone?”
    He shrugged. “I don’t know yet, darling. Until I feel like coming home, I suppose.”
    “Do you go there often?”
    “Several times a year.”
    “For vacation?”
    “I own a condo there.”
    “Really?” I asked, unable to keep the awe and envy out my voice.
    He cocked his head at me, obviously amused. “Yes. And one in Vail, as well as a house in the Hamptons—well, just a cottage, really, by Hampton standards—and another house in Kapoho.”
    “Wow.”
    He smiled. “Indeed. So darling, shall I call Rosa or not?”
    “I feel ridiculous having you pay somebody to clean my house.”
    “And why is that, exactly?”
    “It seems childish.”
    He shrugged. “Suit yourself.” He looked down at his plate for a minute, and when he looked back up, his expression was guarded. “Tell me: would you prefer this be a one-time thing? Or would you like to discuss other options?”
    “What are the other options?”
    “My lifestyle isn’t conducive to committed relationships. On the other hand, I’ve never been all that intrigued by the idea of sex with random strangers. I prefer something in between.”
    “Is that what you had with Jared?”
    He was obviously amused by the question, but said, “Exactly. It