She capitulates way easier than I thought she would, which fills me with elation. While she may be as confused as I am as to the weirdness of our current relationship, she definitely wants to spend more time with me.

Or at the least, isn’t averse to the idea.

It only takes ten minutes for Vale to change and for us to hit the road. She assures her dad she’ll be back well before midnight, but I know that’s not fucking happening if I have my way. She’ll be in my bed all night and I can bring her home in the morning. I’ll text Dave later to let him know.

We manage to fill the awkward void with small talk about the game last night. It’s engaging enough that Vale pays no attention when I leave the beltline, nor does she seem to pay any attention when we drive farther north, away from Raleigh. It’s only when I put on my turn signal in preparation to pull into my neighborhood does she sort of jolt in her seat.

“Where are we?” she asks hesitantly.

“My subdivision.”

“You said we were going to a movie.” Her voice is guarded, her posture stiff and unsure.

“We can watch a movie at my house. It will be more comfortable,” I say with a shrug of my shoulders.

As I navigate my way through the dark roads lit periodically with streetlamps or the glow from landscape lighting, Vale crosses her arms over her chest in a defensive move. She almost sniffs with suspicion. “If you hadn’t just come to my apartment to get me and let my dad know I was with you, I’d think maybe you were bringing me to your house to murder me or something.”

“Why would you say that?” I ask her.

“Because you lied to me to get me out of the house. You inferred we were going out to a movie.”

“Okay,” I say as I pull into my driveway. I hit the garage door opener and pull my car inside. After putting it in park, I turn to her. “So I lied. I wanted some time alone for us to talk.”

“Talk? About what?” she asks, but I can tell she knows damn well what I want to talk about.

I don’t answer but just stare at her through the gloom of the dark garage lit only by the electronics from my stereo system. I continue to stare at her until she looks a bit uncomfortable, and finally she starts shaking her head.

“No,” she says emphatically. “I’m not talking about that.”

“About what?” I say innocently.

“You know what,” she grits out.

“Fine,” I say in exaggerated concession as I open the car door. The overhead lamp floods the interior with light and I see her skeptical look. “Let’s go inside and just watch a movie. I’m sure we can find something good on pay-per-view.”

I don’t look back at her but walk around the car and over to the door that leads to the mudroom just off the kitchen. I hear the car door open and close again, indicating she’s following me in. I unlock the door, step through, and then hold it open for Vale to come in. She walks up the two steps that lead into the mudroom, looking around with interest. The glow of the kitchen lights leads her that way. I close the door, turn, and just as she enters the kitchen almost apprehensively, I take two long strides and scoop her up in my arms.

Vale lets out a startled cry while her arms automatically go around my neck. I’m not stupid enough to think that means she’s comfortable with this exact situation. Her arms are looped for leverage but her body is stiff as a board.

“What are you doing?” she hisses as I hit the staircase and bound up them two at a time, her weight absolutely not slowing me down in the slightest.

“I lied again,” I tell her without an ounce of remorse. My bedroom door is open, the bedside lamp on so I need to do nothing but walk up to the bed and drop her on the mattress. While I still have boxes lined up against the wall that hold most of my winter clothing, I have at least put linens on the bed. “We’re going to talk.”

Vale immediately pushes up and crab walks to the edge of the bed, intent on scrambling off. “No we’re not,” she seethes. “I don’t appreciate being manhandled or forced to do anything, much less talk to a conceited gorilla like you.”

I merely bend, slip my hands under her armpits and give her a little lift off the mattress. I throw her back to the middle where she bounces once and before coming to a solid rest, I move my body over hers to pin her in place.

A snarl of outrage bubbles up in her throat, but before it can bust free, I kiss her. I kiss her to shut her up. I kiss her to keep her preoccupied. I kiss her because I’m dying to kiss her again, and it just seemed the right thing to do at the time.

While my intent was to talk first, then fuck second, I’m getting that a change of order is warranted. This is made abundantly clear by the fact that the minute my lips touch Vale’s, her arms go around my neck and the snarl of outrage makes an appearance as a low hum of approval in her throat.

Fucking perfect. She may not want to talk, but Vale wants me.

Just as I want her still.

I lower my body onto hers, reach up, and pull her hands from my neck. Raising her arms, I pin her wrists to the mattress and kiss her deeply. She responds, all open mouth and soft lips. Her tongue dances…no, duels with mine. With her beneath my body, hands pinned helplessly, the only thing she has left to fight me with is her tongue, and it feels damned good, those attempts.

It doesn’t take long…never did…for our breathing to become heavy.

For Vale to start squirming underneath me.

For my dick to become achingly hard.