Skin of the Night: Book One of The Night series

by Claire D. Bennett

Complacent, he grinned back. “I said I’d fuck you if you agreed to go on a date with me. I don’t make promises I can’t keep.”

  I chortled. “Evidently.”

  “I need another shower, and so do you. We’re drenched in sweat.”

  Gazing down the length of my body beneath his beautiful one, I sighed to myself. He was right. It looked like we’d been in a steam room.

  “You go first. I can’t move yet,” I replied, exhausted, and closed my eyes again.

  I was going to be terribly sore tomorrow. He was abnormally large, and he’d been at me for ages. Already, I dreaded having to sit. As if I required a reminder of him. Lately, he was all I thought about – and now I wouldn’t be able to sit anywhere without feeling his phantom cock within me.

  “Why are you blushing?” he asked curiously. Had he been studying my complexion? I was confident I was flushed from before, so how had he noticed my blush that easily?

  “Because I’m not looking forward to sitting tomorrow,” I moaned and opened my eyes to look away. He laughed wholeheartedly, lips spreading wide apart to reveal his straight teeth, and his eyes sparkled. For a moment, he looked years younger than he was.

  “Might as well get used to it,” he teased and descended to plant a soft, extended kiss on the slope of my neck. Afterwards, he pushed himself away to climb out of bed.

  “By the way,” he murmured while approaching the door. Once he reached it, he turned to study me in the bed amidst the tousled duvet. Appearing to appreciate the view, he bit his lower lip while he smiled lopsidedly to himself. At least the admiration was mutual. He was unfairly sexy, and he wasn’t even trying. “Are you on contraceptives?” he finally continued.

  I smiled, amused. Eager to drop the rubber already, was he? “Yeah. I’ve had an IUD inserted. Why?”

  “Are you clean?” He narrowed his eyes at me. In turn, I raised my brow at him.

  “I should be, seeing as I’ve only slept with Aaron without a condom, and he’s supposed to use protection whenever he sleeps with anyone else. He’s never given me anything before, so I trust he’s been careful about that. Last I checked myself was after I’d slept with you, and you’re my most recent one-night stand. Result came out clean. Doubt Aaron has given me anything in the meantime. Are you?”

  He blinked. “I’m your most recent one-night stand?”

  I frowned. “You sound surprised. Is that truly so hard to believe?”

  He shrugged. “No offence, but yeah.”

  “But offend, you did,” I muttered. “Just because I’ve had an open arrangement with Aaron, it doesn’t mean I sleep with strangers frequently.”

  He shook his head. “That’s not how I meant for it to seem. I’ve never had that impression of you.”

  I steered my eyes to the ceiling above my head. “Frankly, I should be the one surprised between us. Last time we had sex, you said you only had one partner. Was that Violet?”

  “Yeah.”

  “So Francesca came after that?”

  “Sort of.”

  I turned to look at him again, intrigued. “Elaborate.”

  “Francesca and I were undefined at the time. There was always a question over whether we’d meet again. Violet was a stable, regular thing.”

  “Right.”

  “Anyway, I got myself checked after I ended things with them – all clean.”

  My lips twisted with my amusement. It wasn’t like him to beat around the bush, so why was he now? “Are you trying to say that you’d prefer not to use a condom?”

  He rubbed the back of his head. “Yeah. Feels better. But only if you’re alright with it.”

  I grinned. “I’m alright with it.”

  “Great.” He beamed. “Though, I’d appreciate it if you took a test anyway, just to be sure. We’ll proceed without condoms from now on, because waiting three weeks for the result when we’re ninety-nine per cent sure you’re clean seems a bit unnecessary, but I still think it’s prudent to take a test just in case Aaron’s been careless. I’m aware the chances are slim, but… if you happen to have anything, it’s better we pick up on it sooner rather than later in terms of getting treated.”

  I nodded. “Yeah, that’s probably wise. I’ll get myself checked later this week, yeah?”

  He glanced at me with affection. “Thanks.” As he opened the door, the music pounded into the room, so he shouted, “Jason! Turn down the bloody music!”

  “Finally!” Jason roared back, impatient. “Took you long enough! Jesus Christ, man! How long do you last?”

  The music stopped.

  “Why? You jealous of my stamina?” William replied, poking his head out the door.

  “Piss off.”

  “Unless you want to see my cock, I advise you to look away. I need a shower.”

  “Fucking animal,” Jason muttered. “Is she even still alive in there?”

  “Barely,” William answered as he headed into the bathroom, audibly smug.

  Thoroughly amused by the way they spoke to one another, I giggled where I lay.

  William had been gone for about a minute when Jason announced his approach. “Incoming.”

  Immediately, I dragged the duvet over my battered body and turned my head to welcome him.

  Once he entered the doorway, he leaned against the doorpost and folded his arms. A look of severe amusement covered his face while he analysed my lazy figure. “I gather you made up, then?”

  I smiled, basking in the glory of the delicious aftermath. “You could say that.”

  Sparkles of joy danced in his light blue eyes. “Yeah? Are you happy, then?”

  I sighed, delighted, and dared not imagine how smitten I looked. “I really fancy him, Jason,” I shyly confessed.

  He grinned. “I can tell. Have you told him?”

  I shook my head. “Not in those exact words, but I’m quite sure he already knows.”

  “He’s an arrogant bastard, so I’m sure he does,” he replied, visibly amused.

  I giggled and stretched my hands towards the ceiling. “What time is it?”

  “Nearly three.”

  I gasped. We’d been at it for ages! “Oh my God.”

  “Yeah,” he nodded as he read my thoughts, “I thought you’d never finish.”

  I blushed profusely. “I’m so sorry.”

  He cocked his head from side to side. “Was a bit of a shock waking up to that. Then again, suppose I might as well get used to it. Next time, I’ll use my headphones. Unfortunately for me, they were out of battery this time around. So, if we receive complaints from the neighbours, it’s on your shoulders, because there wasn’t a chance I was going to listen to that.”

  “Yeah. I accept full responsibility.”

  He chuckled. “Anyway, I’m happy for you.”

  My heart tingled upon his statement. That was heartfelt and, seeing as William was his brother, his blessing meant a lot to me. “Thank you.”

  “Are you hungry? I saw you’d started on an omelette, so I finished cooking it.”

  “Aw, thanks, Jason. I was making it for Will. I’m sure he’s starving.”

  “William!” he shouted then.

  “Yeah,” came his loud reply.

  “Are you hungry?”

  “Famished!”

  “Shall I order sushi for dinner?”

  I heard laughter from the shower before it was switched off. Soon after, William opened the door to say, “Go ahead. Why not move to Japan, Jase?”

  “I’d love that.”

  “I’d love it if you did, too.”

  Jason frowned in his direction. “Cunt.”

  “I’m done showering, Cara,” William yelled to me.

  “Right,” I murmured. “Unless you want to see me naked, close the door, Jason.”

  He scoffed. “As if I haven
’t seen you naked countless times before. Guess you dating my brother changes things, though,” he responded, amused, and shut the door between us.

  “You’ve seen her naked?” I heard William question, appalled.

  “Cry me a fucking river, Will,” Jason replied, his voice monotone.

  “Dickhead,” William muttered before he ripped the door open again just as I was climbing out.

  I couldn’t help my besotted grin. I was reeling, and my insides had melted into a gooey mess. Truly, I had never felt more ecstatic. I felt liberated. After what had been a dreadful process, I could finally allow myself to enjoy him. I could hardly wait. Already, I wanted to explore the entirety of him. Friday couldn’t come soon enough.

  “Will you spend the night?” I asked, and my question appeared to take him by surprise.

  “Would you prefer it?”

  “Yes.”

  He nodded. “Then of course. However, I haven’t got any clothes here, so I’ll have to leave earlier in the morning to fetch my things before work.”

  Uncertain, I frowned. “Are you sure? Or is that terribly inconvenient?”

  He shook his head. “I’m an early-bird.”

  “Settled, then.”

  “Yeah.”

  I grinned. “I like this.”

  A coy smile found his mouth. “Good. Me too.”

  29

  STRONG POINT

  Live at the Apollo was on the television while William, Jason and I slouched on the sofa as we recovered from our food coma. Jason’s favourite comedian was on stage, and I’d started suspecting that he was William’s, too, after hearing the sound of his guffawing, which he had then confirmed when I’d asked.

  I’d always found their favourite comedian rather hilarious myself, and the chance to laugh was exhilarating after all the chaos of the weekend. However, despite my good mood, I was checking my phone now and then to see whether Aaron had sent me anything, but he’d been dead silent, which was unlike him. He wasn’t one to let anger fester, so I was slightly worried about his silence, since it spoke much louder than words. I wondered if perhaps he expected me to reach out to him instead. After all, I’d been the one to kick him out. Nevertheless, I decided I’d give him some space for a few days. If I still hadn’t heard from him by Tuesday, I’d reach out to settle our dispute.

  The thought of him inspired me to recount last night’s events, which ultimately murdered my good mood. While I hadn’t been sober, I still recalled most of what had happened. The thought of how wounded he had looked after being enlightened about my affair with William made me tense against William’s side, as I was lying snuggled between him and Jason.

  I could understand Aaron’s discomfort. I wouldn’t have appreciated being launched into such a scenario at all. He’d been completely blindsided, so I supposed that could justify some of his behaviour. Totally unprepared and influenced by the alcohol in his blood, he’d become defensive, which was understandable considering William’s ruthless attempt to provoke him and stir an argument between us.

  The latter memory made me frown. Like Aaron, William had been quite upset, and understandably so. However, what didn’t sit right with me was William’s attempt to ruin my friendship with Aaron by twisting my words to make it seem like I didn’t care about Aaron at all. Acting like that, it was evident that he had placed his own wounded feelings first – certainly before mine – and it irritated me, because the more I thought about it, the more I realised he’d been prone to it ever since we first met.

  In every situation where our opinions and actions had differed, he had self-victimised due to his injured feelings, and while I certainly felt bad for him, I was also aware that I hadn’t behaved like that myself; I had respected his boundaries as much as I could, a favour he hadn’t returned most of the time, and never had I played the victim. On the contrary, I had taken and accepted blame where it was due.

  His tendency to act righteous and entitled bothered me, and the more I considered it, the more I realised it was a red flag which needed to be acknowledged and dealt with. I was happy that we had finally reconciled and that we were about to start dating each other seriously, but considering his past conduct, I was also slightly alarmed. If he intended to continue self-victimising every time I stood up for myself and my opinions, we were going to have a severe problem.

  I wasn’t one to hold grudges, and I believed in giving people a chance to mend their ways, but for William to do that, I would need to bring the issue to his attention. It wouldn’t be reasonable of me to expect him to change his ways if he had no idea his behaviour was problematic in the first place.

  Overall, I liked to think I was a forgiving person, but I couldn’t deny I was growing slightly wary of him. Consequently, I would be on the lookout for more red flags. While we explored our chemistry, I intended to devote myself to him fully, but if he proved unable to respect my boundaries and place me first the way I did him, we simply wouldn’t work out. I was eager for us to succeed, but that did not mean I was willing to settle for anything that didn’t make me happy.

  “Right, Will,” Jason suddenly said while he leaned forward to pour himself a glass of water. “This is going to sound proper weird, but after hearing Cara talk about your performance in bed and witnessing the duration of it first-hand, I’ve got to know – how the hell are you able to last that long?”

  Instant giggles poured out of my mouth, and when I turned my head to study William’s reaction, I found him grinning from ear to ear, eyes firmly set on his younger replica. I was grateful Jason had asked while I was present, because I was curious to know, too.

  “Are you a minute-man, Jase?”

  I rarely saw Jason blush, but his face turned completely pink.

  “No, but I’m not an eternity-man either.”

  William shook beneath me while he struggled to stifle his laughter.

  “Come on, Will,” Jason pushed. “What’s your secret?”

  “I’ve got several, as it happens.”

  “Spill them.”

  “I want to know, too,” I said.

  “I’ll probably sound insane,” William murmured, nose wrinkling somewhat.

  “We already know you are,” Jason bantered.

  “True,” I chimed in. “Nothing would surprise us at this point.”

  “Right,” William said with a sigh. “Well, first of all, I’ve read plenty of books on the female anatomy relating to sex. Since you’re nearly a doctor, J, I doubt you’ll need to do the same. However, it certainly taught me a lot. That said, every woman is unique, so I like to ask my partners what they like, where things feel best, things like that, to create a sort of map in my head.”

  Jason’s eyebrows arched, and so did mine. “Damn,” he said, “that’s some dedication.”

  “Definitely,” I agreed, impressed.

  “Still doesn’t explain your endurance, though,” Jason continued.

  William chuckled. “Well, when it comes to endurance, there are several things you can do to last longer. First of all, rubbing one or several out in secret before you have sex will improve your endurance rather a lot. If that’s not an option – I didn’t today, for example – I like to pull out every time I’m close to coming to proceed with giving her oral attention instead. Once my arousal recedes somewhat, I continue.

  “However, there’s one more thing I tend to do, which I doubt most men do in general, but it certainly aids my endurance overall.”

  “And what’s that?” Jason probed and finally dared to look at him.

  “Kegel exercises.”

  I chortled. “Kegel exercises? I thought only women did that?”

  Condescension was written across the arch of William’s brow when he looked at me. “That’s stupid. They’re a great exercise for men, too. Can help treat several problems, like erectile dysfunction, overactive bladder, premature ejac
ulation, the list goes on.” He looked back to Jason’s gawk. “However, this requires that you do it frequently, which I do. Consistency is key here. I even go so far as to get erect, and then I tie some weight to my erection and try to lift it using only my penis. Progressive overload, you know? It’s a brilliant method to improve your endurance.”

  The image in my head caused blood to flood my cheeks and prickle across my scalp.

  “Jesus Christ.” Visibly amused, Jason shook his head to himself. “You’re right – you are actually insane.”

  “I like sex,” William justified with a shrug, “so I prefer to last for as long as possible. Besides, getting my partner off is something I take great pleasure in, so I go out of my way to achieve it.”

  “Cara, you ought to appreciate his dedication.”

  “I do,” I squeaked, embarrassed.

  “Well, then. Cat’s out of the bag,” William said with a grin. “Happy wanking, Jason.”

  “Fucking hell.”

  “Let me know how it works out.”

  “Sure.”

  “I can send you a few links on it, unless you’d like to research it yourself.”

  “No, send the links. I’ll do some research, but you’re clearly doing something right, so your sources seem credible.”

  “They are.”

  “Do you guys talk about everything with each other?” I asked inquisitively. “I hardly ever talk to my sister about sex.”

  “Yeah, everything,” Jason confirmed.

  “Yeah,” William agreed. “Well, not everything,” he corrected, “but if asked, always.”

  “That’s what I love most about us,” Jason murmured after a sip of water and turned his head to give his brother a fond grin. “The full transparency.”

  “I love you too, Jase,” William replied, charmed, and reached over to push his head playfully. “Glad I can help you better your sex life. Though, to put it to good use, you’ve got to start dating.”

  “Yeah, yeah. I’ll get to it as soon as I find the time.”

  William snorted. “If Cara – of all people – can find the time, then surely you can, too.”