Chapter Forty-Nine
Forty-Nine
From the restaurant, Mary and Quaddra went straight back to Quaddra’s house in Pacific Heights, less than fifteen minutes away, and just like in the previous week, as soon as they stepped through the front door, they were all over each other – kissing, touching, biting – all of it eager…
desperate… as if they were each other’s last supply of oxygen.
It took only a few seconds for both of their clothes to be, once again, scattered all over the floor in the entrance hallway, but this time, at least, they made it into the living room and onto the luxurious high-pile rug.
‘Wait,’ Quaddra whispered, already half out of breath.
Mary was lying on top of him, her nipples so hard they were practically pocking dimples onto his skin.
Her willing lips had just moved from his neck down to his chest, and judging by how quickly they were moving, they couldn’t wait to reach the full prize.
‘What?’ she whispered back, lifting her head off his chest, but only slightly.
‘Before we get covered in carpet burns, do you want to move this to the sofa… or to the bedroom?’
‘Why?’ Mary asked, before allowing her lips to continue their journey for a couple more seconds.
They moved down to his belly button. ‘I like the burns.’ This time she fully lifted her head to look Quaddra in the eye.
As their gaze met, she bit her bottom lip.
‘I like a little pain.’ She added a disarming wink to the end of that sentence.
‘And don’t worry, we will move it to the sofa… and to the bedroom.’
Her lips returned to the job at hand.
Quaddra closed his eyes and took a deep, quivering breath.
After they satisfied each other on the rug, they did move it to the sofa, but after that, they didn’t make it to the bedroom.
‘Oh my god,’ Mary said, as they were trying to go from the living room to the bedroom upstairs. ‘Is that a pool table?’
Quaddra nodded. ‘Yeah, that’s the games room.’
Mary smiled, her head angling sideways. ‘I always wanted to get fu…’
Before Mary could even finish her sentence, Quaddra was already bending her over the table. Mary let out a moan so inviting that even she was surprised. She stretched her arms wide and held onto the two center pockets as firmly as she could – the anticipation almost making her hyperventilate.
From what she’d seen so far, in bed, Quaddra could read Mary like a lit billboard, knowing exactly when to turn down the tenderness and up the roughness… and vice-versa.
Mary took a quick look over her right shoulder. As her gaze found Quaddra’s, she gave him an inviting smile before spreading her legs. ‘Take me whichever way you want.’
Quaddra reached for her hair and pulled it. ‘Oh, don’t worry, I will.’
‘Oh God!’ Mary moaned in a whisper. She was, once again, trying hard to catch her breath, as Quaddra rolled off her to lie by her side on the pool table.
They had changed positions a few times, with the last one having both of them on the table.
‘Did I…’ Mary’s voice was just as unsteady as the rest of her body. ‘Did I scream again?’
‘Uh-huh.’ Quaddra nodded before they both broke down laughing.
‘Argh,’ Mary winced, reaching for her knees, which were red-raw and completely scuffed, just like her elbows, the palm of her hands, her lower back and the rear of her shoulders.
‘Are you OK?’ Quaddra lifted his head to look at Mary, propping himself up on his elbows. That was when he saw the scuffs all over Mary’s body. ‘Oh, damn!’ He brought a hand to his mouth. ‘Those gotta hurt. I’m so sorry.’
Mary turned her head to look at him. He had quite a few scuffs himself. ‘Remember I told you? I don’t mind a little pain. Nothing to be sorry about.’ She looked left then right. ‘But on that subject, I am the one who’s sorry.’
‘What for?’
She indicated the pool table. There was a small tear on the table’s green bed cloth, just by the bottom right-hand pocket, and a pretty large one running parallel to the left rail. ‘I seem to have ruined your pool table.’
Quaddra shrugged. ‘It’s just a table… and this…’ His eyebrows arched, as he nodded at the space between the two of them. ‘… is worth way more than that.’ He craned his neck to kiss her shoulder.
There were distinct tones of tenderness in Quaddra’s voice that Mary had never heard before… not in anyone’s voice. She smiled at him and they stared into each other’s eyes for several silent seconds.
‘God, you are beautiful,’ Quaddra said, running the back of his index finger against the contour of her chin.
‘Thank you,’ she said back, allowing her eyes to run the length of his body. ‘You are… OK… I guess.’
Quaddra laughed.
‘I need a shower,’ Mary said, hopping off the pool table.
‘Sure,’ Quaddra said, also getting back on his feet, before nodding at Mary’s scuffs. ‘But those are going to sting.’
Mary moved closer and kissed his lips. ‘Do I have to remind you again?’
‘Yeah, I know.’ Quaddra nodded. ‘You don’t mind a little pain.’
‘That’s right,’ Mary confirmed. ‘Plus, you’re coming to the shower with me to sooth the pain.’ She reached for his left hand and dragged him out of the games room.
Back in the bedroom, after a long shower, they were both dressed in white fluffy bathrobes. Quaddra had just come back from the kitchen with two large glasses of water.
‘Thank you,’ Mary said, taking one.
‘You’re not going to run off in the middle of the night again, are you?’ Quaddra asked.
Mary stretched her lips into a humorless smile as she looked back at him.
‘I’m not criticizing,’ he said in his defense. ‘I’m just checking.’
Mary didn’t need to be an expert to be able to read what was written all over Quaddra’s demeanor.
It showed in the way that he was looking at her.
He really wanted to ask her, once again, to think about his suggestion…
to consider taking one of his properties and staying in San Francisco. But he didn’t have to.
‘The properties you mentioned earlier,’ Mary asked. ‘Are they furnished?’
Quaddra held back on a smile that would’ve made him look like a kid on Christmas morning. ‘Yeah, all of them. But if you don’t like the décor, you can change it in any way you like. It’s not a problem.’
‘Do you have anything in or around the Dogpatch?’
‘The Dogpatch?’ Quaddra took a minute. ‘No, I don’t think so… but I do have a warehouse conversion apartment in Bayview.’ His head angled at Mary. ‘Not that far, to be honest. But it’s not a big apartment – two bedrooms, if I’m not mistaken. Immense living room, though.’
‘A two-bedroom apartment sounds ideal. I don’t need much.’ Mary thought about it for a few more seconds. ‘When could I have a look at it?’
‘Umm… any time you like. I can arrange it for tomorrow morning, if you want.’
‘There’s no big rush,’ Mary replied, sounding breezy. ‘How about sometime next week?’
‘Sure,’ Quaddra agreed. ‘But I’ll have to send someone else to show you the apartment,’ he explained. ‘I’m scheduled to fly to New York on Sunday. I’ve got a series of meetings arranged for next week.’
‘Oh, OK.’ Mary did her best to keep the disappointment from invading her tone. ‘When are you back?’
‘Hard to say with these kinds of meetings,’ Quaddra replied. ‘It all depends on the outcome, but hopefully by next weekend.’
Mary nodded her understanding. ‘Do you have time tomorrow?’
‘Yes, of course. Do you really want to see the apartment?’
‘Why not?’ Mary nodded. ‘How about tomorrow afternoon or early evening?’
‘Sounds perfect.’ This time, the Christmas morning smile exploded on Quaddra’s lips.