Chapter 19
chapter 19
Waking up next to Naomi was Dev’s version of the perfect day at the beach: clean, isolated, and with none of those flying rat-birds squawking in the distance.
The scent of sweet coconut and sunshine infiltrated his senses—ripe, beckoning, and fresh. Naomi’s slow, even breathing, still deep in slumber, was a hundred times more comforting than the gentle swish of a rolling tide breaking onto the shore. Her supple skin was the sunbaked sand, warm and smooth, inviting his touch. Dev wanted to bury himself in the soft expanse of her.
Beep! Beep!
The blare of his phone’s alarm ruined it. Quick like a crab, Dev scuttled to his bedside table to shut it off. Naomi’s stillness suggested she was still asleep, so Dev eagerly returned to his initial position, wrapped around her from behind.
He’d never been much of a cuddler before. In previous relationships, overnight stays had been rare. And the few he’d grudgingly accepted—never in his own bed—he preferred his space, on the left side of the bed, one pillow only, thanks.
But Naomi’s smooth skin warming his front while he nuzzled into the soft, wayward curls that smelled like a fruity, tropical drink he’d eye with longing but could never bring himself to order? Paradise. He could stay there forever, tucked away with her in this tiny apartment, matching his breath to the slow, sensuous rise and fall of her stomach under the palm of his hand.
Naomi let out a soft moan, her back arching so her toes could find shelter between his legs. He’d been awoken several times over the course of the night by the icy little glaciers against his skin.
He didn’t mind; it felt nice to be a source of warmth for a change.
“What time is it?” Naomi murmured in a rough, husky voice that blanketed Dev’s eardrums in the coziest way.
Dev thought back to his phone alarm signaling it was time for his workout. “A little before six.”
Naomi sighed and rolled to face him, causing a very pleasing mashing of things against other things. He definitely didn’t mind that either.
As Naomi’s eyes shuttered closed again, Dev studied her face, marveling at how the features he thought he’d known so well seemed different now. Because now he knew the sweep of those long, soft eyelashes feathering across his cheek, and the decadence of that pink bottom lip caught between his teeth. The hollows of her clavicle as she waited, on a sharp gasp, for what would come next after he slid between her thighs, her body tight with anticipation as he parted her with his fingers. When his eyes wandered back to Naomi’s eyes, he found them watching him back as if her thoughts were not so different from his own.
Dev felt himself harden.
“We should talk about what happened last night…” she began.
And then he softened. Don’t be a jerk if she has regrets. “Okay, sure.”
“I think you should know something,” she said. “When I met your mom—”
Well, that did it. Completely deflated, Dev flipped onto his back with a groan. “Can we not?”
“Can we not what?”
“Just once, let’s keep my family out of it. I speak from experience—keeping them out of the equation is the way to go.”
Naomi propped her head up on her hand and wrinkled her nose. “Well, then, let’s talk about that.”
At this rate, he’d never get hard again. His jaw, on the other hand, tightened with a noticeable squeak. “Please, let’s not talk about my family right now.”
“Not that,” Naomi said, poking him in the ribs. “About your experience .”
Naomi’s tone might have been teasing, but drawled that way, the word carried a hint of caution. A gateway word to an epic argument. Yet Dev wanted to tell Naomi whatever she wanted to know. To convey—in a not-weird, casual way—that she could never be lumped with those women, the ones he never wanted anything more than three months with. He didn’t want to define this relationship against his family’s expectations, as he had felt forced to in the past.
Don’t fuck this up , he coached himself. Now was not the time to blurt out the wrong thing.
“I’ve mostly just slept around.” Shit. Well done, Dev.
Naomi’s eyebrows shot up. “Oh?”
“I mean, I’ve never really done relationships in the past.” Even prior to his mother introducing matchmaking hell into his life, Dev had never been interested in the idea of dating. Small talk? Planning romantic moments? Prolonged eye contact and the pressure to say the right thing at the right time? Dev cringed. No, thanks.
But as he cast a sidelong glance at the beautiful, luminous woman at his side, dating seemed less like a chore and more like an exquisite form of torture. He could learn to be a desirable boyfriend, to reciprocate those casual, affectionate brushes that Naomi doled out so easily.
With Naomi, he could learn to be warm.
A relationship with her would be anything but two people together for the sake of convenience. It would be lighthearted teasing and easy companionship. Laughter between kisses and the sweet anticipation of seeing that same familiar face every time he woke up.
It would be friendship…with lots and lots of nudity if Dev had his way.
“I guess I can understand why you’ve avoided actual relationships in the past,” Naomi said. Her lips quirked. “Given everything with Gi—I mean, she who will not be named. It doesn’t sound like you’ve had a ton of choices.”
Dev didn’t miss the thread of sadness in Naomi’s voice. Under the covers, his hand sought hers and, much like it had throughout the night, he found it easily.
“This isn’t like that.” In the stillness of his apartment, the words were thick and everywhere at once. A fresh sheet of wet, heavy snow blanketing a quiet prairie field. “I want to do things differently with you.”
So much for being casual. And yet Dev’s chest felt light, his limbs pleasingly slack and relaxed.
“But all those things your family cares about and all those qualities Gia wants in your future wife…Do those things matter to you?”
“Look, I know you’re not from a traditional Bengali family,” Dev said. When Naomi averted her eyes, he rushed to add, “But I don’t care. If anything, I’m relieved that we don’t share the same culture. One meddling, overdramatic family is enough, don’t you think?”
When Naomi’s teeth worried her bottom lip in response, he squeezed her hand. “Seriously. I’m glad you are the way you are. I don’t want the same things my mother wants.”
He’d always wanted to escape the ironclad chains that bound him to his culture, believing that loyalty prevented him from doing so. But here, beside Naomi with nothing between them but rumpled sheets and streaks of dawn’s rosy light, he could admit that something else had kept him reeled in.
Fear. He couldn’t imagine life without his family. They might manipulate, steamroll, and annoy him, but they were his . His responsibility. His touchstone. His world. Who else would want him—a stoic, awkward, moody accountant who still didn’t have his career sorted out?
But it was all a lot less scary with the thought of Naomi at his side. They were a team. Everything that had happened in the last few months had solidified that. He could count on her. She looked out for him and expected nothing in return.
He wanted to give her everything he had.
Maybe they’d stand up to his family together. Maybe they’d run away and leave it all behind. Whatever happened, he knew he could trust her.
Beep! Beep! Now it was Naomi’s phone ruining the moment. Dev reached for where it lay next to his and passed it her way.
“That’s my cue,” she said with a grimace. “Although considering you get up before sunrise every day to go to the gym, I should stop complaining.” She opened her email inbox and began scrolling. “We should probably get to work.”
Dev slipped his arms around Naomi and squeezed. She relaxed in his embrace and squirmed closer, her eyes darkening to burned honey even as she continued to scan her email, the device squished between them.
“That’s nice,” she murmured when his hand slid to the curve of her lower back to massage the muscles there.
“Uh-huh.” Dev wasn’t deterred. After several minutes, his ministrations wandered lower to her perfect ass, gently kneading. Naomi’s body practically melted into the sheets.
“Nick’s crew will be here soon,” she said, her voice drowsy.
“Right.” With a wicked smile, Dev brushed his finger over her already wet opening before pulling her tight to his erection. She moved restlessly, her hips angling to cradle him.
When he ground against her with a subtle tilt of his hips, the phone slipped from her hands. Dev grabbed it and reached over Naomi to place it on the far edge of the mattress.
“Seriously? Again?” Naomi asked breathlessly as he rolled on top of her.
Arms on either side of Naomi’s head, Dev rested his weight on his forearms and enjoyed the luxury of studying her face. It was sappy and brought heat to the tips of his ears, knowing she was watching him watch her, but the contentment spreading through his chest erased his embarrassment.
“Dev?” Naomi prodded, her toes tickling his leg gently.
He nipped at the base of her jaw in retaliation. “What accountants lack in muscle definition, we make up for in stamina.”
Naomi’s laugh fluttered into a lush sigh as he trailed wet kisses downward, paying special attention to the curve of where her shoulder met the graceful line of her neck. He’d mapped this territory the night before, knew that the light graze of his teeth on this very spot would drive her heels into the mattress.
Sure enough, Naomi began to shift restlessly. Dev continued downward, trailing over warm skin, the perfect dip of her belly button.
When Dev’s tongue found its way to the insides of her inner thighs, Naomi struggled to sit up. Dev laid firm hands on her stomach, urging her back down. He could tell it was hard for her to lie still, to not actively participate. To just receive and not give. But he wanted to take care of her, this vibrant, addictive woman who had rescued him countless times and effortlessly teased a smile from him despite his reluctance.
When Naomi grudgingly lay back down, it felt like the ultimate victory. And Dev was just getting started.
With intense focus, Dev explored her with fingers and tongue, lingering in spots when her hips lifted in agreement, sliding his fingers inside her when a low moan escaped her lips.
“Does this feel good?” he asked, slipping a second finger inside her.
“Yes.”
Dev pumped his fingers several times. “Do you like this?”
“Yes.”
“How about…” Dev curled his fingertips upward. He was rewarded by Naomi’s entire body arching, her fingers tightening on the twisted sheets.
“That’s better.” Dev’s fingers moved into the new rhythm as his tongue found her again, her sweet, earthy scent flooding his senses. So decadent. Like eating dessert barefoot on the shore, waves lapping languidly nearby.
“You’re so sweet,” he said against her, blowing a cool puff of air against her warm center.
“It feels so good,” Naomi whimpered.
Dev cast a wry glance up the long line of her writhing body; good wasn’t enough. He wanted to do better. He knew, from the previous night, that Naomi liked to hear him talk, had felt her clench when he, for the first time in his life, had whispered the right words in her ear as he thrust into her.
“Tell me what you want,” he said, letting his lips brush against her but slowing the glide of his fingers to a more teasing pace.
“I…” Naomi looked down at him pleadingly.
“Tell me.” He wanted her to tell him what she needed. To not only receive pleasure but to take it from him, to demand the exact thing that would send her over the edge. He wanted her to use him, to think only of herself and the pleasure he wished to give her.
After a long pause where the only sound between them was the slow slide of Dev’s drenched fingers, Naomi finally gasped, “Faster.”
Dev was more than happy to comply. And as fresh moisture flooded his hand, he looked up at her again. “What else? Tell me.”
Naomi’s mouth pursed but no words came out.
“You can tell me,” Dev said gently.
Her beautiful lips parted, her tongue darting out to moisten them. Dev swallowed a groan.
“I want…” Naomi’s face flushed.
“What?”
“I want you to…”
“Naomi.” Dev could see the uncertainty flitting across her face. He wanted to prove himself to this beautiful woman, to show her she could let go with him. She could be herself—demanding, imperfect, and wild—with him.
“You can trust me,” he added with a certainty that rushed through his veins like adrenaline.
“I w-want you to suck my clit,” she cried, lifting her hips to his mouth.
His adrenaline burst like wildfire, and he quickly complied, eyes watching Naomi’s reaction carefully so he knew how much pressure she liked, how deep of a pull she craved. It wasn’t long before her body broke on a sharp cry, squeezing his fingers so fucking tight that Dev couldn’t help but press his own hips into the mattress, seeking relief.
When Naomi’s breathing slowed, Dev crawled up her body, returning to his original position, arms on either side of her face, the perfect vantage point to study her. Her beautiful light brown eyes were half closed, her lips parted and pliant.
“We should shower,” Dev said, punctuating his suggestion by nuzzling her nose with his. He couldn’t resist rolling his hips into hers.
Naomi’s eyes flew open. “The shower in this apartment is the tiniest one in the whole world.”
Dev grinned back. “We’ll make it work.”