Page 66 of Make It Last

“Actually, how old are you?”

“Thirty-two,” he said uncertainly.

“Okay. You’re thirty-two years old, and you’ve never had sex without a condom. That means you are a responsible man, hence a good boy.”

He chuckled. “I’m not perfect. But birth control is a thing.”

“I admire that about you.”

“What do you mean?” he countered.

“That you’re that responsible. I hear a lot of guys are assholes about birth control.”

“Including your ex?”

I nodded. “Yeah. That whole ‘condoms don’t feel right’ bullshit. Whatever.” I rolled my eyes and then added, “And thank you.”

“For what?” He looked genuinely puzzled.

“Well, the orgasm. That’s three for three.”

Tanner waggled his brows before his gaze sobered. “Sometimes I think it’s a matter of just fitting well together.”

“I don’t know what you mean.” I felt silly because I didn’t. My sexual experience was now up to two men. I didn’t have many reference points.

“Just that sometimes the chemistry is just right.”

“Oh. So maybe that was the problem with my ex?”

Tanner paused before shaking his head. “Maybe, but also your ex was an asshole. We’ve established that.”

“Oh. Well, he totally was,” I agreed.

“I don’t just mean because of the cheating. About sex.”

“I didn’t have anything else to go by.”

“Well, now you do,” he pointed out.

“I know. This might be a problem, Tanner. You might have ruined me forever.”

He grinned, sifting his fingers through my hair before leaning close to give me a quick, fierce kiss.

“That’s okay,” he murmured. “You might have ruined me forever.”

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Ava

Thinking too loud

Sleeping with Tanner was as good as sex with Tanner. He was warm and strong, and I felt completely protected and safe.

When I woke up at one point during the night, I was a little confused to sense a man’s presence in bed beside me. My brain was muddled, but my body and nervous system instantly knew it wasn’t my ex. Still, I had a moment of panic, thinking it was. As if the divorce, and the peace I felt from finally getting out of that hellscape, had all been a dream, and this was the reality.

But then Tanner’s hand moved where he had it curled against my hip. I knew it was him. Because the way he touched me was different. It shouldn't have made sense that his touch was already familiar to me, but it was.

Of course, then I started thinking. My thoughts must have been so loud, banging around in my brain, that I woke Tanner up. I felt the rasp of his voice against the back of my neck where he was spooned behind me. I’d fallen into the habit of sleeping on my side, with my bad ankle on top.