He curled around me as we both slumped down on the bed. For the moment, neither of us was willing, or able, to move, but I didn't mind. His arms were around me and that was all that mattered.
Chapter Two
Hanna
To say that I was sore from the prior night's activities would have been a massive understatement. Most of my body felt like I'd been involved in some sort of marathon. My pussy and ass both ached in that deep, throbbing way that only came with having had a good, hard fuck. I didn't regret any of it for a second, but it would definitely be distracting at work today.
The way my sister's light violet eyes were dancing as I walked into the apartment said that she knew not only how I felt, but what it had taken to get me there. It wasn't surprising considering Juliette was a much-sought-after Dominatrix, and she'd been doing it long enough to recognize how thoroughly I'd been fucked last night...and again in the shower this morning.
Though we were five years apart, Juliette and I almost looked like twins. We had the same eyes, nearly the same shade of black hair. We were both tall and curvy – though she had a few inches on me in height – and we both had our mother's fine features. When Juliette left Ohio eight years ago, I'd still been in that awkward stage of puberty, but by the time I’d come to California this past summer, the resemblance was enough that people often mistook me for her.
In fact, Cross had done just that. When he'd first approached me, he thought I was Juliette and wanted to know if I'd consider Subbing for him. That's how I'd discovered the lifestyle my sister was a part of. The mistaken identity had made things a bit awkward at first, but he'd quickly made it clear that once he knew who I was, my sister had never crossed his mind again.
“Damn,” Juliette said with a grin. “I hope you have enough time to recover before you see Mom and Dad because if you show up looking like that, with Cross on your arm, Dad will have his head...or other body parts I'm sure you're equally fond of.”
“Thanks.” I let the sarcasm drip from the words. “That's exactly what I needed to hear to make myself less anxious about taking Cross home for Thanksgiving.”
“You don't have to go, you know,” Juliette said as she poured us both glasses of juice. “We could spend Thanksgiving together.”
“Or you could come too,” I suggested as I slid into the seat across from her. I picked up one of the cheese wedges she'd set out. “You haven't been home in years.”
“This is home,” Juliette said firmly. “Not Zanesville. That hasn't been home for me in a long time.”
“Mom and Dad would love to see you,” I said, hoping guilt would turn her to my side.
She gave me a skeptical look. “Come on, Hanna, we both know better than that. Mom and Dad love me, I know, but they've never forgiven me for leaving.”
“Maybe with me moving out here too, they're realizing that it doesn't mean we don't love them,” I suggested.
“Or maybe they'll be more upset with me because I corrupted you,” she countered.
The sad thing was, she had a point. That did sound like the more likely response from our parents. The only one in the family who could never do any wrong was our brother, RJ. His favoritism had been clear enough growing up, and it had only gotten worse when he'd stayed in the area to go to trade school, then gone right into full-time employment in the family auto mechanics business. He'd married his high school sweetheart and even bought the house next door to where we'd grown up. It'd been hard on Juliette growing up with perfect Raymond Jr as a little brother, but being three years younger than him was even worse because I was always in his shadow. No matter how well I did in school, or what accomplishments I achieved, nothing was ever as good as what RJ did.
Then I'd done the unthinkable and joined Juliette on the West Coast. Our parents weren't some backward hicks who thought California was hedonism incarnate, but they did think that family should always come first, which to them meant staying in Ohio and working at the shop under Dad and RJ.
“You'll have to tell me how they react to Cross,” Juliette said as she pulled her ebony hair back from her face.
“Yeah, it should be interesting,” I said and looked down at my glass. Lunch at home on a Saturday meant I could've had a glass of wine and not felt guilty, but I'd drink what Juliette gave me. I could probably use the extra vitamins anyway.
“What's wrong?” She reached across the table and put her hand on my arm. “You guys didn't have a fight or anything, did you? I mean, you look like you enjoyed yourself last night.”
My face warmed. “I did. And I love him...” I let the sentence trail off.
“But?” she prompted.
“Nothing.” I shook my head.
“Hanna.”
She sounded like our mother when she said my name that way. Not that I'd ever tell her that.
“He never really talks about the future. I mean a week or two, maybe a month if there's something that needs long-term planning, but he never makes any comments that make me believe he's thinking about us long term.” I ran my hand through my hair. “Not even something off the cuff, like saying something about a trip in the spring or what he might want to do over some holiday in the future.”
“You're worried he doesn’t want a traditional relationship.” She summed it up quite neatly.
I nodded and took another sip of my drink. “I mean, I have no problem with the sex stuff.” My face blazed with heat. “I like it. And we've both said 'I love you,' so I know he's not hung up on that.”
“But you want more.”
I sighed. “I just want to know that there's a possibility of more. There doesn't have to be a timetable, and it's not like I'm asking to move in with him tomorrow, but I want to know that he sees a future for us.”
My sister's face was uncharacteristically somber. “Then you need to talk to him, Hanna. One of the things that both Cross and I told you about the Dom / Sub relationship is true in any relationship. Communication. You have to tell him how you feel.”
“I just don't want him to think I'm coming on too strong, that I'm trying to get him to move fast.”
The side of Juliette's mouth twitched up in a partial smile. “Hanna, sweetie, the two of you went from nothing to lovers in a matter of days. I think the ship for 'too fast' has already sailed.”
She had a point. Granted, the circumstances surrounding those first few days had been unique, but we hadn't backtracked.
“What if he doesn't want any of that?” My heart thudded painfully even as I asked the question.
“Isn't it better to know now?” she asked softly. “Just talk to him. I've seen the way he looks at you. I'm sure he's just assuming you two will be together, and that he didn't have to bother making any sort of statement. He is a man, after all, and we both know they don't always communicate well when it comes to things like that.”
I nodded and told myself that she was right. I needed to talk to Cross, and it would probably all just be some big misunderstanding. I'd feel silly, but we'd keep moving on with our relationship and everything would happen at the right time.