Emancipation

thirty eight

Warm, feather like kisses on my neck make me stir in my sleep as I slowly open my eyes. James's gorgeous face comes in my view as I realise that he's placing kisses up to my jawline. When he notices that I'm awake, he grins.

"Did I wake you?" He asks, not sounding apologetic at all, making me smile.

"Were you not intending to?" I ask. Our limbs are intertwined with his arms draped over my waist and mine trapped under his embrace. There's a little light peeking through the blinds that James drew on last night before going to sleep.

We spent the night talking apart from the time where I felt so overwhelmed that I showered him with kisses that led to more. He talked about his mother and my heart ached for the child in him who longed for her.

I move a little to face him completely as he kisses my cheek, sending warmth throughout my body. "Good morning, Mrs. Clark."

"Morning, Mr. Clark." I smile, feeling this happy after a long time. Things have been good since the day we talked about our first kiss, but they just seem to get better.

His phone's ring erupts in the room, making me groan as I start to create distance between us but he pulls me closer, tightening his grip on my waist as he reaches for the night stand to retrieve it. He must see the sour expression on my face because he doesn't receive the call, instead puts his phone on silent and keeps it back on the table.

"Good?" He asks and I nod, grinning.

After we made love last night I convinced James to let me out of the bed to pick up our clothes from the floor but he didn't really listen to me. He only got our phones from his jeans pocket and set them on night table, not letting me leave the bed for a second.

"We need to have some rules." I speak up, my thoughts running in the morning and he arches an eyebrow.

"Rules as in house rules or safe words?"

"James!" I swat his shoulder, making him laugh loudly as he stares at me with the shine in his eyes that I've grown to love.

"What? I'm serious though, we can explore once you're comfortable and know your likes-dislikes."

I give him a look which only makes him smirk further. I haven't even been up for half an hour and this man has heat rising to my cheeks. He kisses my forehead before looking at me.

"Alright, tell me."

I sigh, taking a deep breath, "No phone calls in the bedroom."

"That's a little difficult. I get a lot of calls in the morning sometimes before office, you know that." He tries to reason out and I know he's right, making me think of a solution.

"Alright, no calls when we're in bed, you can call back once we're up, is that doable?" I ask, trying to draw boundaries that are suitable for both of us.

"Yes, fine. I can put my phone on silent at night when we go to bed and won't check it until we're up." He promises, his hand rubbing up and down my sides. "Anything else?"

"Can you try to keep your office work to minimum during weekends? I know you're running the company and it's not possible to cut it off completely, but I really think you need to strike a better work-life balance." I tell him honestly and he nods, sighing.

"I've never needed the balance because work has been my life, but now with you, I promise I'll try. Just be patient with me, alright?"

"Yes." I agree, leaning up a little to kiss him briefly before pulling apart.