Page 16 of Awakened By the Guardian

Would she flinch away or go soft and receptive? Neither. She held his gaze and said, “I don’t think this is a good time.”

He disagreed. There would never be a better one. “What aren’t you telling me, Margaret? If it’s not about my legs.”

She was silent, so he rolled close and jiggled her arm. It was a playful gesture, reminiscent of how they usually interacted, but she didn’t smile and nudge his shoulder. She just put omelets on their plates, answering only when she went to clean out the frying pan. “Don’t make me talk about this, Gary. Not now. I slept on the floor, the world went insane, and your father’s about to come over. I’m not exactly in a stable frame of mind.”

All the better, he thought. Your defenses are down.

“We’ve always been able to talk to each other,” he offered after a moment. “You tease me about everything. You think I talk about shit and piss with anyone else? But I needed to because it was important. Now it’s your turn.”

He tugged harder on her arm and then brought his other hand up to hers to intertwine their fingers. She didn’t stop him as he pulled her to sit at the table, but she wasn’t exactly responsive, either. “Come on, Margaret. I bared my soul to you yesterday.” He flashed her his most charming smile. “Not to mention every other part of me. What’s going on with you?”

“It’s no⁠—”

“Don’t you dare say ‘nothing.’”

She sighed and gestured to his plate. “Eat.”

“Not until⁠—”

“I’m going to answer, Gary, but your stomach is growling so loud it’ll deafen me if you don’t eat.”

Gary narrowed his eyes. “You promise⁠—?”

“I promise. Assuming that you promise, once I explain, we never ever bring it up again.”

“Deal,” he said. “Assuming it’s not some weird sex kink. ’Cause then I’m going to find a million jokes on the Internet and hit you with them daily.”

She gave him an arch look, so he started shoving huge forkfuls of food into his mouth. God, it was good to eat. But then, halfway through the omelet, he lost all interest in food.

“I’m asexual,” she said. “Or whatever it is when you don’t like sex.”

“What?” He let the question hang as he tried to link her words with the woman he knew. “You flirt with me all the time.”

“Yeah,” she agreed. “I can talk about sex. We had a long discussion about the merits of penile piercing. Remember that?”

Yeah, he did. He’d considered getting one just to please her. After all, it wasn’t like he would feel it. Except, she’d never said she enjoyed the idea. She’d never indicated that she liked what a pierced man could do for a woman. He supposed now that it had been more of a clinical discussion with a ton of dirty jokes.

And now didn’t he feel like a shit for his “weird sex kink” joke?

So…

“Are you a virgin?”

She shoved back from the table, obviously uncomfortable. “No. I’m not a virgin.”

“Okay, okay. I was just asking.”

She poured herself more coffee. “And before you ask, yes, I’ve had orgasms. They’re muscle contractions. They’re…not bad. They’re just not all that exciting.”

His eyebrows rose. It had been a long time since he’d experienced an orgasm, but it sure as hell had been a lot more fun than simple muscle contractions.

She shrugged, and her face was stone. “I just don’t like sex, okay? Kissing is nice, but it never stops there. And as for the act itself, I tend to just let the guy do what he wants and wait for it to be over.”

“That’s the saddest thing I’ve ever heard,” Gary said, and he meant it. Sex was one of the great joys in life, and perhaps the greatest loss from his accident. The idea that she’d never enjoyed it, ever? That was just…awful.

“Was the asshole bad at it?” he asked. He meant her ex. The one she’d broken up with before moving in next door.

She sighed. “He was fine. No better and no worse than anyone else.”