He leaned into my neck. “Gods but I want you so badly. I want your hands on me, your mouth.” He pushed me onto my back, slotting himself between my legs. The weight of him was enticing.
The words cascaded over me like a waterfall, pounding into my brain.He wants me. Me.My body craved his touch, but my mind had other ideas. What if we did this and he hated it? Or he freaked out? Or it reminded him of Charlie? The lost lover. I could botch the whole thing up and we couldn’t even be friends again.
“Regge.” I pressed him away from me, lifting my hands from his skin and letting them fall to the side of my head. “What is this?” The question hung in the air between us.
He leaned back, looking at me. “You don’t want to?”
“I absolutely do want to, but… is this just afriends with benefitsthing? I mean that’s all good, if it is, but…” No. That wouldn’t be good at all. I knew it as soon as I said the words. I would hate that. But it was better than losing him altogether.
“Yeah, sure.” Full lips ghosted across my cheeks before heading to my throat. My heart thumped in time with every swipe of Regge’s tongue. A tongue that moved south along my collarbone, my breastbone. Lips stopping at nipples to tease, before traveling south. A hot mouth at my belly button and then lower still.
His mouth was everywhere, hot and insistent. Finally his lips teased and tortured, his tongue like fire. I whimpered. Chuckling, Regge took me in fully. My hand fell naturally onto his hair, sifting through the soft strands.
With his moan vibrating around me, I lost all thought. There was nothing to do but feel. The swoop of tongue, the gentle scrape of teeth, and I had to grip the sheets to keep still. I didn’t want to freak him out.
Ever conscious of his confession of his past, I didn’t want this to be anything like that. But it was only a few minutes before I felt the rush of tension, the onslaught of euphoria. I couldn’t help but clutch at Regge’s hair before a quick tap on his shoulder as a warning.
But he simply sucked me in deeper, his throat closing around my orgasm. I shouted…something. I’m sure of it. My body melted into his like honey off a hot spoon. Suddenly liquid and golden, every sensation searing into memory, an imprint on my psyche. This was so right. Exactly how it should be.
“Regge. Regge,” I said, not really knowing why, but the name sounded so promising on my lips. I pulled him up and moved to the side, splaying him out on the bed so I had access to all of him.
I was determined to make it good, to make Regge feel as good as I did. Maybe then, this would be a thing. Our thing. Something that stays. Something that lasts.
His breathing was ragged and chipped at every curve and crevice I found. I wanted to find them all. Teasing and swiping, my tongue and fingers working until he begged. “Come on, come on, come the fuck on.”
I smiled into his belly, tracing the fine blond hairs of his happy trail. “Say please.”
“Please.” The word croaked out ragged and pliant. “Please. I need your mouth.”
I complied. It was glorious. I didn’t know what Regge liked in bed, but I knew what I liked, so I took a guess. I was right.
He groaned and begged some more until I relented, my mouth sinking down, enveloping him. I’d dreamed of this, of having Regge moan with pleasure under me.
The whole act was sloppy and noisy. I didn’t care. I was lost in the scent, the feel of him in my hands, on my tongue. My mouth was made for this. I couldn’t seem to get enough, so I went for it.
It was scant minutes before Regge thrashed under me, before a raw explosion and the blissful exhale of a groan. Just like I remembered. This time the sound was combined with my name.
After a minute of catching our breath, I moved up to the head of the bed and collapsed beside him, suddenly exhausted. Regge pulled me close, wrapping his arms around me, nuzzling into my neck. I thought I heard the word love. But I wasn’t sure. The heaviness of sated sleep overcame me.
The next time I woke, the room was lighter, the early sunlight peeping through half-closed blinds. Once again, my mind was fuzzy, though the headache had eased. Had I slept all day? All night? I sat up, feeling along the bed for Regge. The sheets were warm but empty.
“Reg?” I fumbled out of bed, feeling like my legs were brand-new and unused to walking. Did he leave without me? “Reg?”
A door opened to let a crack of light spread into the room.
“You’re awake.” He walked from the bathroom to the kitchen, clicking on the stove light. He was shirtless, a pair of boxer shorts low on his hips. My boxers.
I smiled. “Oh, I thought you’d left without me.”
He chuckled. “Where would I go?”
“Erm. The hotel. Egads, we must be really late. The necromancer will be…”
His skin shone with golden shadows under the light. “No. Hunter, it’s okay. We don’t need to go to the hotel. It’s done. Nigel…”
Moving back to me, he reached out to run a hand over my hair. His eyes were full of concern.
“You should rest some more. Or… are you hungry? I’m going to make food.” He turned back toward the kitchen. He was acting weird. Or I was acting weird. Yeah. It could be me. That tracked.
