At some point in the night, the touches changed, his or hers, she couldn’t say, but caresses turned to nudges, sighs turned to pants, laziness to intent. She was on her side, with Elias behind her, one hand working her breast, sensual and slow.
The touch lacked the urgency of their previous encounters but had another element she couldn’t quite put her finger on. It was dreamy, comforting.
She arched her back, pushing her hips toward him, and felt him, hard. Another shift brought them closer. He grunted when she ground against him and—there—a taste of their earlier frenzy.
“I want…” She reached back and found his erection, hot and hard and ready.
“Yeah…”
“Can you…”
“Yeah.” He yanked at her pants, pulled them down so her ass was bare, and let her feel how badly he wanted this. “Yeah.”
“Elias.” It was all she could say. One word, though it felt like she’d offered up her heart.
“Hang on.” He disappeared for a few moments, taking his firm, heady heat. She barely heard the sounds of him rummaging in his coat pocket, followed by crinkling foil and snapping rubber through the quick beating of her heart. His return was preceded by the acrid scent of latex. “Let’s get this off.” He yanked the pants the rest of the way off her body—without much help from her—slid in behind her again, and nudged her top leg until she lifted it. At the feel of his blunt, heavy tip against her, she tilted until he lined up and slid slowly in.
They shared a sigh as his body filled hers, the sensation still not entirely comfortable, although she was wet.
Yeah, well, if this adventure had taught her one thing, it was that comfort was overrated.
After a minute or two of just being together, he moved and she responded, each taking turns leading their bodies in this magical, electrifying dance. Only this time, orgasm didn’t seem to be his goal, any more than it was hers. It was togetherness they sought.
Every slow slide brought more heaviness, more heat, more sighs of contentment, desire. She had no idea how long he stayed in her like that, how long the ascent lasted. But at some point—could have been hours later—he tightened his full-body hug, deepened the penetration, and came hard, with a low noise that she felt to her marrow.
After recovering, he reached down—still inside her—and rubbed tight circles over her clit. Panting, she came, not even a little surprised when she started leaking tears again.
This must be the new normal. The feelings right there on the surface, instead of suppressed.
He pulled out, arms around her, and lay still for a bit before getting up—probably to deal with the condom, maybe to get away from the soupy swamp of emotion she couldn’t seem to contain around him. When he didn’t immediately return, she rolled into a ball under the blankets, trying to prepare herself for the possibility that she’d cried one too many times with the guy.
The scuff of his returning feet told her she’d underestimated him.
Without a word, he climbed in and eased his big body in front of hers, then sort of under her until her head was on his chest.
She rubbed her face into him, breathed him in, and let herself be happy. So she’d cried a few more tears. Maybe what she felt for him was too big to be contained. Trusting him and winning his trust had opened her up to the possibility of something deeper. It felt good to let him in—cathartic actually.
His hand rubbed circles on her back with a familiarity that spoke of years together, not days. Years of this closeness. What would that be like?
She stretched and made a low, happy sound, fully coming to when his voice rumbled gently in her ear.
“Mom and Dad fell in love at first sight.”
The words sent a shiver down her back. When he didn’t go on, she prompted him. “Seriously? Yours, too?”
“Mom’s blind date never showed. And this guy sitting beside her at the lunch counter bought her a milkshake. Said something cheesy about pretty girls looking sad. Way he told it, she rolled her eyes and turned away, telling him that she wasn’t interested in smiling for any man.”
Leo chuckled. “Sounds about right.”
“Said he was done right there. Kaput. Like lock, stock, and whatever. Told me never to settle for a woman who didn’t challenge me. Said I’d hate my life if I chose easy instead of interesting.” His breathing was too measured, as if he were holding it in, doing his best to control it. “Karen—my ex. The one I was supposed to marry. She was nice. I mean a really good person.”
Leo snorted. “She left you.”
“Can you blame her?”
“Yes.Yes, I blame her.” Leo would never do that. Never. “I won’t get mad about it. Her loss and all that.” She settled back into his warmth, a little surprised at how worked up she’d gotten. “My gain.”
He gathered her close and sighed against the top of her head. “I’m wild about you, Leo. No matter what happens, I’ll never regret a moment of this. Not one single second.”
