I love this. And to know he feels this way because of me is... incredible. I don’t want it to end, but I do because Ihaveto see the ending. I need it as much as he does.
A strangled sound escapes Aidan. He seizes and comes with a yell, shooting down my throat as beautiful convulsions rock him. Next time I want to be in bed or somewhere without water cascading between us so I can see his face, but there’s no time to solidify my plans. Aidan yanks me to my feet, and his hand is around my dick before I can gasp out my surprise.
He has big hands, rough with hard work but a light touch that throws me off balance. I brace myself on the wall, transfixed by the artful way he’s working me, how every pull and twist adds sparks of light to my vision.
I screw my eyes shut and then force them open again. This is insane. I’ve never felt pleasure like it, and I’ve never wanted it so much from someone. “Oh god, I’m going to come.”
Aidan’s grip tightens. For a protracted moment, I think I can handle it, but I can’t. The dam bursts and I cry out, shatter into a million pieces, and come all over his hand.
White noise fills my ears. I’m dimly aware of Aidan speaking, but not what he’s saying. His arms around me make more sense, and I lean into his embrace, burying my face in his chest. I don’t know how much time has passed when the hot water runs cold.
Startledagain, I laugh and duck out of the way as Aidan scrambles to turn it off.
He’s laughing too, his so-often-stormy gaze bright with mirth. “I think we fell asleep standing up.”
“We should try it lying down some time.”
He kisses me. “I’d like that.”
Twenty
Aidan
Ludo stays over. We eat dinner, unfold the sofa bed, and persuade Bella to abandon her stare-down with the cat who’s not my cat and join us.
“She left a nose print on the glass,” Ludo says, voice heavy.
He’s almost asleep, curled against me, naked except for his boxer-briefs. I run a hand through his messy hair. “So? I haven’t cleaned those windows, like, ever. One nose print isn’t going to make much difference.”
“Your cat needs a name.”
I can’t see how my dirty windows are connected to the nameless cat that doesn’t belong to me, but Ludo fades out before he can tell me.
Git.
I spend the next two hours staring at him, missing him, but terrified of waking him up. And of... other things. I’ve never been a good sleeper, but since the accident, I’m lucky if I get more than a few hours at a time. Dreams, if you can call them that. Somehow, I seem to think more when I’m asleep than awake, and I hate it, especially when I wake up shouting, and I don’t want to do that when Ludo’s here.
Lucky for me, passing the time is easy with him pressed against me. I relive the shower scene a hundred times and then the replay in the bedroom before we had a chance to get our clothes back on. Ludo is... fuck, I don’t have the words. I’ve been attracted to him from day one, but I didn’t realise how much until today, when his electric mouth blasted every emotion from me butwant. For those blissful minutes, I wasn’t worried about his state of mind, my leg, or where the fuck my life is going. I wasn’t worried about anything except how I’d feel when his lips were no longer fused around my cock.
And it wasn’t weird after, either. We cooked and ate like we always do, and it seemed as though we’ve hooked up in the bathroom a thousand times already.
Heat rattles through me at the mere thought of it. My body cries out for me to roll Ludo over and wake him up, but I don’t move. It’s been a perfect day, I don’t need nothing else.
* * *
Ludo
I’ve woken in enough strange beds to not be unduly alarmed when I open my eyes to Aidan’s living room ceiling. The fact that Bella is close by—standing over me, actually, jowls dripping with water from the bowl Aidan put out for her—helps.
It’s still dark. I suck in a breath and sit up, searching out Aidan. He’s next to me, naturally, but he doesn’t look as peaceful as I feel. His jaw is tight, his brow scrunched. Wherever his conscience has taken him, he’s not enjoying it.
I’m familiar with nightmares, drug-induced and real, and I can recall every time a well-meaning nurse has roused me from one. It doesn’t help. Dreams visit you for a reason. Checking out early only prolongs the disquiet. Thewhat ifs. So I don’t wake Aidan. I leave him alone and slip from the bed to take Bella out for a wee.
Aidan’s cat—it’s definitely his cat—is waiting on the doorstep. He slips past me and I let him. I’ll feed him when I get back.
A quick turn around the block sorts Bella out. We slip back through the door I’ve left on the latch and I shut it with a quiet click.
But I’m not quiet enough. I turn around and Aidan is awake, sitting bolt upright, eyes wide, shoulders moving a fraction too fast. Despite my best intentions, I’ve woken him from wherever it was he didn’t want to be.
