“Pretend it’s me finally giving you what you’ve been waiting for, what onlyIget to give you.”
She groaned. “God, Bennett. It’s you. It’s always been you.”
Those words undid me.
My fist tightened, stroking hard and fast now, chasing the edge I’d been riding since the second she’d spread herself open for me. “That’s right, baby. Only me. Only ever me.”
Her back arched off the bed, a sharp cry tearing from her throat. “Please, let me come.”
“Come for me, Arabella,” I snarled. “Now.”
Her whole body locked up on a sharp, broken cry, back arching off the bed as the orgasm ripped through her.
The toy disappeared deep inside her cunt, buried to the hilt, and I watched her pulse around it. Wave after wave. Her fingers still worked her clit through the shudders while my name spilled from her lips like a prayer.
That was it. I was fucking gone.
Pleasure slammed into me, white-hot and blinding. My cock jerked in my fist, thick ropes spilling over my knuckles and stomach, hips thrusting into my hand like I was driving into her.I rode it out with Bella’s name on my lips, my vision whiting out for a second as the release tore through me.
“Fuck, Bella—” I panted.
I was still catching my breath, hand sticky and useless at my side, when I saw her shiver.
A tiny aftershock rippled through her shoulders. The toy slipped from her fingers, landing softly on the bed, before she curled slightly inward. Her arms wrapped around her body like she didn’t quite know what to do with all that intensity now that it was over.
Something fierce and tender twisted in my gut. She needed grounding now. Somebody to pull her back gently.
And I was just the man for the job.
Her eyes fluttered open and found mine instantly. “Hi,” she whispered, her voice hoarse.
“Hi.”
I did my best not to grin like an idiot.
“You did so good, baby.”
She gave a shaky laugh. Her cheeks were flushed with a deep rose; her dark curls clung to her forehead. I wanted my hands on her more than I wanted my next breath.
“Sit up and drink some water, okay?” I nodded toward the bottle I knew was on her nightstand. “Slow sips.”
She reached for it without looking away from me, unscrewed the cap with trembling fingers, and took a few obedient swallows. A drop escaped the corner of her mouth and trailed down her chin. I had to fight the urge to groan.
“That’s my girl.”
She set the bottle down and curled back up, pulling the blanket halfway up her bare body. “I feel kind of floaty,” she admitted, voice small and raw. “Is that a word? Like everything’s soft and loud at the same time.”
“That’s normal after something that big. Just breathe with me, alright?” I took a slow, careful inhale and let it out. She followed, her shoulders loosening a fraction with every breath.
We stayed like that for a long minute—me waiting for her to settle and her watching me watch her.
“I wish you were here,” she said quietly. “Holding me.”
There was no hiding the smile this time. “If it makes you feel better, I’m cuddling the shit out of you in my head right now.”
She made a tiny sound, half sigh, half whimper, and burrowed deeper into the pillows at her back.
I felt it in my chest like a brand. Fierce protectiveness, bone-deep affection, and a hunger that wasn’t even close to being satisfied.
