His rhythm stutters, hips grinding deeper. "Helena?—"
"I know. Let go."
The orgasm builds fast and sharp, pleasure coiling tighter with each thrust. When it hits, I cry out his name, body arching, muscles clamping down around him. He groans at the sensation of me pulsing around his cock, thrusts getting erratic, what's left of his restraint finally shattering.
"Can't hold—have to—fuck?—"
"Do it. Come inside me."
A few more desperate, grinding thrusts and he's there, buried deep, hips jerking as he spills inside me. Hot and wet and so much of it. His teeth find my shoulder, biting down hard in the moment of release—pleasure and intensity and loss of restraintall hitting at once. I feel every pulse of his cock, every shudder that runs through his body.
We stay locked together, both gasping for air, sweat cooling on overheated skin. When he finally pulls out, we both hiss at the sensitivity. I can feel him leaking out of me, warm and slick. He collapses beside me, pulling me against his chest.
"Did I hurt you?" His hand immediately goes to my shoulder where he bit.
I touch the mark, already darkening. "You got a little carried away... I'll live."
"I didn't mean to—fuck, I'm sorry?—"
"Don't apologize for good sex. That's insulting to both of us." I kiss him to cut off the self-recrimination. "You lost restraint for about three seconds. I'd call that impressive given the circumstances."
He looks for lies in my face. The hard edges in his expression ease when he finds only truth. "I don't know how to do this. How to be good at... whatever this is between us."
"Neither do I. Not anymore." I settle against his side, head on his shoulder. "But we're both adults. We'll figure it out."
His arm circles around me, holding on. "I'm worried I'll mess this up. That I'll revert to who I was and push you away."
"Then don't. You get to choose." I trace the scars on his chest. "You spent years alone in the wilderness running from connection. That was one way to handle things. This is another. Your call which one you want."
He's quiet for a long moment. "Thank you. For not making it more complicated than it needs to be."
“I don’t like complications. They bore me." I kiss his jaw. "This works or it doesn't. We try or we don't. Everything else is just noise."
We lie tangled together in the darkness. My body aches in ways I'd forgotten—the pleasant soreness of being thoroughlyfucked. The bite mark on my shoulder throbs. Evidence that this happened, that neither of us is alone tonight.
His fingers trace lazy patterns on my skin. Gentle now, tender in ways that probably surprise him. He's fighting sleep, trying to stay present in this moment.
"We should sleep. Tomorrow's complicated."
"More complicated than this?"
"Much more. Cara needs to talk to Traci. We need information and we're out of time."
His arm tightens protectively around me. "Traci's not ready."
"I know. But ready or not, time's up."
We lie in the darkness. Connected in ways that complicate everything.
Just before I drift off, Eli speaks quietly. "Thank you. For seeing past the damage."
"I'm not seeing past it. I'm seeing all of it."
His breath catches. Then steadies. "Okay."
I listen to his breathing slow, feel his grip on me loosen as sleep takes him. My own eyes close not long after.
Pale light filters through the window when I wake. A few hours of sleep. Not enough. Eli's still beside me, warm and solid. For a moment, I just exist here. Connected. Not alone.
