Talon sits up and slides out from behind me, dropping to his knees on the floor next to the couch so he can see my face.
“Baby, I’m not judging your choice or your actions. I simply wish you’d never had to choose in the first place.”
I brush my hand along the side of his face.
“Thank you. Anyway, Derek never really gave any part of himself to me. He alwaystook.Onlytook. He never allowed me free rein of his body. Not like you just did. He never let me explore, even though I’d never had the opportunity to really discover that part of myself or find out what I liked and what I didn’t. It was always about the releaseIcould givehim.So that’s what I meant when I said it was a first for me. I’ve never gotten someone off becauseIwanted to do it.”
Talon throws himself at my torso, wrapping his arms around me in a hug and burying his face in my bare stomach.
“If I’m lucky enough that things continue to progress between us, I just need you to tell me what you want, and it’s yours,” he says, peppering kisses to my midsection before pulling back. “You didn’t get off earlier. Not that I think this particular conversation gets the blood flowing, but I just want you to know that this is giveandtake. I’m new to this, but I want to take care of you in every way.”
Talon’s thumb pulls on my bottom lip. I hadn’t realized I’d been biting it as he spoke.
He gives me a soft smile, prompting more truth to spill from my lips.
“It’s probably going to be a while before I find bottoming enjoyable again…if ever. If that’s something you need, I?—”
“The only thing Ineedis for you to be safe, healthy, and happy. I have no expectations of what this will look like. I’m perfectly content moving at your pace and on your timeline. Don’t forget, this is all brand new for me. I haven’t even told my family about this revelation, so I’ll probably be the rate-limiting factor here.”
“What about Eloise?” I ask.
“I think she knows, but I haven’t confirmed anything. I wanted to find out how you felt first, without any added pressure from me or my family. They can be a lot.”
“If the rest of them are like you and Eloise, they sound wonderful.”
“I hope you’ll get to meet them soon.”
It’s such a simple statement, but one that creates so much emotion inside me.
I’ve never been part of a real family before.
I wake to a gray haze.I’m cold, but my skin is damp, and it isn’t until Talon shifts behind me that I realize I’m sweating and it’s drying on my skin, making me cold despite the comforter and the human heater in bed with me.
We stayed up talking until almost two a.m.
When I couldn’t keep my eyes open any longer, Talon asked if he could stay with me.
“I’ll keep my pants on, and I swear I won’t try anything. I just want to be close.”
I fell asleep with my head on his bare chest, the happiest I’ve ever been in my life.
“Good morning,” he mumbles against the skin of my back, sending goosebumps across my flesh.
“Morning,” I mumble groggily.
We barely have time to hit full consciousness before our phones go off at the same time.
“Not yet,” he groans. “Five more minutes.”
But both phones chime again, and curiosity gets the best of me, forcing me to grab mine off the nightstand.
Becs
Derek showed up at the front gate.
Apparently, he was raising hell, looking for Talon.
Hayden told me when he came in.
