He drove deep three more times.
Each thrust harder than the last, each one hitting that spot, prolonging Adriel's orgasm, making him cry out again. Then he buried himself to the hilt and came; his whole body shaking, a low broken sound pressed against Adriel's shoulder, his hand gripping his hip hard enough to bruise.
Adriel felt it. Felt him pulsing inside, felt the heat of his release even through the condom, felt the way his body gripped and held and refused to let go.
They stayed like that for a long time. Landen's weight pressed against his back, both of them shaking, breathing in ragged gasps. Adriel's face was still pressed to the side, tears drying on his cheeks, his body still trembling with aftershocks.
After a long moment, Landen moved. He pulled out slowly, and Adriel whimpered at the loss. Landen pressed a kiss to his shoulder in response; a silent apology.
Then he took care of everything.
He cleaned Adriel gently and without fuss. His touches were soft now, reverent, nothing like the force of moments before.
When he was done, he lay back down. Pulled Adriel against his chest and wrapped an arm around him, and Adriel went; tucking himself in close, his back against Landen's front, Landen's heartbeat steadying against his spine.
His heart was still racing. He could feel it, pounding against his ribs, too fast, too loud. But his body was heavy, boneless, sunk into the mattress in a way that made movement feel impossible. Landen's weight was pressed against his back, warm and solid, one arm wrapped around his waist.
Landen didn't move immediately. Didn't reach for his phone or his clothes like Adriel had been braced for. Didn't shift away or clear his throat or do any of the things Adriel had learned to expect in moments like this.
He stayed. His hand moved slowly over Adriel's stomach. His fingers, warm and dry, tracing lazy patterns across his skin.
Adriel closed his eyes. Let himself feel it. The weight of that hand. The warmth of it. The simple, astonishing fact of it still being there.
After a while, Landen spoke quietly.
"You okay?" His voice was low in the dark. Soft.
Adriel considered lying.
Fine.The word was right there, automatic, the way it always was. The way he'd said it a thousand times to a thousand people who hadn't really wanted to know. It would be easy. It would be safe.
"I don't know," he said instead. The words came out quiet. More honest than he'd meant to be.
Landen's hand kept moving. Slow circles.
"That's okay," he said.
Adriel's throat tightened.
They lay in silence for a moment.
"Did I hurt you?" Landen asked.
Adriel shook his head against the pillow. "No."
"Tell me if I did something, anything, you didn't like. I need to know."
Adriel turned the words over. No one had ever asked him that before. No one had ever wanted to know what he liked, what he didn't, what he needed. The questions themselves felt foreign, like a language he didn't quite speak.
"You didn't hurt me," he said. "It was…" He stopped. Started again. "It was good. Really good."
"The way you…" Adriel's voice faltered. "When you saidgood boy. I didn't know… I didn't know that could feel like that."
Landen was quiet for a moment. Then: "You liked that?"
Adriel nodded again. Small. Embarrassed.
"Yeah."
