“Artemis,” he said. “If you keep that up, I’m not going to last.”
“I want you,” I said. “Please.”
He turned off the water, grabbed a towel, and wrapped it around me before lifting me easily into his arms. I laughed, half dazed, half aching. I kissed along his neck as he carried me into the research room. He laid me down on the couch like I was something fragile.
“Are you sure?” he asked again.
“Yes,” I said. “I want this. I want you.”
He traced his fingers over me once more. “You’re so ready for me. Artemis, I’ve never wanted anyone like this.”
He entered me slowly, and we moaned together as our bodies met. I arched up, my hands digging into his back.
“So good,” I said. “Arthur, you feel so good.”
He moved with care at first, deep and slow. He kissed me like he was trying to tell me something he did not have words for. His eyes stayed on mine the whole time.
“I love how you look at me,” I said. “Like I matter.”
“You do matter,” he said. “You matter more than anything.”
When he picked up the pace, I wrapped my legs around him. Arthur pressed one hand into the couch beside my head, holding himself steady as he thrust into me.
“God, Artemis,” he said. “You are incredible.”
The words went straight through me. Not just to my skin, but deeper. To every old doubt that told me I was too much or not enough. The way he said it made it feel like truth,not flattery.
I broke under him then, murmuring his name like it was the only thing holding me together.
He slowed, then stilled. One arm slid behind my back, and he lifted me with careful strength as he sat down on the couch. I followed him without thinking, settling over him, still joined, still so full of him it made my whole body feel alive and open.
He looked up at me with a raw openness, as if he could hardly believe I was real. “Artemis,” he said, low and thick.
I braced my hands on his shoulders as he thrust into me again, one long, deep movement that tore a moan from both of us. My legs shook at the fullness, and I moved with him, finding a rhythm that felt natural and right, like our bodies had always known how to do this together.
We were both breathing hard now. Water still clung to our skin, catching the light in small, shining drops. His hands moved over me, restless and sure all at once. One moment he was holding my hips, the next he was sliding his palms up my back, then down again, like he couldn’t decide where he wanted to touch me most.
“I need you,” he said, almost like a confession.
He leaned in and kissed me as I rolled my hips. His kiss was deep and hungry, and it said more than any words ever could. I kissed him back just as hard, just as desperate. We moved together faster now, chasing something that felt bigger than either of us.
I felt an orgasm building again, starting low and spreading through me until it was too much to hold back. I tilted my head back, a sound breaking from me as it took over.
“Arthur,” I cried.
He moaned brokenly as he followed, holding me tight as it all crashed through us at once. For a moment, everything went still, like the world had narrowed down to just us and where we were joined.
When it passed, I was shaking. He kept his arms around me, pulling me close to his chest, making sure I stayed right there with him. I started shivering the second Arthur laid us down on the couch, even with his warm arms wrapped around me. It was the small, annoying kind that made my teeth chatter and my shoulders pull in like I was trying to disappear inside myself.
Arthur noticed right away.
He wrapped me in the towel, and before I could argue about beingfine actually, really fine, thank you very much, he scooped me up like I weighed nothing.
“Come with me,” he said quietly.
The way he said it sent a little zing of pleasure through me. Like there was nowhere else I was supposed to be.
“Arthur, I can walk,” I mumbled, my arms wrapped around his neck even as he kept carrying me. “You don't have to carry me everywhere. I’m not made of glass.”
