Page 52 of Dandelions and Smoke

He smooths his hand softly with affection over the fresh swell, mixing my pain with pleasure. It’s a stimulating combination that leaves me panting. Soon he’s sliding back into me with a groan of pleasure as my body fits perfectly with his. His arms wrap around me, one hand on my breast and the other at my throat as his thrusts deepen.

“Do you remember what I want?” he asks, his voice low and heady.

My arm reaches out, my hand pressing against the cold glass of the window to steady me as he thrusts harder. He increases the pressure around my breast and at my throat so that I’m pressed to him, perfectly molded and pliable clay in his embrace.

“Rory.” His voice breaks around my name like a plea, low and rough, the sound carrying equal parts desperation and devotion.

“Yes, daddy,” I pant as my orgasm builds, the pressure increasing with every second. “Yes, daddy, yes, yes—fuck, Garrett!”

My cry echoes through the room, loud enough to rattle the window panes. The intensity crashes over me in relentless waves, my knees giving out as I sag into his arms.

He holds me, supporting us both as his own release follows before lowering us onto the bed until the only sounds left filling the room are our labored breaths.

Unable to muster the energy to keep my eyes open, they slowly drift shut as my head sinks deeper into the pillows. The weight of exhaustion pulls at me, but not enough to drown out the awareness of Chief’s arm slipping around my waist and drawing me against him.

“Stay with me,” he murmurs, pressing a soft, lingering kiss to my forehead.

Three simple words, but in the quiet darkness, they feel like so much more. Not a request for me to stay until morning. Not words whispered only to be lost in the night. But more like a prayer, laced with hope for something neither of us went looking for but have found in each other.

Stay when things get hard. Stay when it all gets too heavy, and be the one here to help carry it all. My throat burns unexpectedly as the meaning settles deep within me. Because, as scary as it is, I want exactly the same thing.

I want him. I want this. I want us.

As sleep pulls me under, I nestle closer to him, letting the realization consume me as I silently answer the question hidden beneath his words.

Stay with me?

After all I’ve been through, all the loss and life that has left me feeling broken, it’s with him now that I feel like I’m finally whole, and I can’t imagine anything ever changing that.

TWELVE

CHIEF

“Rise and shine! It’s time to tell me all about your date.”

Billy’s voice pierces through the veil between sleeping and awake. I barely understand what’s happening before my door swings open and all hell breaks loose.

“Get out!” Rory yelps from where she lies naked beside me on the bed, causing my eyes to snap open in a panic.

Billy makes a sound of terror, shrieking like a dying bird, as Rory’s hands fly to the sheets, pulling them up to cover herself. To Billy’s credit, he looks horrified at the idea of catching even a glimpse of Rory while she’s indecent. It’s the only reason I’m not going to kill him this morning.

“Ew, Rory,” he groans as he covers his eyes, spins around, and walks directly into the wall.

“Ew, you,” she snaps back with a huff, rolling her eyes.

I go from being pissed to a state of exasperation in the span of seconds. Dragging my hand down my face, I sigh. This is not how I imagined this morning going.

“Why are you still here?” I grunt.

“I guess the date went well,” he chuckles, rubbing his forehead as he turns back around.

“Out!” Both Rory and I say in unison, though she says it while chucking a pillow at him with impressive precision.

“Ouch,” he says, catching the pillow before it falls to the ground and tossing it back. “I’m leaving.”

We can hear his laughter as he treads back down the stairs, neither of us saying anything until his footsteps fade into silence.

“I guess we didn’t lock the door last night,” she hums with a smirk on her face, leaning into me like it’s instinct instead of a decision.