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Ethan arched into the touch. “You. This. Your cock inside me now.”
The shadows around them shivered, tightening like a second set of hands. Rook’s breath hitched. “When you get demanding, I lose my mind.”
“I’m not demanding. I’m giving you specificities.” Ethan hooked a leg around Rook’s hip, pulling him into position. “There’s a difference.”
“I know.” Rook’s voice was rough, his control fraying. “It’s perfect.”
There was no more talking. Rook’s entrance was slow - inch by cautious inch, adjusting the angle based on Ethan’s hitched breathing and the way his fingers dug into Rook’s shoulders. The shadows traced sensuous patterns across Ethan’s skin, aiming to increase his pleasure.
“Right…there…” Ethan’s voice broke as Rook hit the spot that made his entire body lock up.
“I’ve got you.” Rook’s shadows curled around Ethan’s wrists, not restraining, but grounding him. Ethan was trembling, feeling through the bond how much control Rook was using to show care and desire all at the same time. Between the shadows and the physical touches, Rook’s heavy breathing and his kisses, their arousal grew with every minute – totally in sync.
Soon there was nothing but an all-encompassing need, and when his orgasm hit, Ethan could feel it echo, bouncing back through the bond until Rook was groaning against his neck, spilling deep inside him with a possessive snarl. They collapsed in a tangle of limbs and ruined sheets. Ethan’s last coherent thought before his brain melted completely? This was the most efficient use of a bed I’ve ever experienced.
“Your sheets are a mess,” Rook said after a long moment.
“I don’t care.” Ethan felt boneless, satisfied, and completely content with the chaos. “This is exactly what a bed was made for.”
“Look at you, embracing disorder.”
“Selective disorder in the service of relationship satisfaction is acceptable.” Ethan turned his head to look at Rook. “That was excellent.”
“‘Excellent?’” Rook huffed out a laugh. “You’re reviewing the experience like a performance evaluation.”
“Would you prefer ‘extraordinary’? ‘Exceptional’? ‘Significantly exceeded expectations’? Should I make you a star chart?”
Rook laughed again, pulling Ethan closer. “Whatever you want. I love you exactly as you are.”
Ethan’s phone buzzed again, this time with texts instead of calls. He reached for it reluctantly, Rook’s shadows picking it up from the floor for him.
“It’s Fiona.” Ethan read the messages quickly. “She’s asking if I’m okay. And whether I really quit via phone while reporting Ryan to the police.”
“Theater district gossip moves fast.”
“Apparently.” Ethan typed a response: Yes. I’m fine. Coffee next week?
Fiona’s reply came immediately: ABSOLUTELY. I have so many questions. Also, thank you so much for absolutely everything. You were literally a lifesaver.
Ethan set the phone aside and looked around his apartment - his soon-to-be-former apartment. The mess they’d made of his bed felt like a declaration. He’d lived here for three years maintaining perfect order, never admitting the isolation underneath.
Now he got to live somewhere else, somewhere better, and somewhere that felt like home not only because of Rook, but because of his newfound family who didn’t see Ethan as weird, but accepted him as he was.
“We should probably finish packing,” Ethan said without moving.
“Probably.” Rook didn’t move either.
“And address the refrigerator situation.”
“That too.”
Neither of them got up. Rook’s shadows kept exploring the room, examining the evidence of Ethan’s previous life. The apartment that had felt wrong when they arrived now felt like exactly what it was, a temporary space he’d occupied while waiting for something better, a bit like a hotel room, with a messy bed.
“Thank you,” Ethan said quietly.
“For what?”
“For making me realize I deserved more than this.” Ethan gestured at the room. “I thought my life was sufficient the way it was. You proved life has so much more to offer.”
