Chapter 36
grady
. . .
“I love you, too.”
Four words had never sounded so fucking sweet.
For a moment, I wondered if I was hallucinating.
It was hard to believe Cleo Hayes was standing in my bedroom after all this time, wearing nothing but her underwear, telling me she loved me, but as I stared up at this maddeningly beautiful woman, I knew it was real.
She was real, she was here, and she fucking loved me.
She. Loved. Me.
I already knew it, and I never would’ve pressured her to say it before she was ready, or even at all, but hearing it fall from her lips so easily had soothed the anxious monster in my mind.
I reached forward, scooping her up. She fell forward with the sweetest little giggle as I peppered her neck with kisses. Her legs fell on either side of my thighs, and suddenly, she was straddling me.
My hands held her face, both of us letting the charged emotions speak in ways our words never could. Saying ‘I love you’ wasn’t nearly enough to encompass what I felt for her. It was too limiting. Too finite.
“You are mine,” I said, pressing my lips to hers.
“All yours,” she replied, sweeping her tongue across my own, deepening the kiss.
Her hands went behind her back, unclasping her bra and letting it slip down her shoulders.
It took me a moment to realize what she’d done, until she was pulling away to discard the article of clothing.
I stared at her, silhouetted by the light coming from my bathroom.
The outline of her breasts, the way I watched her nipples harden under my gaze, it made me fucking ache with need.
She was the most beautiful woman I'd ever seen, and she was all mine.
I bent my head forward, moving my lips down her neck to her shoulder before coming to a stop at her chest. She wound her fingers into my hair as I latched onto one of her nipples, sucking it into my mouth and letting my tongue lave over the tight bud.
My hips rolled up as I switched to the other, trying like hell not to whip my dick out and tug her panties to the side so I could bury myself inside her tight, wet heat.
Why the fuck was I still wearing jeans? Why didn’t I think ahead enough to take them off?
Granted, I didn’t know her secret tattoo would be hidden behind her goddamn underwear.
That was a surprise I never saw coming, not even after she told me it wasn’t anywhere the public would be able to see.
I figured it was an ankle, or maybe even something along her back, but my girl was full of surprises.
Cleo ground down against me as I worshipped her breasts, both of us biting back moans of pleasure as we chased a high that would come too soon. I wasn’t above embarrassing myself, especially not if she got her pleasure first. As much as I wanted to come, I wanted to make sure she was taken care of.
While I didn’t want to think about her with someone else, I couldn’t help but wonder how long it’d been since she was last touched.
For me, it’d been a damn long time, which was why I was close to coming in my pants.
Our current predicament reminded me of our first time, how she watched me masturbate to the sight of her just so I could make our first last more than a single minute.
Reaching between us, I found her clit through the fabric of her soaked panties, rubbing tight circles around the area.
Cleo let out a moan, her fingers pulling tighter at my scalp as she rotated her hips.
She pressed against my dick and my thumb, frantically searching for what combination felt good.
God, she was fucking beautiful. It wasn’t like I was being entirely selfless.
The way she was rubbing herself against me was enough to see stars.
I wasn’t even thinking about the way my poor dick would likely be chafed come tomorrow.
What did it matter when she was using me how she saw fit?
If this was what she wanted to lead us into a more physical aspect of our relationship, I’d gladly sit here and let her dry hump me to her heart’s content.
The moment I felt her tense up in my arms and watched the peak of her pleasure crest and her orgasm take over, I was a fucking goner.
She moaned my name, mouth open on a silent scream, and I couldn’t hold back anymore.
“Give it to me, baby,” I rasped. “Let me see you come.” I followed her, chasing that high just like she had, and spilling my own release in my pants like a goddamn teenager.
“Fuck, fuck, fuck,” I chanted, muffling my own cries in the delicate curve of her neck. “Holy shit.”
Cleo’s head dropped to my shoulder as we sat there, both of us trying to catch our breath. “Oh my god, Grady,” she panted. “Did you—”
“Come in my pants? Yup,” I said, pressing a kiss to her shoulder. “But it was so worth it.”
She pulled back, cheeks heated with exertion and pleasure as she laughed and looked down at the wet spot covering the fly of my jeans. “I’m not sure whose mess that is,” she said, covering her face. “I’m so sorry.”
“Why?” I said, gripping her wrists and pulling them away. “I’m not. I loved every second of what just happened.”
“But you came in your pants…”
“So? Why does it matter where I come?” I smirked, lowering my voice. “Although I have some ideas for next time.”
“You’re already thinking about next time?”
“Baby, I’m thinking about the rest of our lives, but I figured it’d be best to start with baby steps.”
Cleo blinked, eyes softening as she pressed her forehead against my own. “This is wild. It’s crazy.”
“Is it?” I asked, trailing my hands down her spine until they came to rest along her hips.
I couldn’t stop touching her now that she was in my arms. “The way I see it, this is a long time coming. We’ve wasted so much time, Cleo.
I don’t really want to waste anymore, you know?
I want to spend every day showing you how much I love you and making up for all the years we lost.”
Even though I couldn’t see her tears, I knew they’d begun falling.
I hated that they were there, that I wasn’t sure if they were from happiness or if I’d done something to hurt her.
“Don’t cry, bluebird. I’m sorry. I’m sorry if I rushed you.
We can take this at whatever pace you want, just don’t shut me out. I’m begging you.”
“I’m not crying because I’m sad,” she said, with a little laugh.
“Although that seems like something I would do.” She sat up, letting me run my thumbs beneath her eyes to wipe away the moisture slipping down her cheeks.
“I’m crying because, for the first time since I was a kid, I feel like I know what I want from my life.
I’ve spent the last year feeling lost, but now I don’t.
Now I have you, a-and I hope it’s not presumptuous to say Charlie—”
“It’s not,” I said without hesitation. When the time came to talk to Charlie about all of this, I knew she’d be ecstatic. “She adores you.”
“I know there’s a lot to sort through, and we will have to figure out a lot of logistics. Honestly, I’m so fucking scared of losing you again, Grady, but the thought of walking away to try and protect my heart would break it more than loving you ever could.”
“You’re never gonna lose me, bluebird. I’m yours. I’ve always been yours,” I said, kissing her earnestly. “Now, if you’ll let me, I’m gonna carry you into the bathroom, and we’re going to squeeze into a tiny shower that’s definitely too small for the both of us, and I’m going to clean you up.”
Cleo bit down on her lip, nodding as she wrapped her arms around my neck.
I stood with her in my grip and carried her through the door, depositing her on top of the counter.
There was just enough space for her to sit comfortably.
Try as I might, I was doing my best not to think about her being nearly naked because if I did, I doubted we’d make it far.
Reaching into the shower, I turned it on and adjusted the temperature to make sure it wasn’t too warm. Cleo used to set it to the hottest possible setting. Secretly, I hoped her preferences had changed enough that I wouldn’t get third-degree burns from a bath.
When I turned around, she was fidgeting. Her arms were covering her breasts, and her eyes cast down. I stepped up between her legs, gripping her chin. “You good?”
She nodded but avoided eye contact. “It’s just that, um, I haven’t been naked with anyone in a long time.
And I don’t look like I did when I was nineteen, so I’m kind of freaking out right now.
Like, you look the same—better even—but I have cellulite and stretch marks, and don’t even get me started on how my tits stare at the floor rather than straight ahead—”
“Hey,” I said, cutting off the impending spiral with a kiss. “I don’t give a shit about that.”
Anxiously, she chewed on her lip. “I look a lot different than your ex, too,” she said, voice breaking. “And I’m really nervous about this. I know it’s silly, but I’m not going to live up to whatever fantasies you may have had.”
Reaching past her, I flipped off the harsh, overhead lighting before pulling my phone out of my pocket and turning on the flashlight. Then I set it on top of the counter, so it filled the room with a soft glow.
“What’re you doing?”
“Do you feel better?”
“You didn’t have to do that,” she murmured, but I could hear the relief in her voice. I’d do anything in the world to make sure she felt comfortable. If it meant living in the dark for a little bit until she was more secure, I’d happily do that.
“I know. I wanted to. You know what else I want to do?” I asked.
“Tell me,” she whispered, reaching between us to deftly unbutton my jeans.
I tried to speak but lost all train of thought as she reached inside my briefs and took hold of my quickly hardening cock.
Holy hell. It didn’t take much to get me going, especially not when I realized it was Cleo’s hand and not my own. “Cat got your tongue?”