Chapter 48 #2
He touches me gently, lovingly, and I gather my courage with a deep breath before finally leaning in and pressing my lips to his. It’s quick, only a peck, but it still leaves my lips tingling when I pull away.
Aiden’s fingers trace his lips carefully, his expression stunned. My heart hammers against my ribs, matching the erratic tempo of his perfectly.
We’ve done much more in the past, but I’ve never felt a kiss shake me like this, especially not one so short.
Without a word, Aiden straightens to his full height and offers me his hand. I don’t hesitate. My fingers slide into his, and he pulls me up and against his chest. We stay there, eyes locked, breath shared.
Aiden’s the first to move. He steps back and slowly guides me behind him. I’m not sure if he’s afraid to spook me or to break this fragile thing between us, but I follow his every step as he walks us back to his safe haven.
Inside, the cool air rushes over my skin, raising goosebumps. Aiden reaches just beside my waist to shut the door. The resounding click makes me suck in a breath that I immediately lose when that hand grazes along my hip.
Eyes on me, he kicks off his shoes as he backs towards the small bathroom, and I do the same as I blindly follow behind my mate.
For the first time, the bathroom door shuts fully once we’re both inside. It’s almost too quiet as Aiden plucks one of my hair ties from the counter and moves behind me.
I watch him through the small mirror as he wordlessly combs his fingers through my hair, his touch almost reverent. He takes his time, making sure it’s how he wants, before gathering the strands together into a bun.
When he’s satisfied, his hands trail up my arms to rest on my shoulders. The weight of them is familiar and grounding, and I relax against him as his dark eyes find mine in the mirror.
The moment they connect, Aiden leans forward and presses a soft kiss to my shoulder, right on the edge of my mark.
I draw a sharp breath as the sensation surges through me, ecstasy radiating to my fingertips before circling back to that single spot.
My next breath comes faster, in sync with his.
Aiden begins unbuttoning my cotton shirt, slow and deliberate, caressing the skin the shifting fabric reveals.
He doesn’t look away, not once. And I can barely maintain the contact when it’s so intense and so full of love that my heart feels like it’s on the verge of giving out.
When the shirt falls open, Aiden slides it from my shoulders and lets it drop to the floor.
Another kiss lands on the back of my neck, making me shiver as his hands leisurely make their way down my body.
He traces my arms, my spine, over my hips—until his fingers dip low enough to unbuckle my pants.
He pushes them down the moment they’re loose enough, taking my underwear off too, so that I’m entirely naked.
My cheeks flood with colour. I try not to stare at myself or acknowledge the sudden revelation of how shamefully hard I am. Aiden ignores the proof of my arousal as his hands continue to trace every inch of my skin, purposefully brushing past my cock.
When I’m shivering against him, and panting so hard it’s fogging the reflection of my lips, he gives me a gentle push towards the open shower.
I step in but keep my eyes on him as he tugs his shirt overhead. He doesn’t take as much time or care stripping himself, each movement fluid but charged. My fingers find the shower’s knob, meaning to turn on the water, but I don’t manage to do anything other than stare at my mate.
He steps into the small shower with me, and I move forward to make space for him—but it feels like there isn’t any when his presence settles behind me. He pulls the curtain, caging us in together. Breath tickles the nape of my neck as he moves closer, and his skin teases mine.
Sensitive beyond measure, I nearly moan when his fingers settle over mine. He squeezes them as his lips drift over my ear, and then turns on the water. I gasp when it hits my skin, but even after the shock fades, my pulse refuses to slow with Aiden right behind me.
I’m falling apart. We haven’t done a thing, and somehow, we’ve done so much that I’m crumbling from the inside.
Aiden’s breath caresses my ear, and it’s dizzying. His hand reaches over my shoulder for the soap. I hear the lather, ears hyper-sensitive, but still flinch when his hands return, sliding across my stomach, spreading the suds there.
My body comes alive, heating beneath his touch as his deft fingers make their way up and down my body at a painfully slow pace. I try my best to stay still for him, but as I watch him touch me, feel him bring me back to life, I can’t help but sway to the motion of his touch.
Aiden steps in the moment I do, bringing his chest to my back, but I barely register the heat of his skin there when his cock presses against my ass. He’s hard, and his scent shifts—strong and budding—but he doesn’t acknowledge it, not beyond the quickness of his breaths.
He keeps lathering me, working the soap into every inch of my skin until my eyelids grow heavy. It doesn’t last long. I gasp when his fingers wrap around my cock. They envelop me, moving slowly, deliberately, as he strokes me.
Mind fogging, I lean back into his chest, and Aiden fills the space, resting his head on my shoulder and erasing any distance that remained between us. I whimper as he moves with me, his strokes syncing with the sweet kisses along my neck, each like a testament to his love.
His touch is like a dream, one that feels endless, and I wish it could be. But all too soon, he redirects his hands to another part of my body, and lets the water wash all his affections from my skin.
I crane my head to look at him while his hands remain on me, and when our eyes connect, my heart stops at the sight of those beautiful, dark irises speckled with gold.
You’re so beautiful. I ache to speak the words, but I don’t want to break this moment when everything feels so blissfully good. I just hope he hears them anyway, and that he believes them too.
Aiden leans in, his eyes searching my face before his lips brush gently over mine. Each teasing caress winds me tighter until I can’t take it anymore. I close my eyes and kiss my mate.
He inhales sharply, a low sound escaping him beneath the current of electricity that surges between us. For a moment, neither of us moves; the pleasure circles through us, through our bond, like little vibrations that run through every nerve in my body.
I groan as we break, letting our lips move as we rediscover each other. I missed this so much, missed him so much.
I turn in his arms and press my hands to his chest as I greedily deepen the kiss. His hands find my waist, pulling me closer until my knees threaten to buckle. His tongue teases at the seam of my lips, and I open to him, moaning when his tongue slides inside.
When I finally break away, it’s only for air, but it evades me when I meet his gaze. It carries all the emotion I’m feeling, and makes my eyes fill.
I want him—forget the shower, forget being nervous. I want him in every way.
He sees the plea, feels it in our bond, and moves before I have to ask. He turns off the water and as he drags the shower curtain back, his lips find mine again. He kisses me.
I whimper when he backs me against the wall, holding me there by my hips, his body flush against mine. The kiss … it’s drugging, near maddening, and I’m falling for him all over again.
Then he lifts me in his arms, and I don’t hesitate to wrap my legs around his waist, his moans matching mine as I delve my fingers into his hair.
Somehow, he carries me through the room without letting our lips part. When we reach the bed, he lays me down carefully before he presses himself on top me, sealing his mouth to mine once more.
I moan against him, pulling him in by his hair, wrapping my arms around his neck and my legs around his hips to keep him here, right where he belongs.
Lust stokes the flames between us, warming our bodies until we’re almost clawing at each other, desperate. I don’t want to break apart, but I want him inside me.
I growl with frustration, and Aiden pulls back with a grunt just long enough to wet his fingers before his lips find mine again. When his hand slips between us, his touch brushes against my entrance, and I spread my legs open, welcoming him with an eager groan.
He pushes one finger inside, and I tense—but I force myself to breathe through the mild sting. It’s been a while since he’s opened me up, but my body remembers him, welcoming the intrusion as he works the finger deeper. He kisses me through it, focusing entirely on me.
I reach down, stroking him until my fingers are wet with his precum. He moans his pleasure before I work the slick fluid over his finger and around my hole. Aiden moans as he slips the finger out, wetting it and another before he slides them both inside.
Panting against him, I shudder under the mix of pleasure and pain until the pressure against my prostate turns into pure pleasure.
Aiden drives the digits deep inside of me, making me moan for him while he presses worshipping kisses along my jaw and down my neck.
He takes his time with me, with my body, coaxing it to open and answer him until he’s worked three fingers inside of me, and I’m shaking with my need for him.
By the time he removes his hand, there are unshed tears in my eyes, and I need him.
I whine with frustration, and he tries to soothe me with kisses while he hastily looks around.
There’s no lube here, but there’s oil, and Aiden parts to grab it before he returns quickly, blanketing my body with his warmth and his love.
He kisses me gently before he pulls back to look at me. We’re both panting, both barely keeping our souls contained within our bodies, but when Aiden looks at me, I think I might return to the Plains.
There’s only love in Aiden’s eyes—love for me, love loyal to me, love that makes me feel so safe that it forces my tears to slip free. He kisses them away, holding me close until I’m ready, and begging him with my soul to sink inside me.
Aiden lathers himself with the oil, working some past my entrance before he stops to look at me again. I nod quickly, smiling for him, and as his lips find mine.
The head of him is the hardest part, but I’ve taken him before, and as I breathe through it and he slips inside, I moan as the rest of him follows. We pant against each other, holding tight once he’s completely buried inside.
I shudder beneath him, tears slipping free in abundance now as pleasure wafts through me in waves. He’s not even moving yet, but he’s here, with me, and it’s what we’ve both desperately needed for so long.
Aiden takes me then—slowly, carefully—and though it’s nothing like our times before, it shatters my mind with pleasure in entirely new ways. I cling to him as he thrusts deeper, and we moan together as he hits the spot that makes me see stars.
I throw my head back as he rocks inside of me, keeping his pace slow and devoted. It’s like a gentle lull that carries me out to sea, a measured thing that builds and builds, until it’s nearly blinding.
I feel myself verging towards the edge too soon to stop it, not that I want to.
I gaze at Aiden through slitted eyes, and he’s already there and ready for me, ready to catch me.
I love you, I whisper through our link.
I love you too, he vows, kissing me as I come, releasing all over my chest with a sharp cry.
Aiden is right there with me, emptying himself deep inside me. I whine, trapped in the pleasure, shuddering beneath him as his hips slow.
Aiden sinks to his side, and I follow him, keeping his cock inside of me as he gathers me up against him. Lying on our sides, we stare at each other for a long time, transfixed, happy.
It would be okay. It might not feel like it, but eventually, it would. Because Aiden’s here, and Aiden would protect me. He’s the only one who always did.
I lean forward and kiss him again, smiling when his leg slides over mine, and I hear our hearts beating in the same quiet rhythm.