Chapter 25
Sly
She said she was fine, but I knew she wasn’t.
Last night while we cooked, she kept glancing at the front door and out the window. She looked alert when what she really should’ve been feeling was safe in her own apartment. The thought of Joey had her on edge. It bothered her, and it bothered me.
This morning I decided to get her out of the apartment and give her something else to think about. I made breakfast first, and for a little while the food took some of the weight off her shoulders, but the look stayed in her eyes. Pain and worry were still there.
“It’s the weekend,” I said, waiting for her to meet my gaze.
“Hm?” she answered.
“It’s the weekend,” I repeated.
A small, amused smile touched her mouth. “It sure is.”
I leaned back in my chair. “I want to take you somewhere.”
She sat up straighter. Her eyes lit. “You do? Where?”
“Just a town over. There’s a campground with little cabins by a lake. I’ve been before. Thought we could get out for a couple of days. And now that you have your own helmet, we can take April.”
She watched me while I spoke. When I finished she nodded right away. “Yes!”
“Sound good?” I asked, grinning.
“Sounds perfect, actually.”
“Great. We leave in two hours.”
Her face changed into surprise. “Two hours?”
I nodded. “Think you can be ready by then?”
“I’ll be ready in one.”
***
We had been at the campground for a full day, and since this morning where I told her what we’d do this weekend, I saw her smile without hesitation. At every red light we stopped, she kept telling me how excited she was to get away, even if it was for two days only.
I shared her excitement and never wanted to see her in any other mood. Although, I liked when she got all frustrated or annoyed with little things, like the stove not turning on at her finger’s touch, or the polaroid picture of us that kept falling off the fridge.
Luckily, she wouldn’t have to deal with those things this weekend, and all she had to do was relax and enjoy the time we had here.
The cabin was small but enough for two people.
It was cozy, and the bed seemed comfortable enough to sleep on for two nights.
When we arrived this morning, she dropped her bag and went straight outside, saying she wanted to “breathe the air.” I let her and watched from the small porch as she walked down to the water.
She had been lighter all day. We’d gone for a walk in the morning and stopped by a small café near the camp entrance for coffee and sandwiches. By the time the sun started to go down, we’d eaten dinner at a picnic table behind the cabin.
Now, we were walking along the lake without saying too much.
The quiet around us seemed to settle her, and I made a mental note to bring her here more often.
Maybe once a month we could spend a weekend out like this, here or somewhere else she liked.
Getting away from home, even just for a couple of days, clearly helped her breathe again.
We came to a stop by a bench near the shore, and she turned to face me with a gentle smile. “You know, I haven’t felt this okay in a long time. Or ever. Not since we’ve met.”
“I’m glad,” I said, gently brushing my knuckles along her cheek. “You’ve been smiling a lot lately.”
“Yeah?”
“Yeah. It looks good on you.”
She gave a small laugh, then stepped forward into my arms. “Well, it’s all your doing. Thank you for bringing me here.”
“You don’t have to thank me,” I whispered into her hair while rubbing her back.
“I know, but I want to.” She squeezed me and rested her head against my chest. “You didn’t have to drive me away from home, make breakfast, or book a cabin by a lake. You did it anyway, and I still don’t know how I deserve any of this.”
“I think you do know,” I said, resting my chin on her head. “You just have to allow yourself to accept it. You’re a good person, and so, so strong. You only deserve the best. And besides…that’s what people do when they’re in love.”
The words slipped out before I could stop them, and I felt her whole body go still in my arms. Then she took a step back and just stared up at me with her lips parted slightly.
I cleared my throat and tried to play it cool, rubbing the back of my neck. “Uh…you know, hypothetically speaking. Like, just an example of what people might do when they’re in love.”
“Sly.” Her lips twitched. “You literally just said you love me.”
I raised an eyebrow. “Did I? I feel like you’re hearing what you want to hear.”
She laughed, giving my chest a playful slap. “Are you trying to gaslight me, asshole?”
“What? No, never. I’m just saying words. If you misinterpret some of those words, that’s on you. I don’t love you. What are we, teenagers?”
Her laughter got louder, with her head thrown into her neck, then it softened into a smile, and before I could come up with another lame excuse, she said, “Well, you better stop lying because I love you too.”
That shut me up real fast. I blinked at her, trying not to grin like an idiot. “Oh,” I said, faking being casual while my heart punched my ribs. “Cool. Good to know.”
She rolled her eyes, smiling wider now. “You’re impossible.”
I finally stopped acting like I hadn’t just heard exactly what I hoped to hear and pulled her back into my arms. “You know what this means now, right.”
“What?”
“You’re stuck with me now. Forever. Because I won’t let go of you. Not a chance.”
She smiled up at me and wrapped her arms around my neck. “Good, because I fear I’ll need you forever.”
And I’d stay forever.
Sumner
I stood in the center of the bedroom, watching Sly as he slowly stripped off his clothes. Every movement was so controlled, and I couldn’t look away. When he was finally naked, he stepped closer and slid his fingers under the hem of my sweater.
He didn’t ask with words, but I didn’t need him to. I gave a small nod and let him know I was ready, then I lifted my hands as he gently pulled my sweater up over my head.
“You’re so damn beautiful,” he whispered as his eyes trailed down my body.
I smiled up at him and placed one hand on his stomach. “You too.”
His lips curled into a smirk as he wrapped his arms around me to undo my bra. Once that was on the floor, I pushed down my pants and stepped out of them before quickly getting rid of my panties and socks too.
“You know how this goes,” he said, his voice low. “You’re in control. You talk to me, tell me exactly what you want, and I’ll obey.”
In all the dark romance books I read and edited, every man was aways so…intense. So needy and powerful when it came to sex. And I understood how much of a turn-on that was for readers. But I liked it this way better. Sly was always so caring and careful, and he let me set the pace.
And the good thing about it all was that when I told him to do something, he did it. So, I wasn’t worried about not getting what I needed, because I just had to tell him, and he’d give it to me without hesitation.
Still, with all of the freedom he gave me, I wanted him to have it, too. I slid my fingers down his abs and stopped right above his cock. “If there’s anything you like and want me to do, you tell me, okay?”
His eyes lit up, like he was just granted a thousand wishes. “Yeah, okay. I might take you up on that,” he replied with a cocky grin.
“Good.”
He dropped his gaze to my hands and licked his lips. “Actually…I’d like for you to rub my cock.”
I got goosebumps, which was a silly reaction to what he asked for, but no man had ever spoken to me like that without bad intentions.
I bit my lower lip and lowered my right hand to wrap my fingers around his base. Sly sucked in a breath and pushed his hips forward, sliding himself along my hand.
“Fuck…you could make me come just like this.”
I looked up as I tightened my grip, then started to move my hand along his length. I felt him harden under my touch, and his cock twitched every time I reached his tip and gave it a little squeeze with my forefinger and thumb.
“Ah, fuuuck…” He placed his left hand on my hip while reaching down to cup his balls with the other. He massaged them while I kept rubbing him, and I smiled at the sight of pure pleasure on his face.
“Is this okay?”
“Okay? Baby, this feels better than every time I’ve ever in my life jerked off myself.”
I laughed with a shake of my head. “Do I want to know how often you jerk off?”
“No, you don’t. Because you’ll judge me and I don’t want to come off as a creepy loner.”
“I would never judge you,” I told him, smiling gently. “But now you won’t ever have to do it yourself anymore.”
“Thank fuck for that. Your hands feel fucking amazing around my cock, baby.”
His hand moved to my ass, giving it a tight squeeze before he lifted his fingers to his mouth to wet them with his spit. I knew what he was up to, and I gave him the go-ahead by parting my legs slightly.
“So damn beautiful,” he murmured as his eyes wandered across my face, and then down my body. He circled my clit before his fingers slid through my fold slowly. “Look at you,” he murmured, his lips now close to my ear. “So wet and ready for me.”
I sucked in a shaky breath and steadied myself my reaching up my left hand and holding on to his shoulder. “Oh…”
“How many fingers do you want inside, baby?”
Not a question I thought I’d ever have to answer, but I wanted them to keep coming.
“Two,” I whispered.
He circled my entrance before slowly pushing two fingers inside of me, and my knees buckled as he stretched my opening.
“Feel good?” he asked, trailing kisses along the side of my neck.
“Yes…oh, Sly,” I moaned, and I arched my back when he pushed in deeper.
“You’re so goddamn tight, baby,” he praised, only making my body quiver more.
I lost focus for a moment while he thrusted his fingers in and out of me. When he told me to sit back on the bed, I was more than glad to do it because I couldn’t stand up straight for much longer.