Chapter 13 #2
He was so slow and so careful, and I was so turned on, that by the time his fingertip breached me, heat was coiling low and tight in my belly.
At first it felt weird, too weird to know if I liked it or not, but then there was more lube, and he was pushing in farther, and my whole body lit up when his finger grazed my prostate.
Fuck.
I arched off the bed like he’d put a couple thousand volts through me.
“You like that?”
“Yeah. Fuck.” And then it occurred to me that Avery was an asshole, because the next time he pushed his finger all the way in, he avoided touching me there again. And the first time he missed it might have been an accident, but the second and third? He knew what he was doing.
I whined, and he laughed softly.
“Impatient,” he said and nudged his chin hard against my shoulder. “There’s no rush.”
“Fuckin’ easy for you to say.”
His body shuddered against mine as he laughed, and he turned his head and bit my shoulder gently. “It’s meant to be fun for me too, you know? Teasing is fun.”
“Asshole,” I muttered, but there was no heat in it, and I clenched against his finger.
“Gonna give you more now, Johnny,” Avery said and shifted against me to reposition his hand. When he touched me again, it was with two fingers, and I felt a stretch as he slid those fingers inside me. “You’re doing so good.”
He rewarded me with another press against my prostate, and I shuddered.
I didn’t know how long it lasted. It wasn’t like I’d thought it would be at all.
In the porn I’d watched, this was like a means to an end.
Like, get the guy ready to get plowed or whatever.
But here, with Avery, it was the main show.
Even my burning arousal and my aching dick and balls somehow became nothing more than background noise to the gentle but insistent thrusts of his fingers and the way he whispered my name like a prayer.
Johnny.
Yeah, I liked it. I liked that he had a name nobody else used for me, because I felt like a new person here tonight. Not John, not Wilder, but Johnny. Just for him. Just for us.
I’d spent a lot of time in church while I was growing up, but it felt like this was the first time I really understood what worship was.
It was the reverence in Avery’s touch as he dragged his thumb over the skin of my hip and the soft kisses he dropped on my shoulder.
And all the while, every press and pull of his fingers felt like a claim—and I was happy to let him own me.
My skin prickled and my blood hummed as Avery slowly turned the coil of arousal in me tighter and tighter.
He nuzzled my shoulder, his breath hot. “Can you come from this?”
I was pretty sure I couldn’t fucking prevent myself from coming if he kept doing what he was doing in my ass. “Yeah!”
“You gonna?” he asked, twisting his fingers. “You gonna come for me, Johnny?”
And I didn’t know if it was the way he was moving his fingers, or the tone of his voice, or just hearing him call me Johnny again, but I did. My muscles tensed, my body shook, and I came in ropes across my abdomen and chest. Avery shifted, drawing me through the tiny little aftershocks with kisses.
“Wait here,” he said, as though I had any choice in the matter. My muscles were jello.
He climbed off the bed and I watched his ass as he darted to the bathroom.
I heard the sound of running water, and I might have gotten embarrassed at the thought of him washing his hands if I hadn’t been pleasantly floating still.
He was back moments later with a washcloth and he cleaned me up, ignoring my mumbled protests that I could do it.
And then he leaned over, grinning like an idiot, and stuck a tiny gold star on my chest.
The asshole.
After he cleaned me up, Avery and I made out for a while, slow and lazy, and I jerked him off, then cleaned him up afterward just like he’d done for me.
We lay there in a cloud of mutual satisfaction, and once I wasn’t so fuzzy around the edges I figured he’d want me to leave.
But when I made a move to get out of bed, Avery pushed me gently back down with a hand to my chest, murmuring, “What’s the rush? Stay, Johnny.”
And yeah, him calling me that had me melting back into the mattress like a human-shaped puddle. And I hadn’t exactly intended to fall asleep, but with Avery curled up along my spine, when my eyes slipped closed I didn’t exactly fight it either.
The next thing I knew, a hand was shaking me gently. I blinked awake and rolled over to see a dark shadow looming over me. “Wilder?” Avery said softly, “it’s almost five.”
It took a moment for my sluggish brain to make sense of what he was saying, but slowly the pieces came together. I hadn’t just napped. I’d stayed the whole night.
I half expected panic or regret to set in, but it didn’t happen.
Instead, an overwhelming sense of satisfaction rolled over me.
In spite of it being the ass crack of dawn, I felt more well-rested than I had since—well, since the last time I fell asleep with Avery, actually.
Maybe he was my own personal Mr. Peanut Butter. I smiled at the thought.
Now that I was awake, though, I was aware that I needed to get my ass home before Gracie or anyone else woke up and realized I hadn’t come home last night.
I didn’t want the guys to worry and think I’d been abducted by a bunch of horny bachelorettes or something.
Plus I still wasn’t quite ready to answer any awkward questions they might have.
“I’m awake,” I said, sitting up.
Avery sat up next to me and turned on the bedside lamp, blinking owlishly, and stifled a yawn.
With his sleep-mussed hair and no glasses, he looked all kinds of cute, and I leaned over and kissed his cheek without even thinking about it.
He gave me a startled look, then shot me a lopsided grin and said, “Coffee?”
I really wanted to stay for coffee. For breakfast. Forever.
But I had a five-year-old and a heap of responsibilities waiting for me, so I ran a hand through my messy hair and said, “I would, but Gracie wakes up early.”
I could have sworn Avery looked disappointed for a second, but then his smile was back. “Next time, then.”
“Yeah.”
As I went to get out of bed, Avery reached out, his fingertips brushing my cheek, and then he held something up—my gold star, crumpled and folded in half from where it had come unstuck during the night.
“Next time, maybe you can earn two stars,” he said.
“It’ll be fun.” His teasing smile promised that whatever was involved in earning that extra star, I’d enjoy it.
Something fluttered low in my belly at the promise of next time, and I found myself trying to figure out when that might be.
I could probably swing a Saturday night if Gracie was at the Moores and I wasn’t working.
I might have to let Danny and the twins know what was what if I stayed out, and they’d probably give me shit about it.
I could already hear Chase singing “Hot for Teacher,” loud and off-key and annoying as fuck.
But I could live with a little teasing if it meant I’d get to spend the night with Avery.
I tucked the little star into my pocket when I got dressed and left Avery dozing in bed.
By the time I’d jogged to the next block and gotten my truck, the night was already fading into dawn. The sky was soft pink around the edges. I pulled into the driveway just as Danny was hurrying out the door.
“Hey,” he said. “What happened to you? You good?”
“Yeah,” I said, and the lie rolled easily off my tongue. “Truck wouldn’t start.”
“Damn.” He slung his backpack over his shoulder. “Cash is awake, in case Gracie wakes up. I gotta hustle.”
“Yeah,” I said, guilt biting at me. “Sorry, man.”
“All good,” he said, hurrying to his truck. “Shit happens.”
When I got inside, Cash was wrapped up in his blanket in his recliner.
I dumped my gym bag on the floor and sat on the couch. “Hey, you can go back to bed if you want.”
He shook his head.
“Rough night?” I asked.
He burrowed farther into his blanket, which was a yes. Then after a moment he lifted his chin and said, “You too?”
“Yeah,” I said, and this time the lie didn’t come easy at all.
There was a mean, selfish part of me that didn’t want the weight of everyone else’s bullshit on top of my own, and I hated that.
When the hell was it my turn to do something just for me?
Why couldn’t I just have a goddamn minute to think about what Avery and I had done last night, and try and hold onto how good it had felt for just a little bit longer?
But my brothers had stepped up like they always did, so their bullshit was my bullshit too.
Cash stood and shuffled over with his blanket around his shoulders and leaned against me for a hug.
I wasn’t sure if he was trying to make me feel better or if he needed the comfort himself, but it didn’t matter.
It was Cash, and he gave pretty good hugs, so when he hugged you, you took it and were grateful.
Except it wasn’t his weight against me I was thinking of as the morning slowly dawned.