Chapter 25 Release #2
He planted a soft kiss on the curve of my neck.
“You know what else I said this morning? I want us to work. I want you. I can’t think about anyone else but you. I don’t want anyone else but you and if that means I have to wait, then I’ll wait, Ellie.”
I blushed furiously. “El—”
He leaned in, his breath hot against my ear.
“I love you,” he whispered. “I’m not going anywhere.”
Tears welled in my eyes before I could stop them. They slipped down my temples, pooling in my ears. Elliot pulled back, his thumb brushing them away.
“I’m sorry,” I choked out. “I just—I needed to hear you say it.”
He softened, his fingers tracing my cheek. “I understand. I’ll say it as many times as you need me to. I want you to feel safe.”
I inhaled shakily. “I do feel safe.”
My mouth brushed his, just barely and he answered with a kiss that had no room for hesitation. His taste was already familiar, but something about the way he kissed me now made my toes curl. I felt…like nothing I could describe. This feeling was new and electric and curled in my abdomen slowly.
“Is this okay?” he asked as he pulled away slightly.
I nodded so fiercely, I was surprised my head didn’t pop off. “Yes, yes, it’s perfect.”
He smiled against my mouth and leaned in for more. I followed his lead, hands wandering from his shoulders, to his chest, then his stomach. When my hands skimmed under his shirt, his breath caught.
“Ellie,” he whispered, voice wrecked with want.
“Shh, we’ll go slow and I’ll let you know if it’s too much. I promise, okay?”
He looked at me, watching for the smallest hint of a shiver. But surprisingly, even to me, I was completely still.
“You’re okay?” he questioned again, searching my face.
“I’m okay.”
Satisfied with my answer and the calm lust in my eyes, his mouth was on me again—hot, open, worshipping every inch of skin like it was something sacred. Slowly, he positioned himself between me, pressing his bulge against me with an edge that let me know he wanted me to feel all of him.
His lips crashed against mine again, his hands roaming, claiming, and possessing. Clothes disappeared between heated kisses, taking all traces of my sanity with them until there was nothing but heat and friction and the ache of wanting him inside me.
I needed more. I needed all of him.
We held each other’s gaze as he lowered himself to my chest, leaving soft, open-mouthed kisses in his wake.
My breath hitched when his tongue circled my nipple, hips lifting off the mattress before I could stop them. His hand slid between my thighs, fingers drawing long, deliberate strokes over my clit until I was clutching at him.
“Shh… Esther’s next door,” he warned with amusement.
I moaned anyway, biting my lip. “I’ll try.”
He grinned, eyes flicking downward. Then a quiet curse slipped out as he pushed two fingers inside me. The stretch stole the air from my lungs—pure ecstasy rippling through me in one sharp wave that made me gasp, loudly. So loudly, I slapped a hand over my mouth in shock.
“I barely touched you,” he murmured, teasing.
I pouted. “It’s been years.”
His gaze dragged up to meet mine, dark lashes low and heavy with restraint. “Doesn’t feel like it, baby… you’re soaked.”
My thighs trembled as he picked up the pace, every motion coiling heat low in my belly. His mouth returned to my breast, tongue teasing. I gripped his forearm, needing something—anything—to ground me in this sea of emotions I found myself in.
It didn’t work.
Seconds later, my head fell back and my spine arched, pleasure overtaking me. My hand clamped tighter over my mouth as the orgasm tore through me, messy and unstoppable.
“Already?” El teased, withdrawing his fingers. He brought them to his mouth, sucking them clean without breaking eye contact.
“Like I said,” I managed breathlessly. “It’s been years.”
His lips twitched into a crooked smile as he reached behind me to shove pillows between the wall and headboard. “Just be careful not to knock my pod out.”
My eyes widened. “What happens if I do?”
“Nothing, baby,” he said, brushing his knuckles along the inside of my thigh. “It’ll just hurt like a bitch.”
“Oh.” I swallowed.
His gaze swept over me slowly.
“Fuck… you’re perfect,” he murmured, eyes finding mine again before he leaned in and kissed me—deep, slow, intentional.
“You ready?”
“Yes,” I breathed.
He shifted between my legs carefully, like I was something precious. I could feel the heat of him against me, his breath shallow as he lined himself up. His eyes searched mine again, one last check.
“You sure?”
He was so afraid of hurting me. I’ve never met a more perfect man.
“I’ve never been more sure,” I whispered, lifting my hips just slightly, giving him the answer he needed.
Keeping his eyes on me, he pressed in slowly, inch by inch, careful not to overwhelm me. My breath caught in my throat as my body stretched to take him, and I reached for him instinctively—needing to feel him, needing to anchor to something.
He responded by wrapping me up. His chest pressed perfectly against mine, his toned arms embraced me and his face buried in my neck.
His lips planted reassuring kisses, erasing every trace of lingering doubt.
Even if my body tried to protest, even if the past tried to creep in, he wasn’t giving it space this time.
“You’re doing so good,” he murmured into my skin, so low and wrecked. “Tell me if it’s too much, okay?”
I closed my eyes and nodded, pleasure coiled tight inside me.
He kissed my cheek, then my jaw, then my lips, slow and tender as he began to move.
Every thrust was deliberate, like he was trying to memorize the feel of me wrapped around him.
My fingers dug into his back, legs locked tight around his waist as the pace built until the rhythm made my mind blur and my body beg for release.
A quiet gasp slipped from my throat as my hips tilted into his.
“Right there, baby?” he asked softly.
I nodded, my nails digging harder into his back. “Yeah… right there.”
The rhythm found us easily, like our bodies had been waiting for this moment all along. His hand laced with mine, pinning it gently to the pillow, while his other gripped my hip. Our foreheads touched, our breath mingled, and my body shook for a new reason.
It wasn’t just sex.
He didn’t fuck me like I was broken.
“I love you, Elliot,” he groaned in my ear. And I believed him.
I felt the build before I could brace for it. It crept up my spine and bloomed in my belly until it stole the breath from my lungs.
“El…” I gasped, my fingers curling tighter around his. “I—I think I’m—”
“I got you,” he whispered against my neck. “Let go, baby. Just let go.”
And I did.
My body trembled around him, the pressure unraveling into something I couldn’t put into words.
My jaw slackened as I cried out against his neck, the sound muffled by his skin and how close we were.
He didn’t stop moving. He held me through it, whispered through it, worshipped me through it until the tremors passed and I could breathe again.
He followed soon after with a groan that I felt in my bones, his hips pressing down hard as he pulsed inside me, burying his face in my neck.
The warmth of his release flooding into me, making everything feel real.
When he collapsed beside me, he didn’t let go.
One arm draped over my waist while his other hand still held mine against the sheets, like he wasn’t ready to release me back into the world just yet.
Neither was I.
For a long moment, all I could hear was our breathing. The fan whirling overhead. The soft creak of the bed settling underneath us.
“You okay?” he asked.
I nodded, but I couldn’t speak. My throat felt tight. My chest too full. I blinked up at the ceiling, eyes stinging. He pulled me into his chest, by the arm draped over my waist, wrapping me up so that my back was flush against his chest.
“E,” he whispered.
“Yeah?”
He looked down at me, his hand brushing a damp curl from my forehead. “You didn’t shake.”
I swallowed hard. “I know.”
“Why do you think that is?”
I hesitated, then rubbed my thumb against his arm.
“Because I trusted you,” I said quietly. “Even when I was scared.”
His lips parted like he wanted to say something, but all that came out was a quiet, “Fuck.”
Softly, he kissed my shoulder. Then, he made his way down my back, trailing heat in his wake.
When he reached the curve of my ass, he lingered, pressing affectionate kisses like he was worshipping me.
Then he moved lower, his mouth mapping every inch of my thighs, my calves, my ankles—thanking each part of me for existing.
I couldn’t move. I didn’t want to move.
I laid exactly where he left me, still caught in the aftershocks, my body pulsing with pleasure, my mind hazy. Every nerve was lit up, oversensitive, trembling under his touch.
A shiver ran down my spine as his warm lips met the cooler skin of my stomach and the slick mixture of our releases pooling between my thighs, settling into the sheets beneath me.
The reality of it sank in. He had claimed me.
I was his.
When he finally made his way back up, his face hovered above mine, his gaze scanning me carefully.
“Do you need anything?” His voice was gentle but intimate.
I stared at him, still floating, still processing. I could feel the heat radiating from his body, the tension in his muscles, the restraint. He wanted more. I felt it. But he held himself back, waiting for me, watching me.
He started to move like he was about to get up. “Let me get you some water—”
I caught his wrist.
“Please,” I murmured. “Just… hold me.”
The moment the words left my lips, the intensity in his eyes melted into something else—something softer.
He pulled me into his chest again, wrapping me up in his arms, his body completely engulfing mine. I curled into the warmth of him, letting it seep into my bones. His heartbeat was steady, strong. I pressed my face against his neck, inhaling him, letting myself sink into the comfort of it.
My pelvis ached, and I knew I’d be sore in the morning. But it didn’t matter.
Tonight had revealed so much. But one thing, above all, was clear.
I tilted my head, meeting his gaze. “You’re not too old for me.”
Elliot huffed a quiet laugh, his chest vibrating against mine. “Oh, now you decide?”
I smiled, curling tighter into him.
His arms tightened around me. “I love you so much. Get some rest, Peanut.”
I closed my eyes, knowing I’d never sleep better in my life.