TWENTY-TWO
SERENA
Chase’s fingers move faster, deeper. It feels like his tongue, his mouth, his touch are everywhere, reaching parts of myself I didn’t know existed. My thighs quiver and my breath comes in desperate gasps. I’m shuddering and raw and seconds from losing myself. My fingers dig into the headboard. I can’t hold this back. Can’t stop. My body feels like it’s splitting open, unraveling at the seams.
“Let go, Serena,” Chase growls.
And it’s that low command urging me on—the rumble of his voice against my center. This new, consuming version of the man I thought I knew everything about is what finally pushes me to the edge.
The pressure builds, a coil winding tighter and tighter. I clench around him, my hips jerking. “Chase,” I gasp a final time as the waves of pleasure hit me, so intense it steals my breath. My back arches off the bed, my fingers clawing at the headboard, his name tearing from my lips, over and over. My entire body shakes as the orgasm crashes over me, wave after wave of pure, blinding ecstasy. I didn’t know it could be like this. That he could undo me with just his voice and his hands and his mouth.
For a moment, everything is quiet except for the sound of my ragged breathing and the roar of my blood pounding in my ears. Chase draws slowly back, and I can’t stop the whimper that escapes as his fingers slip out of my body, still humming with aftershocks. In the dim moonlight, I watch him sit back on his heels, naked and glorious before me. My gaze drags to the length of him. Thick, long, and so goddamn hard. He moves up my body, leaning over me, his face inches from mine. I can see the hunger in his eyes and the way his chest heaves with the same need that’s coursing through me despite the mind-blowing orgasm I’m still trying to catch my breath from.
I force my eyes back to his face and the smile spread across it. There might be nothing about this moment that feels normal, but the teasing smile of my best friend, I recognize.
“That,” he says, his voice rough and low, “was just the beginning.”
His words send a shiver down my spine, and I swallow hard, and somehow my body is already aching for more. He’s not done with me—not even close—and the thought makes my stomach twist with anticipation and another bolt of need. His hands slide up my thighs, his touch gentle now, soothing, and I let out a shaky breath as he leans down to kiss me. The movement is gentle, his lips soft against mine as I taste myself on him. Without breaking our kiss, his hands reach for mine, lifting them from the bedpost, slipping his fingers through mine.
“You’re so fucking beautiful,” he murmurs against my mouth.
“And you are very good at that,” I reply, heat burning my face.
His laugh is a low rumble that vibrates against my body. “I’m good at a lot of things.”
His hands move to my hips, gripping me gently, his body pressing mine into the mattress. I can feel him hard and hot against my stomach, and I moan softly, arching into him.
“Please,” I whisper, my voice barely audible, and he smiles, that slow, teasing smile that makes my heart race.
“Are you begging?” he asks, raising one eyebrow. He’s in control and we both know it.
My reply comes in a breathy exhale. “Yes.”
His lips brush against my ear. “I knew you would,” he replies. “Give me two seconds to grab a condom.” He starts to move, but everything in me balks at the idea. This is Chase. I might not know what this is between us, but I know it’s not a one-night stand. We’ve both crossed a line tonight. Both know it means something.
“Don’t go,” I say.
He pauses, and I see the question in his eyes. He’s wondering if I’m saying no to sex with him. If that was true, he’d stop without hesitation, without rolling his eyes or pleading, and I love him more for it.
“I want you now,” I say, pulling him back, dragging my hands over the hard muscles of his body. “I’m on birth control,” I say, voice firm despite the pounding in my chest.
Chase’s eyes burn with renewed desire. He doesn’t move closer, but he’s not drawing away either. “You want me to feel just how wet you are, don’t you?”
Heat scorches through me.
“Tell me,” he murmurs, his voice somehow rough but gentle at the same time. “Tell me you want me to fuck you.”
“I want you to fuck me,” I reply, not looking away. He’s hard against me as he shifts position, moving lower so the tip of him presses against my opening. I gasp at the feel of him there.
“You feel how much I want this, don’t you?”
“Yes,” I whisper, my voice trembling. “Please, Chase… Fuck me.”
With a slow, deliberate motion, he pushes into me. The stretch is exquisite, a fullness I’ve never felt before. He waits for me to accommodate to his size, before slowly pushing all the way to the hilt, making me cry out with the intensity of it. My nails dig into his skin, raking down his back.
“Fuck,” he growls. “You’re so tight, Serena. So fucking tight and wet and perfect.”
Then he begins to move, drawing almost all the way out, then steadily pushing himself into me, deeper. Each thrust sends ripples of pleasure through me. I’m lost in the rhythm, in the feel of him inside me, his body moving against mine. My legs wrap around his waist, pulling him closer, and he groans, his forehead resting against mine.
“Tell me what you want,” he says, the command carrying in his voice again.
I hesitate. Unsure what to say. No one has ever asked me before. “I want you. I want you to fuck me.”
He slows down, drawing his entire body back until his eyes bore into mine. “I’m going to need you to be more specific, princess. Tell me what you want.”
I whimper as he continues to draw the huge length of him out with agonizing slowness.
“More,” I gasp, my hips rising to meet his. “I want you deeper.”
I catch the flash of desire in his dark eyes before he obliges. His hips snap forward in one smooth, powerful thrust, driving into me. A strangled moan rips from my throat as I cling to him, every nerve ending on fire.
His pace quickens, each thrust pushing me higher. The sound of our bodies moving together fills the room—skin and breath and need. I don’t know how he’s doing it, but suddenly I’m close again. So close, and I can feel him teetering on the edge too, his breath coming in short, sharp gasps.
“Serena,” he growls, his voice breaking. “I want to feel you come over my cock.” Then he’s drawing back, hand reaching between my legs, thumb circling my clit as he continues to thrust into me.
His words, the feel of him deep inside me, his thumb doing impossible things, it pushes me over the edge. Suddenly the world blurs, the room shrinks. I cry out, my body tightening around him again as waves of pleasure ripple down my body. And a second later, he’s following me over the edge, his own release shuddering through him, before he collapses against me, his breathing ragged against my neck.
We stay like that for a long time, our bodies joined, our hearts racing in tandem. Then, gently, he pulls out and rolls onto his back, pulling me to his side and wrapping his arms around me, holding me close.
“Look at you,” he murmurs, his eyes filled with admiration as he tucks my hair behind my ear. “You are so beautiful, Serena.”
And despite what we’ve just done, I blush. One of my hands rests on his chest as I look up at him. The heat of desire simmers into a warm contentment. There’s something about the way Chase looks at me, like I’m the only thing in the world that matters, that makes me feel safe and protected in a way I’ve never felt before.
“You were right,” I say, the smile stretching across my face.
“That I’d make you beg?” He chuckles.
I shake my head. “That you’d ruin me for any other man.”
His eyes darken again as my words land. “The men you’ve dated, S?—”
“I know,” I cut in. “But it wouldn’t have mattered who I dated because no one ever came close to you. It’s always been you.” I swallow, tears burning the backs of my eyes.
Chase tilts my chin up so our eyes meet. “Fake dating you has felt more real than any other relationship I’ve ever had. I’m sorry it’s taken me so long to realize it could be this way for us.”
His words wrap around us like a cocoon. There are still so many questions and unknowns, but there are no games. No pretense. We have time to answer them and figure this out.
The night grows still. We talk and touch, our bodies tangled together. The soft hush of fall wind against the windows is the only sound outside our quiet bubble.
Time drifts. At some point we wriggle under the covers, legs entwined. His fingers trace a slow, lazy pattern over my arm. The warmth of his body is a steady comfort against mine, his skin radiating heat, calm at first, but then stirring more. The memory of his touch between my legs tingles through my body, and slowly, inevitably, my thoughts draw back to desire.
“Are you sleeping?” I ask quietly, my hand trailing down his body.
Chase answers by lifting the cover, revealing the thick, full line of his erection. “With you in my bed, I’m not sure I’ll ever sleep again.”
I laugh. “You managed it the other night when I stayed over at your apartment.”
He makes a face.
“You didn’t sleep?” I ask.
He shakes his head. “I spent the entire night with a raging hard-on, trying to convince myself I didn’t want you.”
I grin wickedly. “I felt the same. In fact…” I hesitate, biting my bottom lip. “In the shower the next morning, I started…” I raise my brows, not voicing the rest.
His eyes light up. “Oh Serena,” he says, drawing out my name in a way I’ve never heard him do before. “I’m going to need more details. In fact, I’m going to need you to show me…”
He turns onto his side to face me, lips finding mine in a searing kiss. I melt into him, and all I can think about is how this is Chase—my best friend, the man I’ve loved for so long—and now, finally, he’s mine. And I never want him to stop touching me this way.