TWENTY-SEVEN
CHASE
I’m so fucking close to the edge, I could let go right now. I’m on fire as Serena comes undone, her walls clamping around my dick. Every pulse of her orgasm pushes me closer to my own. But I’m not finished. Not even close. This is the distraction I needed. It’s all I want. Hearing Serena’s cries, filling her, it’s the only thing that silences my thoughts.
I pull back a fraction, my hands gripping her hips as I lift her off the desk. Her legs lock around me. She weighs nothing as she wraps her arms around my neck. I catch the sweet blossom of her perfume, the citrus scent of the shampoo she’s used since she was fifteen. The scents are so damn enticing. I lay her down gently on the bed, but there’s nothing gentle about the way I push her legs apart. I barely give Serena time to recover before I’m inside her again, driving deep, her gasp turning into a moan that lights a fire inside me.
I shift her hips, angling her in a way that makes her arch off the bed, her hands gripping the sheets. I’m relentless, my hips snapping forward with a rhythm that’s hard, fast, desperate. Every thrust is deeper than the last, every movement drawing another cry from her lips. I can feel her walls clenching around me, pulling me deeper.
“Chase,” she gasps, chest heaving. “Don’t stop.”
“Fuck, Serena. Fuck, you feel… so good.” The word leaves my mouth in a low moan.
There’s nothing but this—her breath, her body, the way she feels wrapped around me. I’m lost in it, consumed by it. Serena’s cries grow louder, more desperate. The sound is fuel to the fire burning in me. I can’t hold back anymore. My pace quickens, my thrusts becoming rougher, more urgent. Her body arches, her back lifting off the bed as she comes undone beneath me, her cries filling the room.
I’m right there with her as my release crashes over me in sharp, dizzying waves. My hips jerk forward, burying myself to the hilt as I spill deep inside her, groaning her name into the curve of her neck. My entire body tenses, every nerve ending igniting in white-hot pleasure, the sensation blinding and all-consuming. For a moment, there’s only the pounding of my heartbeat, the sound of our ragged breathing, and the sweet ache of release.
I don’t move, don’t pull away. I stay there, buried deep inside her as Serena’s chest rises and falls against me, her heartbeat still racing like mine. I don’t move, don’t want to. All I want is to stay right here, wrapped in her warmth and bare skin and peace.
“You OK?” she whispers, her voice soft.
“Yeah, I am,” I reply, meaning it. I roll onto my side but keep her close, not wanting to let her go.
She shifts, nestling into the crook of my arm, her head resting on my chest. Her fingers trace random patterns on my skin. “And there I was thinking that telling you weird facts and weather reports was good distraction when all the while I should’ve been doing this.”
“Oh, I like your weird facts,” I say, pulling her close, “but this is exactly what I needed right now. Thank you.”
“You do not need to thank me, Chase. You’re such a dork.”
“Your dork,” I correct, and she laughs and it feels like the best sound in the world.
We stay like that for a while, wrapped up in each other, the world outside this room fading away. For the first time since Mama knocked on my door this morning, I don’t feel the weight of why we’re here and what I have to do tomorrow pressing down on me.
Serena lifts her head, hair falling over my chest. “I meant what I said, Chase. Whatever happens, I’m here. I’ll always be here for you. With weather reports, trashy movies, cheesy pop songs, and burgers. Whatever you need, I’ve got you.”
My throat squeezes shut. I can’t speak as I drop a kiss to her lips.
I hold her tighter, letting the silence wrap around us like a blanket. I want to tell her how much she means to me. I want to tell her that last night wasn’t just sex and the blurred line of fake dating. It meant something to me. It means everything. I want to explain how terrified I am of hurting her, but that I can’t imagine her not being by my side. I want to tell her this is it for me. That I love her.
But the words lodge in my throat, tangled in the wounds of my past I’m no longer sure will ever heal.