Chapter 32
Laiken
I wake gradually, suspended in that half-dream state where nothing feels entirely real. Morning sunlight spills through the curtains in pale, muted stripes, warming the room without fully pulling me back to consciousness.
Kia is curled against my side, one leg draped over mine, her head tucked beneath my chin. Her breathing is deep and even. The kind that only comes when someone feels safe enough to completely let go.
I stay exactly where I am, enjoying the warmth of her skin against mine and the faint citrus scent of her shampoo. Her chest rises and falls steadily against my own.
The sight of her in my bed should feel strange.
Instead, it feels right.
The last woman I woke up with was my wife.
And even then, it didn’t last long. After Elody was born, Sarah moved out of our bedroom, not wanting to chance another pregnancy.
Another responsibility she’d have to take on.
Another tie she wasn’t sure she wanted. Intimacy became something we tiptoed around.
Distance crept in quietly. Nights turned into routines, and touch became rare.
I’d always believed having a child would draw two people closer. That love multiplied when it was shared.
For us, it did the opposite.
With Kia, waking up with her in my arms feels natural.
Easy. As if my body recognizes something my mind is still trying to understand.
Tension doesn’t buzz through my system, and I don’t feel the urge to pull away or overthink the moment.
Instead, a quiet certainty settles deep in my bones—an undeniable feeling that I’m exactly where I’m meant to be.
Her hand shifts, fingers brushing over my rib cage in an absent sweep. Even though the touch isn’t deliberate, my body reacts instantly. It’s enough to have me gritting my teeth with how much I want her. It’s been a long time since I’ve let myself feel this way.
For the last year, I’ve kept everything locked down tight. No dates. No risks. No women allowed close enough for anyone to twist the narrative and use it against me in a courtroom.
She stirs, her lashes fluttering as she surfaces from sleep. Her gaze meets mine, hazy at first before sharpening. For a heartbeat, uncertainty flickers across her face.
Does she regret last night?
If that turns out to be the case, I don’t know what I’ll do.
Instead, I see the moment she realizes exactly where she is, and the tension in her shoulders loosens.
“Morning,” I murmur.
“Morning,” she replies.
Her hand stills, hovering between us. It would be so easy for me to take control, but I don’t. I stay still and let her decide how this morning will unfold. For me, control has never meant taking. It’s about restraint and knowing when to pause and let someone else choose.
She studies my face, as if searching for something.
Permission, maybe.
Or reassurance.
Her fingers curl again, this time with intention. My body relaxes and I shift just enough to face her. My hand rises to cradle her jaw, my thumb drifting along her cheekbone.
“Are you okay?” I ask.
Rather than give me an immediate response, she takes a moment to consider the question. “Yeah, I am.”
Relief rushes through me.
It’s almost a surprise when her hand drifts lower, slipping beneath the waistband of my boxers. Her fingers slide over my skin before continuing their descent and brushing the hard length of my cock.
The slight touch is enough to pull a groan deep from my chest. Before I can protest and tell her she doesn’t have to do this, her fingers curl around my thick shaft. She strokes upward, then slowly back down, testing the weight in her hand like she’s learning exactly how she affects me.
The heat that rushes through my veins is enough to make me lightheaded, and I squeeze my eyes tightly shut. My control continues to slip as my body reacts so violently, it feels like it might short-circuit.
All I can think about is that I’m in trouble. If she keeps touching me like this, I won’t last. I learned long ago how to ignore my impulses and bury them down so deep they barely registered. Hockey. Elody. Responsibility. Those were the only things I allowed myself to want.
Everything else was noise.
A distraction.
But having Kia touch me—want to touch me—feels like something I don’t have the strength to withstand. Like my body has been starved for so long it doesn’t know how to handle being fed.
“You don’t have to,” I manage through clenched teeth, the words sounding more like a warning than a protest.
Her steady gaze lifts to mine. “What if I want to?”
The question hits harder than I could have expected, and a groan rumbles up from within me as her fingers tighten. The slow slide of her warm palm along my length is dizzying. My head tips back against the pillows and my jaw locks as I fight for control that already feels like a losing battle.
Even though she’s barely touched me, I’m dangerously close to the precipice. My muscles tighten as every nerve screams for more.
When she releases my cock, the sudden loss of her touch has me biting back a sound as my body protests. I force myself to breathe through it, to accept whatever she’s willing to give without expectation or pressure.
I’ll take this as slowly as she needs, and wait as long as she wants. I’ll—
I’m caught off guard when she rises to her knees and shifts between my thighs. Her movements are calm and deliberate, as if she’s acting on a decision that’s already been made.
The sudden awareness of her proximity heightens everything—the heat of her body, the soft glide of her skin, the way she eases herself between my legs.
There’s a quiet confidence in her I didn’t expect, and the discovery of it settles low and deep as I watch her, completely undone by the simple, undeniable truth that she’s choosing this.
If I wasn’t hard as steel before, the sight of this woman kneeling between my thighs would certainly do the trick.
With her gaze locked on mine, she grips the elastic band of my boxers before tugging them down and freeing my erection.
Only then does she lower herself enough for me to feel the warmth of her breath ghost over my bare skin.
Her tongue darts out to lick my cock, velvety softness swirling around the crown.
After lapping at the head, she draws me into her mouth.
My fingers tunnel through her thick blonde strands to hold her in place.
Holy fuck.
Even though it’s tempting to close my eyes and enjoy the feel of all that decadent heat surrounding me, my gaze stays pinned to hers. I can’t remember the last time something felt this amazing. The way my hard length disappears between her pink lips is the most erotic thing I’ve ever witnessed.
Kia is so damn beautiful.
And mine.
Whether she realizes it or not, this woman now belongs to me.
And there’s nothing I won’t do to keep her.
Another tortured sound escapes from me as she sucks me down so deep that it feels like I’m nudging the back of her throat. Both of her hands are splayed wide against my thighs. After a few moments, one drifts upward to cup my balls.
With each pass, she takes even more of me into her mouth. The muscles of her throat constrict with each swallow, tightening around my dick. Pleasure explodes inside me.
There’s no damn way I’ll last much longer.
“Bring your pussy here so I can lick it. I want us to come together.”
She sucks the head a few more times before releasing me. “What?”
“I want you to bring that sweet little pussy up here so I can lick you while your mouth is wrapped around my cock. I want to give you pleasure, Kitten. It’ll be better for me if you come too.”
She blinks a few times. “Really?”
“Yeah, really. My pleasure doesn’t mean shit if you’re not right there with me.”
“But you made me come last night and didn’t get anything out of it. I wanted to return the favor.”
I huff out a laugh. “What you need to realize is that I’m not built that way. My pleasure is tied directly to yours. I get off watching you, hearing you when you lose control. The harder you come and the better I make you feel, the more satisfying it is for me.”
“I…” She trails off, as if she can’t wrap her brain around what I’m saying.
When she remains still, I push myself up and slide my arms around her, drawing her up my body until she’s braced over me, her breath drifting across my mouth.
I capture her lips with my own. It doesn’t take long for the kiss to turn raw and unrestrained. Every ounce of control I had earlier disappears in an instant. She melts into me, as if she wants this just as much as I do. Her response is so damn intoxicating, and it’s enough to make my head spin.
There’s something wildly intimate about the way we breathe the same air, her mouth moving against mine, and the way she tastes unmistakably like me. It sends sharp shafts of desire straight through me, leaving my body tight with need and my thoughts stripped down to one undeniable truth.
I don’t want just a piece of this woman.
I want all of her.
I press my lips to hers one last time. “As much as I love your mouth, there’s another part of you I want to kiss.”
The blush that rises to her cheeks is too fucking adorable.
With careful hands, I turn her body until she’s straddling my chest before sliding down the mattress until her ass is positioned perfectly in front of my face.
“Now that’s one of the prettiest views I’ve ever seen.”
She groans and mutters, “I can’t believe you’re staring at me like that.”
I massage her cheeks, pulling them gently apart so I can see every damn inch of her. In the morning light that streams through the curtains, her body looks like it’s been dusted in gold. I haven’t even touched her yet and she’s already dripping.