Chapter 11 #2
“Yes.” She rolled her hips against him, feeling the hard length of him pressed between them. “Yes, Caius. I’m sure.”
His expression shifted—softened and sharpened all at once—and then he was kissing her again. Slow and deep, taking his time to build her need again.
His mouth traveled down her throat, pausing to suck on the pulse point that made her whimper. He lavished attention on her breasts. When his tongue circled her nipple, she dug her nails into his shoulders hard enough to leave marks.
“Caius—”
“I know.” He switched to the other breast, giving it the same thorough attention. “I’ve got you.”
Her hips rocked restlessly against him, seeking more. But he refused to be rushed, savoring every inch of her skin like he had all the time in the world and she wasn’t drowning in want.
By the time he settled his hips between her thighs, she was trembling.
He pressed his forehead to hers, their breaths mingling in the space between them. “Look at me.”
She opened her eyes—when had she closed them?—and met his stare.
“Stay with me,” he said quietly. “Right here. Right now.”
The words hit her harder than they should have. How many times had she disappeared into her own head during moments that should have mattered? How many times had she gone through the motions without really being present?
But this time was different.
This time, she wanted to feel everything.
“I’m here,” she whispered.
When Opal kissed him, he let out a growl that vibrated straight to her core.
Reaching between them, she wrapped her fingers around his thick, steely cock and guided it to her pussy.
She rocked into him, trying to ease the ache. “Caius. Please!”
He met her gaze for three long heartbeats. “I’ve got you.”
He sank into her, and she tightened around him. And god help her, it felt like every broken piece inside her found its match. Two people who didn’t exist created something real between them.
He drove balls-deep in one smooth thrust. When he was seated in her deepest point, she cried out his name, and he captured the sound with his mouth, swallowing it and giving her a roughened, “Opal!” in return.
They moved together in a rhythm that felt both ancient and new. She built higher and higher until there was nothing left but sensation and connection and the knowledge that she wasn’t alone anymore.
Eyes closed, she memorized every scar within reach and wondered how many weren’t visible.
“Open your eyes,” he commanded, voice strained. “Let me see you.”
She forced her eyes open and nearly came undone at the intensity in his stare. He watched her like she was the only thing in the world that mattered, like he could see straight through to her soul and wasn’t running away from what he found there.
He glided out on a hiss before slamming home again. And again. She cried out as he hit another angle that shot her even higher.
“That’s it,” he growled against her mouth. “Let go. I’ve got you.”
It was the third time he spoke those words, and each time they sank deeper inside her body and her mind until she felt the truth of them.
Her fingers tangled in his hair, pulling him closer as the tension coiled tighter in her belly. Every thrust drove her higher, every ragged breath he took against her skin pushed her closer to the edge.
Inner walls tightening, she rocked into his rhythm until she felt him go still. “Fuck,” he grated out. “Give me your mouth.”
She clasped his face and kissed him with all the passion pounding through her veins as he thrust once, twice. His cock swelled inside her, and she felt the first heated spurt of cum hit her inner walls.
“Yes! Yes! Faster!” She jerked her hips. He churned his own in a disjointed beat as her own orgasm ripped through her.
The climax hit her like a freight train, stealing her breath and her vision and every coherent thought. She shattered around him, crying out his name as wave after wave of pleasure rolled through her.
He let out a roar that seemed to shake the air molecules.
A hard banging on the wall made them both jump.
They froze, and his eyes cleared in a blink as he assessed the situation. Not a threat.
“Fucking neighbors.”
She huffed a laugh. “Fucking thin walls.”
He buried his face against her neck and vibrated with amusement that sent a smile stretching across her own face. Foreign to her and yet…tapping into a part of herself she forgot existed.
The laughter bubbled up from somewhere deep inside, genuine and unguarded, and she felt the rumble of his own against her chest. When was the last time she’d laughed after sex? When was the last time sex had felt like more than just a transaction or a way to scratch an itch?
Never.
The answer was never.
After a few minutes, he flipped her on top of him with an easy strength that didn’t surprise her but pleased her far more than she would ever voice.
He held her through the aftershocks that followed their wild lovemaking, his hands stroking up and down her spine in a soothing caress that left her boneless.
She sprawled across his chest like a cat in a sunbeam, her limbs heavy and satisfied in a way she couldn’t remember feeling before. His arms came around her, one hand sliding into her hair while the other settled at the small of her back.
He tucked her close, and she rested her cheek against his chest, listening to his heart hammer beneath her ear. The steady rhythm gradually slowed, matching her own, and that synchronicity made her throat tighten.
“You okay?” His voice rumbled through his chest.
“Yeah.” She traced idle patterns on his skin, following the lines of muscle and scar tissue. “You?”
“Better than okay.” His fingers combed through her hair, gentle and unhurried. “That was…”
“I know.”
Because she did know. There weren’t words for what had just happened between them—at least none that wouldn’t sound inadequate or overdramatic. It was more than just good sex. It was connection. Recognition. Two damaged people finding safety in each other.
He brushed his lips over her temple. “You’re not going anywhere.”
A shiver of emotion rippled through her. This time she didn’t bother to hide it. She didn’t care if he saw her face or felt her reaction to him.
She pressed a light kiss to his chest. “Neither are you.”
His arms tightened around her, and she felt him brush another kiss to the top of her head. “Damn straight.”
And for the first time in her whole life, she felt like she existed.
She felt like she found home.