Chapter 18
Celeste
Gage and I make idle chitchat about the bar and everyone there tonight on the way home.
Home. It’s a concept that has eluded me my whole life, yet Gage has made it a very real thing in only five weeks.
His place has become somewhere safe for me, where I always have the warmth and affection from him and the birds that I’ve never allowed myself to crave.
I’m already dreading the inevitable end of our arrangement.
As wonderful as Gage is, almost everyone eventually leaves me.
There is some broken shard in me that pokes out and drives the people who are supposed to love me and protect me the most away.
Which is why I want to at least enjoy my husband while it lasts.
My phone buzzes with a text from Tania.
Nia Bia
Are we going to talk about how cozy you and Gage looked tonight?
She knows how I am, and that the way I was with him tonight is not the norm.
I’ve never asked her to make art for a guy either.
We’ve both been so busy that we haven’t talked nearly as much as we used to since I moved out of their apartment.
I look at Gage, and he’s focused on the road. So I type out a reply.
I’m in the car now with him heading home. I’ll fill you in on everything soon, but the long and short of it is feelings are happening. He makes me happy, Nia. I’ve wanted to talk to you about it but I almost don’t want to jinx things by verbalizing it
Cece, I’m so happy for you. Take things at your pace, explore the feelings, and remember that you deserve good things. Let’s figure out a get together soon asap, please and thank you. Tonight was so much fun, btw
Absolutely. Love you, glad you had a good time
She sends a heart in response, and I put my phone away.
“Everything good?” Gage asks.
“Yup! That was Tania, just checking in and saying how much fun she had tonight.”
He smiles.
“It was amazing having her and Carlo there tonight. We need to have dinner with them soon.”
I hum my agreement before we fall silent. We’re both clearly distracted by the fact that I basically propositioned him earlier. He tentatively holds his hand out for me over the console, and I lace my fingers through his.
“Were you being serious earlier? About me showing you how much I appreciate you?” he asks.
“Completely serious, if you want to,” I say, squeezing his hand.
I can see his throat bob, even in the dark.
“I definitely want to, as long as you’re sure. You have complete control, ok?”
“You’re ok with that? Do you like giving up control?”
He blows out a huge breath, then chuckles almost to himself.
“Celeste, you could do whatever the hell you want to me, and I’d sit there with the dopiest smile on my face,” he says.
His words give me a rush of both the power I always need to reclaim in the bedroom, and pure lust at the thought of having this incredible man at my mercy.
When we walk into the house, and Gage turns on the light, I can see he is practically vibrating with tension.
His jaw is working, fists clenched like he’s trying to restrain himself.
We check on the birds and make sure they have everything they need, putting the covers on their aviaries for the night.
He wordlessly reaches back for my hand again as we head upstairs, and I grab onto it to give it another squeeze.
It’s as if we both need a little extra reassurance before we take this irrevocable step.
I haven’t been intimate with a soul in well over a year, and certainly never with anyone I care about as much as Gage.
After three months of flirting, and five weeks of that time living together, I think I might combust if we don’t do something about this attraction of ours.
“Mine or yours?” he asks in a voice that’s pure gravel.
“Yours,” I say.
Once he leads me through his bedroom door and shuts it, we’re on each other.
Our energy is a little frantic, but the kisses are soft, exploratory, and almost yearning.
Our heads angle to deepen the kisses as our tongues tangle.
My hands skate up underneath his shirt, feel his warm skin, lightly tug the dusting of hair on his chest. One of his hands cradles my face, while the other smooths down my back to press me closer.
His erection strains against my belly, making heat gather low in my core.
I walk him into the wall as I bite his lower lip, eliciting a delicious moan from him.
When we take a breath, he looks down at me with hooded, lust drunk eyes.
Carding his hand through my hair, he leans down to press a sweet kiss to my forehead.
“So,” he murmurs near my ear, “how shall I show you how much I appreciate you, Celeste?”
“There’s something so appreciative about a man on his knees,” I coo back.
He hums his acknowledgment, then slowly pulls away to walk around me to the other side of the room. My breath catches, and my entire body goes up in flames as I watch him gracefully sink to his knees.
“Do you want me to crawl to you, mi vida? Do you want me to kneel in front of you and worship you the way you deserve?”
“Yes,” I breathe.
That breath sticks in my throat as he removes his shirt.
Gage is not a super huge guy, but his frame is built with long, lean muscle honed from always being on his feet, lifting things, and the runs I know he likes to go on.
Those muscles work in the most mesmerizing way as he prowls toward me on all fours like a jungle cat.
His heated gaze holds mine as he ends up in front of me on his knees.
“Such a good husband, on your knees for me,” I croon, raking my hands through his hair.
He groans so loudly, cupping the backs of my legs while he presses a kiss to my inner thigh.
“Please, can I taste you?” His plea is guttural.
I nod as I let him unbutton my shorts and pull them down, before I kick them away. He nuzzles my soaked black lace underwear before pushing it aside to take his first taste. I hiss at the incredible sensation of his warm tongue lapping up my wetness slowly, like he’s savoring every drop.
“More,” I command
He pulls at my panties as if to remove them, looking at me for approval. When I nod, he pulls them down and simply stares at my pussy for a beat.
“So beautiful and absolutely soaked, wife,” he groans.
His hand guides one of my legs over his shoulder to open me to him, so I grasp his head for balance.
With that, he goes to town.
His mouth masterfully works my clit, sucking and licking me into a complete writhing mess. I cry out when he adds a finger, curling it in just the right way.
“So that’s a yes to that spot,” he whispers with pure satisfaction.
“Don’t you dare get smug on me,” I choke out.
“Wouldn’t dream of it. Just happy to be a good husband,” he says before giving another firm lick to my clit.
My body is coiling tighter and tighter with each lick, each suck, each curl of his finger.
It isn’t long before that coil releases completely, springing me into oblivion.
I’ve never experienced an orgasm like this that somehow manages to both consume me and free me.
He guides me through it with gentle licks and soothing strokes until I come back down.
“Jesus, you’re magnificent when you come,” Gage says, lifting my shirt and pressing one last kiss to my stomach before rising to his feet. He’s looking down at me with pure awe on his face, bringing a hand up to lightly stroke my cheek.
I glance meaningfully at the noticeable bulge in his pants.
“I could help with that, since you’ve been such a good husband and deserve a reward. It looks painful.”
He shakes his head.
“You don’t have to, this is about you,” he says.
“Well, if it’s about me, then I want to do it and taste you,” I counter, lowering to my knees.
He sucks in a breath as I move to unbutton his pants.
“Ok?” I ask.
He nods jerkily, but then gasps.
A wet spot forms on the front of his pants, and his face turns into an embarrassed grimace.
“You didn’t even need to touch me to get me off,” he chuckles wryly.
“I still want to see it and taste it. Fair is fair,” I say, my hands going back to his waistband when he makes a grunt of agreement.
Getting his pants unbuttoned, I gently pull them down with his soaked through boxer briefs.
His cock is perfection. Not big enough to be intimidating, but beautifully thick, straight, and veiny.
It’s covered in come, and my tongue darts out to taste it, dipping into his slit.
After a few more licks and sucks along his length, his hands come to my head in a gentle request to stop.
“Do you want to get cleaned up in the shower together, and then stay in here with me tonight?”
I already feel raw and overexposed after what we just did.
What he’s suggesting seems more intimate than I know how to handle, because this is not a casual hookup where I’ll be gone in the morning.
I promised myself that I would start to be brave, though.
If I’m going to build the kind of life I want, maybe with him, it’s time to take some risks.
He’s willing to put in the effort to try for us even with his issues with his mom, so I can meet him where he is and do the same.
Hopefully I won’t come to regret it with a heart torn into shreds.
“Yeah, I’d like that,” I say, looking into his beautiful, earnest face.
It splits into a huge grin at my answer, and he grabs my hand to lead me into his bathroom.
We wash each other slowly in the shower, exploring each other’s bodies, making out under the warm spray.
Toweling each other off is a much bigger production than it ever should be.
He puts me in one of his El Abrevadero t-shirts that comes down to the middle of my thighs.
After grabbing my toothbrush from the hall bath and brushing our teeth side by side, we flop into bed.