Chapter 16 #2
Something in the air shifts. His hand finds mine. Gently. Firm enough that his rough and calloused fingers press on me. He pulls me closer. Step by step, I move into him until there’s no space left between us.
“Is this real?” he asks, his thumb brushing against my cheek.
The scent of him wraps around me. Mint and pine. So familiar that I tilt my head slightly, instinctively wanting more of it. My pulse reacts before my thoughts can catch up.
“What do you mean?” I ask, lifting my gaze to meet his.
“You. Us. This.” His voice lowers. “No walls. No chains. Just… here. It feels too good to be true.”
There’s something in his eyes. Not doubt, exactly. Something closer to fear. And honestly, I feel it too. Like something out there hasn’t finished with us yet. But I don’t let that take this moment.
“Hey,” I say softly, cupping his face. “We’ll build it. Everything. This house. This life. You and me. We’ll figure it out together.”
My thumbs brush against his cheeks, warm despite the rain. He watches me like he’s memorizing every word.
“Yeah,” he murmurs. “Yeah… maybe you’re right.”
His forehead rests against mine. For a moment, we don’t speak. We don’t need to. Then his nose brushes mine, and his lips find mine.
The kiss is slow at first. Careful. Then it deepens, like something long held back finally finds its way out. Weeks of tension unravel in that single moment. My chest loosens. My thoughts go quiet.
Everything feels… still.
“Hey,” he murmurs softly against my lips. “You’re soaked. Let’s get you changed. I don’t want you getting sick.” His fingers slide through my damp hair.
“My room,” I whisper. “There’s a blanket. Towels. And we’ve put some new soap there.”
He lets out a low chuckle. “Yeah, I know. I helped set it up.”
Before I can react, his hands lift me. My legs wrap around him instinctively, arms sliding around his neck. He steadies me like it’s nothing.
We don’t stop. Our lips find each other again, quick, breathless, unfinished. He carries me up the stairs, step by step, solid and unshaken. The house feels different now. It’s all come back alive again.
We reach the bedroom. He steps inside and gently lays me down on the bed. And for a moment, everything pauses again.
“Oh, wait. We don’t want to soak the mattress.” I quickly sit up on the bed, pulling off my shirt, then my shorts and bra.
Harlow’s grin spreads, slow and wicked, like he’s seeing something he’s been waiting for far too long. “The only thing ruining that mattress,” he says, his voice low, “is gonna be our cum.”
There’s something in the way he says it. Not just teasing, not just desire, but certainty. His words make my skin crawl with anticipation of what he promises.
He strips just as fast, tossing his shirt and pants aside. Then he moves to the door and locks it. The soft click echoes louder than it should, like he’s rushing to claim what he wants. It takes him only seconds to reach me again.
I’m already lying there, bare, my skin still damp from the rain, my pulse unsteady. He climbs over me, caging me beneath him. For a second, he just looks at me, taking me in like he needs proof that I’m here. Then his lips crash onto mine with hunger and possession.
A soft sigh slips out of me as I melt into him.
One of his hands cradles the side of my head, his thumb brushing along my temple in slow circles.
The other finds my breast, teasing my nipple between his fingers, rolling it, flicking it just enough to send sparks racing through me. My breath breaks apart under his touch.
“The cold’s got you sensitive,” he murmurs against my lips. “You okay?”
I nod faintly, though my voice doesn’t follow. “Yeah… I am now.” Because I’m here with him.
His mouth drifts to my neck, slower this time. Not rushed. Not desperate. He lingers there, breathing me in, like the scent alone anchors him.
“Goddess,” he whispers, almost to himself. “I thought I lost this.”
I only manage a soft sound in response. I can’t think straight enough to form words. He knows exactly how to make me feel this good.
His mouth trails down lower to my cleavage. He sucks, slow and deep, breathing me in like I’m something he’s starving for. “Damn… you smell so good,” he mutters, his voice rough. “Gets me worked up way too fast.”
His body presses closer, his hardness brushing against me, dragging against my center. For a moment, he doesn’t move. His forehead rests against my shoulder, his breath warm and uneven. It’s the first time I feel it clearly. He’s not just wanting me. He’s holding back for a reason I can’t name.
He laces our fingers together and presses them into the mattress beside my head, like he needs to feel that connection physically. My fingers tangle in his damp hair, gripping tight.
“Then stop holding back,” I whisper, breathless. “Fuck me right. Forever.”
“Forever. I like how that sounds.” He lets out a small laugh.
That does it. His hand slides lower, leaving my temple, moving between my thighs.
He spreads me open, positioning himself so he can take everything at once.
One hand grips my breast, squeezing firmly, while his fingers find my clit, pressing, circling, teasing with sharp, deliberate strokes.
His mouth closes around my other nipple.
The sensation hits all at once. Heat blooms fast, flooding through me, rushing down, pooling low in my body. My breathing turns uneven, my lips parting as a moan escapes without restraint.
I can’t hold it in. My body reacts on its own. A wet warmth builds and spills, my hips lifting as the pleasure crests too quickly.
“I missed this,” Harlow mutters.
He pulls back just enough to look at me before dragging his tongue across my skin again. Then he moves lower. My head lifts slightly to catch a glimpse of his dark hair brushing against my stomach before his mouth finds me. That alone makes me fall back.
“That’s—” My words break off into a gasp as his tongue presses against me, slow at first, then more focused, more deliberate.
He doesn’t hold back. His pace builds, his tongue working faster, deeper, pulling reactions out of me I can’t control.
My hips move against him instinctively, chasing friction, but his hands grip my thighs, holding me open, wide and exposed.
His teeth graze just enough to make me shiver, the sharp contrast sending another wave crashing through me.
My fingers clutch the sheets, knuckles tightening as my body trembles again. It hits exactly where I need it most.
“That’s it,” he murmurs against me, his voice thick. “Come for me.”
I break apart under him, my body shaking as the pleasure rips through me again. And he doesn’t stop. Not even close.
His tongue keeps moving, relentless now, while two fingers slide inside me, curling, pressing exactly where it makes me lose control all over again. I can’t think. I just react to everything he gives me, willingly, moaning his name over and over like it’s the only word I remember.
By the time I peak again, my body is already too sensitive, too overwhelmed, but he keeps going, pushing me higher, deeper, until I can’t tell where one wave ends and the next begins.
“Please…” My voice breaks. “I need you. I need you now.”
He pulls back slowly, his grip tightening on my thighs as he looks at me.
“You sure?” he asks, low and rough.
“I’m desperate,” I admit, barely able to steady my breath.
A dark smile curves on his lips. “Then I won’t hold back anymore.”
He grips himself, positioning at my center. The tip presses against me, and my body responds instantly, opening for him. When he pushes in, the relief hits just as strong as the pleasure. A broken sound leaves my throat.
He fills me completely. Then he moves harder, faster, and stronger. No hesitation now. Each thrust drives deeper, pulling reactions out of me I can’t contain. My body tightens around him, matching his rhythm, meeting him halfway.
“Fuck… this feels too good,” he groans, his eyes shutting tight.
“Do you like it?” I whisper, barely holding onto my breath. “Still tight for you?”
“I love it,” he groans. “I’m not gonna last.”
His pace picks up, rougher, his control slipping. My legs wrap around him, pulling him closer, locking him in. My nails drag across his back, digging into his muscles as everything builds again, faster this time.
There’s no stopping us. The pressure snaps. I come undone beneath him, my body arching as the pleasure crashes through me all at once. He follows right after.
A deep groan tears out of him as he pushes in one last time, spilling inside me, his body tensing as he rides it out. The aftershock lingers, both of us breathing hard, bodies still pressed together.
“Damn,” he mutters against my shoulder, pressing a kiss there. “That was…”
“Not enough,” I whisper, still catching my breath, my voice teasing despite the exhaustion. “We’re doing that again soon.”
He lets out a low laugh. “Yeah. Definitely.” He pulls back, standing beside the bed, then reaches for me, offering his hand. “Come on. Let’s get you warmed up with some hot water before you catch a cold.”
I take his hand without hesitation. And just like that, we head toward the bathroom together, the heat between us far from gone.