Chapter 35
CHAPTER 35
MICHAEL
The words hung in the air between us, my breath catching in the silence as I waited for her response.
There was so much more I wanted to say to her, a different set of three words I wanted to confess, but I didn’t want to tell her how much she owned me before I got a chance to tell her everything.
Not before I had the opportunity to show her every aspect of who I was.
I just hope she’ll accept me.
Our gaze lingered on each other as I held her, hoping to bring her back to me. I’d regretted letting her go the moment I didn’t stop her from leaving when she’d showed up that morning two weeks ago. I’d wanted to tell her everything at that moment, but I’d been too focused on my father’s words that I’d made the mistake of letting her think I didn’t want her there.
But I was done doing what I was dictated to.
I’d made my choice.
And I wanted her.
I’d figure everything else out later.
“I want you too,” she confessed softly, her voice barely audible.
Silence descended again around us as the weight of her words registered.
“You do?” I said breathlessly, my heart was thundering in my chest.
Ever so slowly, she nodded. “Yes.”
“Do you forgive me for being an idiot?”
She rolled her eyes, but there was a small smile blooming on her lips. “Yes.”
My shoulders sagged with relief as I brought her mouth to mine, just barely brushing my lips to hers. Her mouth opened on a short gasp and I watched her brief hesitation melt away when I finally snuffed out the remaining distance.
I kissed her with everything that I’d been holding onto for the last year.
It was slow.
Purposeful.
And I hoped my unspoken words from earlier were conveyed with the way my lips moved over hers.
I found myself quickly lost in her and all of my senses narrowed in on her.
Azara Ziani was utterly intoxicating and I desperately wanted more.
“Say it again,” I whispered against her lips, a little dazed.
“I want you too.”
I closed my eyes, basking in her words as they washed over me, loosening every muscle in my body. I brought her closer, only to realize that she was still tightly holding onto the delivery bag like it was her lifeline and she needed it to ground herself.
With one hand, I grabbed it from her and tossed it gently on the floor.
“My food,” she protested, but my hand came to rest against the right side of her neck. “Later,” I said before kissing her again.
I hauled her into my body with my other arm banded around her waist, desperate for her warmth. Her hands grasped at my shoulders as I lifted her into my arms, allowing her legs to wrap around my waist.
I walked us toward her living room and my lips only broke away from hers when I dropped to the couch with her legs still around me. I wanted to do so many things to her, but this time, I wanted to take it slow.
My hands grazed up and down her arms, visible goosebumps flourishing underneath my fingertips. I tucked a long strand of her curly hair behind her ear and I let myself just admire her.
Everything about her felt carved to perfection for me to get to look at for the rest of my life. I hadn’t done anything to deserve her, but I’d make sure I’d savor every minute I got.
“What is it?” she asked and my palms found her face again to keep her eyes on me.
“You’re just so fucking beautiful, Azara Ziani,” I said before pressing a soft kiss to her lips, my hands moving down her body to rest against her waist.
She brushed my hair back a few times, shaking her head. “You’re not too bad to look at either.”
“Was that a compliment?” I asked, grinning.
“Don’t get used to them,” she replied, rolling her eyes. But her smile mirrored my own and my heart skipped a beat at the sight.
Azara Ziani didn’t smile very often but whenever she did, it was disarming.
“Come here.”
This time there was no hesitation when she kissed me. She tasted like green tea, home and perfectly mine. My tongue pushed between her lips, and the sweet noises she made when her tongue tangled with mine sent warmth pooling down my spine.
“I love the way you feel in my hands,” I muttered on her lips, my hands sliding under the colorful tunic she was wearing and skating over the expanse of her skin as I reveled in its warmth.
My willpower had barely been hanging on by a thread ever since our first kiss, but it turned to dust when she grinded her covered pussy against my quickly growing erection.
I moved my lips down and kissed along her jawline. Once I reached the spot behind her ear that I knew drove her wild, I nipped at the skin there before sucking on it.
“And I love the way they feel on me,” she moaned, her back arching as she moved her hips back and forth with more urgency. Azara gripped the hair at the back of my neck and pulled my mouth back on hers.
She was dry humping me and I’d never felt anything better. Her hands dipped beneath the hem of my jumper and my body trembled with need under the feel of her fingertips skating over my skin.
“Azara,” I breathed, my hands gripping the side of her thighs. “I want you,” I panted against her mouth, toying with the outline of her panties and I could feel how wet she was. “I want to be inside you.”
My request was almost a whine, and I probably sounded desperate but I didn’t care. I’d surrendered myself to her the moment I’d laid eyes on her and I never wanted to go back to a life without her in it. She was the only woman I’d ever wanted and the only one I’d ever give up everything for.
Hopefully I won't have to.
She kissed me hard and our movements suddenly turned frantic. Our mouths parted only for a moment so she could yank my jumper over my head while I discarded her tunic, tossing the pieces of clothing somewhere to the side.
I pulled back slightly and my mouth watered at the sight of her bare chest. Her breasts were tipped with small brown nipples that begged for my attention. I wanted to press my lips to her skin, to slowly take my time and savor every inch of her body until I reached that place between her legs that brought me to my knees.
The image of her pleasuring herself at the gallery had often plagued my dreams. She was like a work of art and I couldn’t wait to be the one wringing pleasure out of her this time.
Azara rested her palms on my heaving chest. Her eyes roamed over the expanse of my tattooed skin, her hands exploring every bared inch, before her heated gaze locked with mine.
“What is it, baby?”
“You’re just so fucking beautiful, Michael Young,” she admired, mirroring my words from earlier.
I felt my cheeks heat at that. I’d never been called beautiful before and it was the best compliment I’d ever been given.
“You’re cute when you blush,” she teased, gliding her hands down my front. She reached for my trousers and the sound of her undoing my belt buckle cleared some of the spell she’d put my brain under, just enough for me to remember that she didn’t know.
“Wait,” I said, my voice strained as I gently placed my hands over hers. “There’s something I have to tell you.”
I hadn’t planned for anything to happen tonight, but I’d already made my decision before I even came to see her. I’d fight for this, for us.
I’d fight for her even if it meant I was risking my own life.
“What is it?” She looked at me, uncertainty flickering across her face and I immediately wanted to take it away.
I brushed a thumb over the frown line forming on her forehead before cupping her cheek. “It’s nothing bad, just…” My voice trailed off and swallowed thickly. I wasn’t ashamed of what I was about to tell her, but I was suddenly feeling vulnerable to confess it.
“I’m a virgin,” I finally admitted, my eyes carefully watching her as surprise filled her gaze. But it was only there for a moment, before her gaze darkened with something almost primal.
“Then it’ll be my utmost pleasure to be your first.”
And my last . But I’d keep that last part to myself.
The moment the words left her lips, she leaned in to kiss me again, this time with a renewed fervor. My fingers tangled in her hair while her hands fumbled to undo my trousers. She pulled them down with my underwear and I lifted my hips to assist her.
My erection sprung free and it practically wept when her delicate hand wrapped around me. A strangled moan tore through my lips at seeing her hand around me. She’d touched me once before, but fuck , the feel of her hand on me this time almost made me come right there.
“Your cock is so pretty,” Azara praised, taking me in. A laugh bloomed in my chest, but it was cut short when her thumb grazed along the wet tip and she squeezed.
My head fell against the back of the sofa as she tugged on my length a few times. Her lips trailed kisses along my jaw as her fist continued to grip me.
“Azara,” I groaned, my hand wrapping around hers to stop her exquisite torture. As if she could hear my unspoken plea, she released me and shifted above me just enough to remove the final barrier that separated us.
Everything around us shifted, the air in the room growing headier, hotter and my blood simmered with need. Her hands came to rest on my shoulders and she hovered her wet cunt right above the tip of my cock.
“Azara… please,” I moaned when our eyes met, my hands coming up to grip her hips. If she waited any longer, I was worried I’d combust from how much I wanted her.
But my needy whimper was all the encouragement she needed before she gripped my cock, gliding it over her wetness and lining me up with her entrance.
“I have an implant and haven’t been with anyone in a very long time.”
My reply that I trusted her died on my tongue when she lowered herself onto me.
We both watched as her cunt swallowed the head of my cock and my breath stuttered when she sank down.
“ God ,” I shuddered, my voice strangled. My head felt lightheaded as her perfect pussy stole my virtue inch by inch and it was the most erotic picture I’d ever witnessed. It made me wish I had a camera to film it or that this was happening at my flat so I could rewatch it perpetually.
Because seeing Azara’s cunt take me until I was buried in her almost made me come undone right then and there.
I closed my eyes for a brief moment, wanting to bask in being inside her. My dreams came nowhere close to what reality felt like. The way her cunt choked my cock was otherworldly and nothing could ever top being with her like this.
It wasn’t just being inside, it was being with her. It was her intelligence, and her wittiness. It was the way she was never afraid to put me in place or challenge me to be better.
It was her and how she made me feel like I had a home to come to between her arms.
“How does it feel?” I heard Azara ask.
I opened my eyes to meet hers and my heart threatened to explode. “I don’t think any words would be good enough to describe how good you feel. But I need you to move.”
My words seemed to trigger something in her because she lifted her hips, before she slammed down. She repeated the motion again. And again. I almost saw stars with how fast and frantically she was riding me.
But I needed her closer, desperate to feel every part of her bare skin against mine.
Strangled sounds escaped from my throat as I wrapped my arms around her back, clinging to her as hard as I could to help ground myself, wanting to soak this moment in, but there was no point.
I buried my face in her chest as we were both driven by all-consuming hunger and there was no more room for restraint for either of us.
“You’re taking me so well, gumiho ,” I groaned into her skin. “I want us like this, me inside you, forever.”
“Yes,” she cried out. She then placed a hand behind me for leverage and increased her pace, riding me unrelentingly.
One of my hands snaked between us so my fingers could work over her clit. “M-michael,” she gasped, her other hand fisting the back of my head and tugging my face tighter against her skin.
We fucked each other, my cock filling her, stretching her to fit around me perfectly. While my moans were stifled between her breasts, hers mingled with the sound of our bodies coming together, flesh against flesh, creating a poetic anthem that fused itself in my brain and would become my favorite melody.
Air grew scarce and I felt my orgasm approaching with a frightening speed. I’d had enough years to learn how to control myself, but with her cunt squeezing me so tightly, it was becoming harder with each second.
My hand that wasn’t working her swollen sex slid up her spine, landing in her hair. I lifted my chin and pulled her face toward mine to find her eyes.
I needed her to look at me. I needed to see the look in her eyes when she came. “Baby, tell me you’re almost there,” I choked out, mustering a breath. “I want to come inside you at the same time you come all over my cock,” I commanded, my fingers working her clit faster.
“I-I am,” she stammered.
Our gazes never wavered from one another as our orgasms climbed, higher and higher, her pussy tightening around my length. “That’s it, Azara. Come for me, please . I need you to…”
Her shout bled quickly into a keening cry, and her shameless sounds sent my own release careening over the edge. I came hard, lightning bolting through my entire body as my release exploded inside her.
After riding our waves of ecstasy for a few moments longer, we came down at the same time, breathless. I softened my grip on her curls and she melted over me, her forehead finding mine.
Her eyes were glazed over, and the smile that spread across her lips sent my heart into a stuttering heartbeat.
“Azara Ziani, that was…” I started, unable to find the right words.
She huffed out a laugh. “Yeah, it was.”
I didn’t want to move, but when she shivered in my arms, I said, “Come on, let’s get you cleaned up.”
After a shower that went on far longer than I’d intended for because I couldn’t resist lathering every inch of her body and making her come twice more—once on my tongue and another time around my cock—she'd changed into a large, loose black shirt, while I opted to sleep bare. My clothes were upstairs, and I was too exhausted to bother retrieving them, when I usually slept naked anyway.
I was laying on my back, the weight of Azara’s soft body nestled into my side, our limbs tangled together in a way that felt like we’d been doing it forever. We’d been laying here for a while now, none of us saying a word, and I’d never felt so… at peace.
It wasn’t until Azara came into my life that I’d realized just how unsettled I’d felt for so long. For years, I’d been a guest of my own story, drifting through the monotone cadence of all the things I was expected to be.
But when I met her, I wasn’t an Atlas, or a son or a doctor.
There was no pressure to perform or to be perfect.
To be what everyone wanted me to be.
Azara Ziani wanted me for who I was, not what I offered.
She was the first one to truly see me and I never wanted to let that go.
Her breathing was slow and steady, the rise and fall of her chest against my body grounding me, but I could feel the slight tremor in her fingers as they traced lazy circles on my chest. Her light touch was soothing, but distant, like she was lost in her own thoughts.
“What’s on your mind?” I whispered.
She was silent for a few breaths. “My mum died fifteen years ago today,” she finally answered quietly. The words settled in the air around us, and my heart squeezed, aching to find ways to be there for her.
I’d known about her mother’s accident and that today was her death’s anniversary when I showed up here earlier. It was what made me hesitate about whether or not I should show up here, but when I’d gotten a notification on my computer that she’d been typing me a message before it disappeared, I knew I had to come.
Even if we didn’t have the conversation I owed her, I wanted to be there for her.
Azara and I were different in so many ways, but we shared one thing in common when it came to big emotions.
We either ignored them or simply brushed them off.
I’d always been too afraid to ask for help, even when I needed it the most. There was this petulant voice inside my head that reminded me how much of a burden I’d be if I opened up, if I let anyone in and asked them to be there for me. So, I’d deemed it easier to internalize how I felt, to hide behind a smile on my face and carry on.
Or at least my version of it.
Her attempt at reaching out showed me she’d thought about letting me in, but with how I’d treated her and her reluctance in asking when she needed someone, she’d preferred not bothering anyone and shouldering it on her own.
So I’d decided to show up because I wanted to be the soft place she landed when she needed it.
I turned my head to look at her, but her eyes were cast down, focused on the circles she was still tracing against my chest. “Azara,” I said on a soft breath.
“It was a long time ago, and I’m fine now.”
I brought my hand up to brush her hair back over and over. “You’re allowed to miss her. To feel sad even if years have passed,” I replied quietly.
I didn’t know what it was like to necessarily lose a parent in the way she had, but I didn’t want her to think that grief had an expiration date. That if enough time had passed, it would just go away. Because that was the funny thing about grief, some days were easy and you were able to carry on, while others tugged you back to the day you’d lost the person you loved all over again.
Azara took a shuddering breath and finally met my gaze, her eyes filled with unshed tears.
“I wish she was still here every day,” she confessed, a tear escaping and trailing down her cheek. She quickly brushed it away and averted her gaze. “I’m sorry, it’s stupid, I know. I shouldn’t be crying, but she was the best part of my days and I miss her so much.”
I found more tears falling down her cheeks and my stomach dropped. It was killing me seeing her like this and I wanted to erase all of her pain, but I knew it was never that easy. There were no words that would make this better or make it hurt less.
“Hey, hey, hey.” My hand trailed from her hair to her face, resting against her cheek to make her look at me again. “You’re allowed to cry about it. About anything. There’s nothing wrong or stupid about it.”
She let out a deep breath and let go of what was probably years of bottled in emotions. I wrapped my arms tightly around her, kissing her hair and along her forehead as she cried in my arms.
“I’m right here, love,” I whispered against her temple.
I kept fluttering kisses across her skin, her cries softening with each one until they were fewer and further between.
When she looked at me again, my heart soared at the sight of this beautiful woman that I hoped would agree to be all mine.
“Thank you,” she murmured softly.
“Being there for you is never something you have to thank me for,” I said earnestly as I reached up to gently brush her hair out of her face and pressed a kiss to her forehead.
When I pulled away, I found her smiling at me, small and tender, and I experienced another layer of what I felt for her reach out from me to her.
I was so utterly, and undeniably, in love with this girl.
Her vulnerability called for mine, but I pushed the feeling away before I consumed me, afraid I’d confess everything I’d been keeping from her.
It wasn’t the right time, yet.
“Tell me about her,” I asked her, offering her a small smile of my own.
We stayed like this, whispering into the quiet night as she shared about her mother’s favorite things and what she was like. She did so until her breathing softened into a softer cadence, and I never imagined the day where Azara would be curled against me, falling asleep in my arms.
Despite the unknown that lay in front of us, I quietly whispered the three words I’d been holding onto for weeks now, until I, too, fell asleep.
Hoping I’d get to tell her everything in the morning.