Chapter 25 #4
Warm skin.
Slow strokes.
Shared breath.
His leg slid over mine as far as the healing hip allowed. The position brought us closer without trapping him.
His chest pressed to mine.
His cock moved hot and hard through my fist.
My own body pulsed in his hand.
Noah moaned into my mouth.
The sound made my grip tighten.
His hips followed.
“Too much?” I asked.
“No.”
“Pain?”
“No.”
“Still green?”
“Very green.”
His hand quickened.
I groaned.
He kissed the sound from my mouth.
There was delight in him now.
Not merely relief.
Not endurance.
Desire.
He wanted the reactions he drew from me.
He wanted to feel my control weaken beneath his touch.
His thumb pressed beneath the head of my cock, then stroked upward.
My hips moved before I could stop them.
Noah inhaled sharply.
“Was that good?”
“Yes.”
“Do it again?”
“Please.”
He did.
Pleasure shot through me.
I caught the back of his neck and kissed him deeply.
His mouth opened beneath mine, soft and hungry. His beard brushed my chin. His breathing broke each time I dragged my hand along him.
The rhythm changed.
Not frantic.
More certain.
Our bodies pressed close enough that our hands brushed on every stroke. Heat gathered between us. Noah’s thigh tightened over mine.
His forehead rested against mine.
“I want to remember this.”
“You will.”
“What if I don’t?”
“Then we make another memory.”
His eye shone.
“I love you.”
“I love you.”
The words moved between kisses.
Not ceremonial.
Necessary.
As natural as breath.
Noah’s muscles began tightening beneath my hand.
I knew the signs.
His breaths shortened. His hips started following every stroke. The hand around me lost some of its rhythm as sensation overtook concentration.
“I’m close,” he whispered.
“Do you want me to stop?”
“No.”
“What do you want?”
“You with me.”
I shifted closer.
“May I change how I’m touching us?”
“Yes.”
“Tell me if the pressure is wrong.”
“I will.”
I brought our bodies together and wrapped one hand around both of us.
Noah’s fingers closed over mine.
The first shared stroke sent a shudder through him.
His mouth fell open.
“Like this?”
“Yes.”
I moved again.
Our cocks slid together through our joined hands, slick with heat, the friction sending pleasure through both of us at once.
Noah’s fingers tightened over mine.
“Again.”
I stroked us slowly.
His hips pressed forward.
The contact intensified.
He buried his face against my throat and made a sound that went directly through my chest.
My free hand spread across his back.
“Still good?”
“Yes.”
“Any fear?”
“No.”
“Pain?”
“No.”
“Do you want harder?”
“Yes.”
I increased the pressure.
Noah moaned against my neck.
Our hands moved together.
Neither giving.
Neither taking.
One rhythm.
His skin was hot against mine. His breath struck damply along my throat. Every stroke dragged us closer, pleasure gathering until thought became difficult.
Noah lifted his head and kissed me.
It was messy now.
Open-mouthed.
Breathless.
His tongue moved against mine while our joined hands worked between us.
His body trembled.
“Cal.”
“I’m here.”
“Don’t stop.”
“I won’t.”
His fingers tightened over mine.
I felt the moment release reached him.
His abdomen tensed.
His breath caught.
Then he came with a soft, broken cry, spilling hot over our hands and stomachs.
I held him through the first shudder.
The sound, the warmth, the trust in the way he clung to me pulled me over a heartbeat later.
Pleasure tore through me.
My body shook against his as I came between us, my face buried against his shoulder, his name rough in my mouth.
For several seconds, neither of us moved.
Our hands remained trapped between our bodies.
Our breathing filled the room.
Noah’s heart beat wildly against my chest.
Then he began to laugh.
I lifted my head.
“What?”
“Sticky.”
A laugh broke out of me too.
The pressure of the day cracked open around the ridiculous truth.
“Very romantic.”
“Extremely.”
He kissed my throat.
“Good?”
“Yes.”
“Enough?”
“For tonight.”
He looked at me.
“Only tonight?”
“Tomorrow is allowed its own answer.”
His smile softened.
“You learn quickly.”
“So do you.”
His expression changed.
Not fear.
Wonder.
“I did that.”
“Yes.”
“I wanted all of it.”
“Yes.”
“I didn’t disappear.”
“No.”
His eye filled.
I kissed the damp corner before the tear could fall.
“You stayed with me.”
“I wanted to.”
I moved carefully out of bed and returned with a basin, warm water, and a cloth.
Noah watched me clean our hands and stomachs.
There was no shame in his face.
Only sleepy satisfaction.
When I finished, he opened his arms.
This time, he drew me against him.
I went willingly.
My head rested on his chest.
His fingers moved through my hair.
After years of habit, the position should have felt wrong.
Instead, it felt like rest.
His heart beat beneath my cheek.
Steady.
Alive.
Here.
“Cal?”
“Yes?”
“You don’t always have to be the wall.”
“What should I be?”
His hand settled at the back of my neck.
“Mine.”
I closed my eyes.
The word reached every place in me that had been braced for loss.
“Always,” I whispered.
Noah’s fingers tightened gently.
“Always.”