Chapter 32
JO
We barely make it up the stairs to Nico’s apartment, stumbling and bumbling our way, refusing to stop kissing and touching for even a minute. But ever since I took his hand after the game, I didn’t want to let it go.
I loved being a spectator tonight. Shouting and cheering with the rest of the crowd.
They played Pittsburgh tonight, so the crowd had a pretty large contingent of fans wearing yellow jerseys, which made the hard-fought win all the sweeter.
The goal from Nico in the second period was especially gratifying.
Naomi and I spent the entire game together, and I learned she was kind and funny and thought of Nico as a sibling.
Just as he said. She told me stories about Alex and Nico together as boys, and how the last time she was with Nico, at the fateful dinner captured by the photos on social media my sister showed me, all he did was talk about me.
Again, I believe Nico when he says he loves me, but hearing it from a third party is reassuring.
I know I won’t be able to undo a lifetime of trauma in one night, but if there is one thing I am sure of, it’s that Nico will be patient with me. As I him.
Though right now, neither one of us has an ounce of patience.
“Not now,” Nico tells Gus, shooing him out from under his feet, while both of us discard our coats. They land on the floor. Followed swiftly by the rest of our clothes until we’re both naked and panting.
It’s almost midnight, and the room is dim, with only the lamp in the corner casting a warm glow. It highlights all the ridges along Nico’s torso, the slopes of his muscles, the golden trail of hair leading to his erection.
“You’re so beautiful, Jo.”
I drag my gaze up to find his eyes glazed over, hungrily taking in every inch of me.
My nipples harden to painful points under his attention.
My skin pricks, and I fight against the instinct to cover myself.
He coasts his hands over me, beginning at my jaw and down my throat, over my chest to cup my breasts, thumbing my nipples.
Blood rushes in my veins and pools between my legs, and I rub them together for relief.
As if he knows, he cups me there, his callused palm claiming me.
His nostrils flare as his fingers search, testing me.
He dips a digit inside me, jaw clenching at what I can only guess is my very wet channel.
Nico is the only man I’ve ever been with, and I cannot imagine being with anyone else.
Even if I wanted to, I don’t think it would ever be like this.
I will never find anyone else to love me the way I am.
Never find anyone to appreciate my body and rasp a curse like a prayer.
“It’s been too long,” he says and bends to suck and nibble one nipple and then the other as he pushes a second finger inside me, getting me ready.
Although I’m already there, especially after he kisses my neck as he drifts his free hand down my side, around to my butt.
He squeezes hard enough to leave marks, and when I squeak, he mutters an apology against my ear a moment before removing his fingers from me to suck on them.
Another muttered oath, and then he lifts me up, urging me to wrap my legs around his waist. He grunts when my center rubs over his shaft. “Please, please, don’t make me wait.”
I shake my head, lips brushing back and forth over his, breath hot, and the air thick around us.
And yet, I can’t get close enough. Lips never breaking contact, he walks backward to the couch and settles with me on his lap.
I reflexively roll my hips, and he groans.
“I think I might die if I don’t get inside you in the next ten seconds. ”
Yeah. Same. I slip my hand between us to circle his cock, and he flexes, hips pushing up, fingers digging into my ass. “Fuck, Jo, please.”
I nod, spreading my legs wider, pulse roaring in my ears.
Perspiration breaks out across my skin as I rise up, positioning myself over the head and then slowly lower down, filling myself with him, inch by delicious inch.
The stretch burns in the best way, and I’m so full it takes me a few seconds to catch my breath.
His fingers tangle in my hair, his thumb brushing my cheekbone with something like reverence.
The vulnerability in his expression steals my breath when he says, “I love you, Jo.”
My chest tightens, emotion swelling behind my eyes, and I cradle his face in my hands. “I love you too, Nico.”
As earlier, he still appears shocked. Like maybe he didn’t expect me to say it back. Worried I wouldn’t. He was scared he wouldn’t hear it, like I was scared to say it.
“I love you,” I say again. “I love you. I love you.”
His smile is practically incandescent. “I’m so fucking in love with you.”
Our sweet and tender kiss quickly turns frantic, tongues and teeth clashing, fighting for space over each other’s lips and jaws and chins.
I’m so out of my head, I hadn’t even realized I was moving until Nico threw his head to the back of the cushion, moaning up at the ceiling. “Oh fuck, please, please…”
With a renewed purpose, I place my hands on his shoulders and rock my hips, working my clit over his pubic bone with every roll of my hips, but he cringes. “I’m not gonna last much longer.”
I lean back, changing the angle, hitting that sweet spot I’d never been able to find on my own until Nico. He nods, proud. “That’s it. Get there.”
He holds my chin in his hand, dragging his thumb over my lower lip and then pushing it into my mouth.
I suck on it, earning a pained hiss. Beneath me, his muscles pull taut, the fingers of his left hand biting into me, holding me steady, and he pumps his hips, thrusting as much as he can, as if he can’t stand not to.
Then he trails his wet thumb over my nipple and down to my clit, circling it. “Come on, mama. Let go. I’ve got you.”
Only a minute later, my orgasm crashes over me like a wave, white-hot and all-consuming, arching my back as I cry out his name. Nico follows, burying his face in the crook of my neck, and his body shudders, spilling his release into me.
I wrap my arms around his neck, and he scrapes his prickly jaw over my shoulder. I huff out a laugh. “Are you…scenting me?”
I feel him smile against my skin. “It works for dinosaur shifters. Couldn’t hurt to try on you.”
Playing along, I rub my chin over his ear and temple, and Nico chuckles quietly. “God, I love you.”
I nod and tuck myself more firmly against him, damp skin cooling after that bright fire burned out. Although from the way Nico shifts under me, grips my thighs, and curls his hips up, that smoldering will kick into flames soon enough.
“What do you say we move this party to the bedroom?”
I cling to him, tracing the tip of my tongue over his ear. “Thank you, Nico.”
He slaps my ass and stands. “Let’s see how many times I can make you say that tonight.”
“Love you,” I coo, and he hums.
“Let’s see how many times I can make you say that too.”