Chapter 21 #3
With one hand on his chest, I push myself up, bouncing myself in his lap in a steady rhythm.
Beneath me, he smiles up at me like this is the best day of his life.
After everything I’ve put him through, it’s nothing short of a miracle that he still looks at me like this.
Like I’m some cosmic wonder when he’s the awe-inspiring one.
He’s a sun-kissed vision as the bright sky brings out the amber flecks in his brown eyes, a field of sunflowers I could get lost in.
It gleams off his eyebrow and nose piercings, and for a moment, he sparkles.
Everything is so peaceful as I admire him, tracing the scars I wasn’t here to witness but still had a hand in.
“Come back to me, My Omen,” he says softly as his fingers lock around my wrist. He brushes his thumb over the scarred blackout tattoo, watching me carefully. “Stay here with me.” He thrusts his hips off the deck, fusing us together even more than we already are.
“I am,” I reassure him as I grind down on him, savoring the feel of him buried inside me. Mine. I don’t know how I got so fortunate to find someone like him to love me unconditionally, but I don’t intend to take a moment of it for granted.
I could get used to spending my days like this.
I’ve been running from death, alongside it, for so long that I forgot what it is to live.
That’s because proximity to Hawthorne is the only thing that makes me feel alive.
I’ve spent these last few years drowning in the knowledge that death is waiting for me eagerly, greedily, but my head is finally above water, and I feel surer than ever that I’m not ready to let it go. I’m not ready to let him go.
“I love you,” I remind him, unable to keep the moan from my voice.
“I know.” Hawthorne sits up so he can kiss me while his hands slip down my back and grip my ass. “I love you, too.” He rests his forehead against my chest, nuzzling there like he’s savoring this just as much as I, this moment of calm and quiet that we’ve earned.
Hawthorne teases my nipples with light flicks of his tongue while I grind with leisurely movements of my hips, prolonging my enjoyment of the way the slight upward curve of his dick pushes against my g-spot, nudging me closer and closer to an orgasm. Neither of us rushes it.
“What a fucking view,” Hawthorne says appreciatively as he leans back and starts to thrust into me, matching the pace I’ve set.
“Yeah,” I sigh as I look out at the lush forest surrounding us.
“Not that, you.” One hand grabs my breast while the other clutches my stomach. “I’ve never seen anything so beautiful.”
“And you,” I say, taking his lips in mine. “I swear, you’re too perfect. It’s hard to believe you’re real sometimes.”
“Yeah?” There’s a tender need in his seeking words.
“Yeah,” I confirm.
“Then come on this perfect cock. Your ass is getting red.” He looks pointedly over my shoulder. “We can’t let it burn.”
I laugh and roll my eyes, but he has a point, so I speed up my movements, and he rubs my clit as we work together to drive me closer to the edge.
Behind him, the glass door allows me to watch as I ride him, taking all of him gratefully, reverently.
Leaves rustle and birds chirp, the quiet of nature tranquil.
Somehow, our gasps and sighs of pleasure fit right in, like we’re part of this too.
With how much time we’ve spent out here together, I guess we are.
This is our place. And it feels so right to be back.
I don’t know how I ever went so long without him, but I won’t do it again. There’s nowhere else for me but beside him. With that reassuring thought and the secure hold of his hands on my hips, I come with tears in my eyes.
I’ve never felt more relaxed, more at ease with my place in the world, as he carries me upstairs. We wash in silence, only a whimper escaping me as he applies aloe to my reddened cheeks, and then he leaves me to my routine as I come down from the high of it all.
When we finally emerge, I’m taken by surprise when I notice that Hawthorne is fully dressed.
“Are you leaving?”
He nods, buttoning up his shirt and sliding on a utility jacket. “Jayden called me a bunch of times in a row while we were outside apparently. I can’t get a hold of him now, but I’m worried.”
“Oh…that’s odd.”
“Very. Jay is a serial texter, unless it’s something urgent. I’m just going to stop by his house really quick, to check in.” He looks up at me from the floor where he’s kneeling to lace up his shoes. “Did you want to come?”
“No. It’s probably best that I’m not there. I’ll find something to make for dinner.”
He raises a brow but knows better than to say what we’re both thinking. ‘Me? Cook?’ A rare occurrence indeed.
“If you change your mind, just shoot me a text and I can pick something up on the way back. I’ll update you when I have a better idea of what the situation is, but I shouldn’t be long.”
“Don’t worry about me.”
“Not possible,” he says as he kisses my forehead, but I fist his fresh shirt and pull him in for a real kiss, the idea of parting with him sparking an undercurrent of need within me. “Drive safe.” With a nod, he’s off.
Worry sours my stomach as I watch him disappear through the doorway, dread sinking its claws into me. I hate the unknown, but I dislike how this familiar feeling digs into me worse.