Chapter 31
Kia
Laiken doesn’t rush or falter as he carries me to the bedroom. I curl into him until my cheek can rest against his bare chest, the steady rhythm of his heartbeat tethering me to the here and now. There’s nothing about this moment that scares me. In fact, it’s the opposite.
This man makes me feel safe.
The realization settles deep. Safety like this isn’t something you stumble into.
It’s something you risk everything for. A part of me wants to stay exactly like this forever, tucked against him, suspended in this quiet space where nothing else can touch me.
Hidden from all the choices waiting outside these walls.
From the consequences. From the future I’m not brave enough to believe in yet.
The bedroom door clicks shut behind us, the sound soft but final, as if the world has been gently locked out. He lowers me onto the mattress with care, his hands lingering before he straightens.
His steady gaze settles on me, and suddenly I’m acutely aware of my own nakedness in a way that makes my pulse skitter. Heat crawls up my neck, and I lift my hands to cover my breasts.
“Please don’t,” he murmurs.
I peek up at him through my lashes as he gives a small shake of his head.
“I don’t want you to ever hide from me.” His hands close gently around my wrists, his grip loose enough that I could pull away if I wanted to, and he guides my hands back to the mattress. His gaze stays pinned to mine, making it impossible to look away.
“You’re so damn beautiful,” he says, as if it’s a truth and not an opinion. “I hope you know that.”
The knot in my chest loosens in a way I wasn’t prepared for. I didn’t realize how much I needed to hear those words until this moment.
He lifts one of my feet and presses a kiss against the arch. The touch is so worshipful, it steals the air from my lungs. It’s such a small thing, but it’s enough to send a shiver racing down my spine before curling deep at the bottom of my belly.
His mouth traces the length of my leg, as if every inch deserves his attention, as if I’m not something to be rushed through but savored. No one has ever caressed me like this or taken their time. The realization is just as overwhelming as the delicious warmth spreading through me.
In the past, sex was never anything more than a means to an end.
Quick hands and rushed moments. Bodies colliding without much thought beyond the finish line.
Guys who’ve already been satisfied while I lay beneath them, staring at the ceiling, waiting to feel something until eventually I stopped expecting it.
Stopped hoping there was more.
Lowering my expectations became second nature. It was easier that way. If I didn’t want too much, then I couldn’t be disappointed when my body was treated like an afterthought.
But that’s not how it is with Laiken.
Everything with him is different.
He slows down instead of rushing, like there’s nowhere else he needs to be. His attention never feels scattered. It never drifts to himself or what he wants. When he touches me, it’s like he’s trying to learn my body, not claim a victory.
And the way he looks at me…
It’s like this moment isn’t something to conquer, but something that truly matters to him.
For the first time, I’m not bracing for what comes next. I’m not preparing myself to be disappointed or left behind in the wake of someone else’s satisfaction. I’m being met exactly where I am, as if my pleasure isn’t optional.
Like it might even be the point.
When he pauses between my thighs and looks up at me, he doesn’t assume. He searches my face, silently leaving the decision up to me. Almost as if my agreement matters more than his desire. The care in his eyes nearly undoes me, cracking something open that has been long sealed shut.
I nod, my throat too tight for words.
The shift in his expression is subtle but unmistakable as relief and hunger flash in his eyes. His fingers hook beneath the waistband of my panties, sliding them down my hips and thighs before dropping them to the floor. The gentle pressure of his mouth on my skin is heaven.
The heat of his gaze burns into me as he stares at my center.
I can’t help but tremble beneath the intensity as it drifts over every inch.
There’s something strangely erotic about being stripped bare while this stunning man looms over me, still wearing his boxers, control written into every line of his body.
“You really are the most beautiful woman I’ve ever laid eyes on,” he murmurs.
He caresses the sensitive skin of my inner thighs. Back and forth, his palms strum, the faint scrape of his calluses sending shivers through me. It’s such a small thing, such an innocent touch, and yet it’s enough to make my stomach tighten with anticipation.
Air clogs my lungs as he lowers his mouth again, his warm breath ghosting across me.
The sensation alone makes heat coil tight in my stomach.
I bite my lower lip, attempting to trap the sound building in my throat.
It takes effort to hold myself together when every nerve in my body feels like it’s stretched too tight and waiting to snap.
Seconds tick by as he takes his sweet damn time, each one more torturous than the last, intensifying the anticipation until it becomes borderline unbearable. The heat of his mouth hovers over me without ever quite touching.
Just when I can’t take another moment, the velvety softness of his tongue laps at me. It’s a slow lick from the bottom of my slit to the top. I jerk beneath him, my fingers twisting into the sheets as sensation ignites within me. The intimacy and the shock of it is enough to leave me reeling.
There’s nothing rushed about his movements. It’s as if he’s deliberately trying to draw out my pleasure as he circles my clit. I get the feeling he enjoys watching me come apart one slow, measured caress at a time.
With a gasp, I arch off the mattress as even more sensation spirals through me, stealing my breath. It hits so hard, my mind blanks. I’ve never had someone make me feel like I’m worth the time or the effort.
The worst part is just how much I want it.
For a split second, panic flares, and I can’t help but wonder, if I allow myself to relax, will I wake up tomorrow regretting the decision?
Will I be the one left staring at the ceiling again, unsatisfied, while he rolls away?
My chest tightens as my body trembles on the edge of something that feels too good to be true.
Laiken lifts his head, his gaze fastening to mine. His expression shifts, and concern cuts through the haze. “Kia? Are you all right? Should I stop?”
The fact that he’s even asking, that he’s pausing to check in, is enough to dissipate some of the fear.
“No, please don’t stop,” I whisper.
He presses a soothing kiss against my thigh. “Are you sure?”
“Yes.”
Instead of acting like my answer is a green light to proceed without caution, his touch remains steady and patient, as if he’s listening to my body in order to interpret each reaction.
He presses kisses against me, stroking me with his tongue. Each touch is gentle. His lips curve slightly when my muscles finally loosen and I arch, trying to press closer, seeking out more pleasure.
“Do you like the way that feels?”
“Yes,” I admit, my voice shaking with pent-up emotion. “It’s amazing.”
The murmur that leaves him sounds more like relief.
I press my lips together until it’s impossible to keep the truth locked up inside. “No one’s ever done this to me before.”
He stills, surprise flickering across his expression before it settles into something deeper. Something that becomes more focused and intent.
“Then let me show you exactly what you’ve been missing.”
He takes so much time that my body forgets how to brace, how to anticipate disappointment. Every touch is unhurried and deliberate. It’s like he’s paying attention to every breath I draw, every tremor that rolls through me, every sound I can’t stop from slipping free.
The tension inside me loosens thread by thread, replaced by a heat that spreads like wildfire beneath my skin.
For the first time in my life, it feels like I’m being claimed.
Not as an object, but something precious.
A groan works its way loose from me as my eyelids flutter closed. My body tightens as his tongue dances over my delicate flesh. The sensation is so overwhelming, I’m barely able to think.
The only thing I’m capable of is feeling.
When my hips twist, his hands clamp around my inner thighs, his fingers sinking into the muscle as he pins me gently in place.
A whimper slips free as my spine bows again, desperate for more, for anything that will ease the ache continuing to build.
His tongue dips inside me before he laps at my center.
The pleasure that blooms in his wake is enough to rob the air from my lungs as it spreads outward until it’s impossible to tell exactly where it began.
It gathers low and deep, winding tighter with each passing second.
Instead of driving me over the edge and into oblivion, he slows it down, drawing out the tension with a maddening amount of patience.
He allows the sensation to swell until I’m a trembling mess, my body teetering on the edge of something too big to hold within the confines of my skin.
When I can’t stand another moment, he drags his tongue against my clit, and I splinter apart beneath his firm grip.
A cry tears from my lips as waves of intensity crash over me, battering my senses. Not once does he stop or ease up. He continues licking and sucking until there’s nothing left within me to give. Until every last drop has been wrung from my body.
When he finally pulls back, all I can do is lie there, a boneless heap, breathing hard as I stare at the ceiling, my mind completely blank.
I’ve never experienced something so euphoric before.
It feels like more of a spiritual awakening rather than a sexual one.
That thought is enough to make me smile.
I’ve heard my friends talk about orgasms, and always assumed they were exaggerating.
Embellishing. Making sex sound way better than it could possibly be.
Turns out they were telling the truth.
Another shudder ripples through me as my body continues to pulse with aftershocks. I’m knocked from those hazy thoughts when Laiken crawls up my body and hovers over me. His arousal is unmistakable as he presses his lips to mine.
Unconsciously, I open until our tongues can tangle.
“Can you taste your sweetness on me?”
Air gets wedged in my lungs as I nod.
“It’s fucking delicious,” he growls, the sound low and rough, vibrating straight through me.
His tongue darts out again, moving in tandem with my own, teasing and claiming in equal measure.
“I don’t know how I’ll ever get enough of you,” he says.
The seriousness of his tone makes my stomach flutter because it doesn’t sound like a line he’s feeding me.
Just when I think he’ll strip off his boxers and slide deep inside my body, he shifts, rolling onto his side and drawing me into his arms. His body is warm and solid, his heartbeat a steady drum beneath my ear, a quiet anchor as everything inside me settles back into place.
He presses a lingering kiss to my forehead. Then another to my temple, the gesture so tender it makes emotion swell in my throat. His hand strokes up and down my back, as if he’s checking in without words, making sure I’m okay with everything we just shared.
For the first time in a while, I don’t feel the need to brace myself. I’m not raw, exposed, or hollowed out afterward. There’s no knot of regret forming deep inside or an instinctive urge to pull away and put distance between us before I get too comfortable.
The world narrows until it’s nothing but the hum of the penthouse that surrounds us, the warmth of his body pressed against mine, and the slow rise and fall of his chest beneath my cheek. My thoughts drift, unspooling as something undeniable settles into place.
This is exactly what I’ve been searching for.
Not intensity or a distraction, but a connection.
When Laiken shifts against the pillows, one arm wrapped around me, I curl into his side without hesitation.
It feels so natural. Easy in a way that’s almost surprising.
His chin rests against the top of my head, protective without being possessive, steady without claiming more than I’m ready to give.
He simply holds me.
As sleep pulls me under, one last thought slips through the fog.
If this is what it truly feels like to be held, I don’t know how I’ll survive losing it.
For the time being, I don’t let myself think about what tomorrow will bring.
Instead, I fall asleep held securely in strong arms.