SEVEN
P hillip was all too aware of her breasts pressed against his back, her arms tight around his chest, as he sped through the night. Not even the cold air whipping past them could calm the hardness compressed by his suddenly too-tight jeans.
He weaved through the light traffic, heading toward downtown. He had planned on taking her to the Lotus Lounge, but seeing her… those eyes, those black lips, it felt like home. And a wave of anemoia hit him so hard that it was nearly impossible to breathe. So, instead, he was taking her to the one place in this world that actually felt like home.
Her face leaned against his back, her breathing calm as she traced lazy circles with her fingers on his ribcage. Yeah, he didn’t want to share her with a crowd tonight. Instead, he stopped in front of the abandoned factory. Taking a deep breath.
She slid off the bike and stared up at the six-story building, hands on her hips.
“Is this where you kill me?” she teased with raised eyebrows.
He, leaning his forearms on the handlebar, shook his head slowly from side to side.
“This is my… safe space,” he said, watching her reaction.
“And…” she seemed to search for the words. “And you brought me here?”
Something shattered around his heart at the sight of understanding in her eyes. He had a feeling she would understand. You didn’t live the lives they led without seeing some serious shit. And sometimes, you needed a place away from it all to clear your head. This building was his escape for so many reasons.
Getting off his bike, he took her hand and led her through the side door, locking it behind them with a deadbolt. He admired the fact that she didn’t even flinch as the sound echoed through the empty ground floor.
She took a step, but he held her back, his ears strained and eyes searching through the darkness. She glanced at him, and she must have realized what he was
doing as she froze and copied him.
Could it be that easy? Had he found someone who understood him so effortlessly? Her eyes said she did. She might have teased him about his need for security, but without questioning, she followed suit. She didn’t pry, she didn’t question, she just… understood.
Only when he was satisfied that they were alone, did he lead her to the steel stairs on the other side of the open space.
Neither spoke a word as he led her to the office. He only retrieved the cooler Gunnar and Dennis had left there earlier, thankful that they had. She waited by the door for him, his heart aching when she held out her hand again for him to lead the way. He laced his fingers through hers, which felt like the most natural thing, yet the contact set his skin on fire when his calloused hand cradled hers.
He led her all the way up the six flights of stairs, and only when they exited through the rooftop door did she break the silence.
“Wow,” she whispered, staring at the city stretching out before them.
The city lights blinked like a million little stars in the night sky. He walked her to the old couch at the edge of the roof. Sitting down, he patted the cushion next to him, but to his surprise, she crawled onto his lap. With her back against the armrest, she stretched her legs across his legs to the cushion he had just offered her.
For a long while, they just sat in each other’s presence and stared at the city. He finally allowed himself to look at her. He could see how her mind raced, but still, she didn’t pry, giving him his space.
“I come here,” he heard himself say, his voice alien, needing to break the silence. “When things get to be too much. When I just need to escape.” His throat felt raw, and he tried to swallow the emotions away.
“I get that,” she whispered, eyes locked on the distant horizon. “I have my own rooftop, so to speak.”
“I used to come here with my brother when we were kids.” He didn’t know why he was sharing so much of himself. He had never told anyone about his brother, but he wanted to tell her. “Now I share it with my chosen brothers.”
She turned to him and placed a palm on his face. Leaning into her touch, he closed his eyes and savored the heat of her skin.
“I’m sorry for your loss,” she murmured.
He opened his eyes and found hers an inch away, their breaths mingling in the intimate space between them. The unspoken understanding in her eyes was almost too much to bear; the pain, the loss, the longing—they mirrored his own. He didn’t need words to convey what he felt; she simply knew.
He leaned in, his heart pounding in his chest, and pressed his lips to hers. It was as if the world around them dissolved, leaving only the searing heat of their connection. Her lips parted for him, and he deepened the
kiss, losing himself in the taste of her, the feel of her. Every rational thought evaporated, replaced by a primal need that surged through him like wildfire.
His hand found the curve of her hip, pulling her closer until there was no space left between them. She responded with equal fervor, her arms winding around his neck, fingers tangling in his hair as she pressed herself against him. The soft moan that escaped her lips was a symphony, driving him further into madness.
He needed more—more of her touch, her taste, her very essence. He craved her in ways he couldn’t put into words. Their tongues danced, and she welcomed him deeper, her body shivering in his embrace. A growl rumbled from his chest, an involuntary response to the sheer pleasure of her submission.
With a desperate need, he slid his hand up her leg, his fingers caressing the soft skin of her thigh. He pulled her closer, their bodies melded together, and the fire inside him blazed hotter. Her soft gasp sent a jolt of electricity through him, and he felt the last vestiges of control slip away.
Scooping her into his arms, he stood, carrying her effortlessly as he moved toward the door. The world around them was a blur; all that mattered was the woman in his arms. He only broke the kiss long enough to open the door, his gaze never leaving hers. The intensity of his desire was reflected back at him in her eyes.
He carried her down the stairs, his steps steady despite the storm raging inside him. The cooler by the couch, the mundane details of the world—they faded into insignificance. She was all he wanted, all he needed, and he couldn’t bear to wait another moment.
At the bottom of the first flight of stairs, he paused, allowing her to slip from his arms but keeping her close. He cupped her face, his thumb brushing over her cheek as he captured her lips once more. This kiss was different, slower, filled with a tenderness that contrasted the urgency of moments before.
He pressed his body against hers, feeling the way her breath hitched as she lost her balance. Her back hit the door with a soft thud, but she didn’t break the kiss. His hands slid down her spine, the heat of her skin seeping through her clothes and branding his fingertips. When he reached her ass, he squeezed, lifting her effortlessly. Her gasp was swallowed by his mouth as he pressed her harder against the door.
She instinctively wrapped her legs around his waist, her heels digging into his lower back, pulling him closer. His hardness ground against her core, and a soft moan escaped her lips, vibrating against his mouth. The sound drove him wild, a growl rumbling deep in his chest. He swallowed her moans, his kisses growing more urgent, more demanding.
Their tongues danced, each stroke more desperate than the last, matching the wild rhythm of their heartbeats. He couldn’t get enough of her, the taste of her,
the feel of her. His need for her was primal, feral, consuming every rational thought.
With a sudden move, he slid the door open and stepped into the darkness of his home, never breaking their kiss. The little voice in the back of his mind whispered that he had never done this before, that he had never brought a woman here. This place, his sanctuary, was sacred. Untouched.
About fucking time, I found someone I wanted to bring here , he thought, silencing the voice.
He carried her inside, his steps unsteady with desire. The world outside faded, leaving only the heat between them. Her nails raked his back, her breath hot against his ear, and he shivered, the sensation a heady mix of pleasure and pain.
In the dim light of his home, he saw her eyes, dark with desire, reflecting his own. He pressed her against the nearest wall, his body flush with hers, and kissed her again, harder this time, more insistent. She arched into him, her hips grinding against his, and he felt himself unravel.
Every touch, every kiss, every breath was a declaration of his need, his desire, his unyielding… he didn’t know what.
As he stepped onto the polished concrete floors, the echo of their heavy breaths filled the industrial space. Carrying her to his bed, a simple mattress perched on wooden pallets, the moonlight streaming through the
expansive windows cast a silvery glow over the room, highlighting the exposed ductwork and beams that framed the high ceilings.
He set her down gently on her feet next to the bed, their lips never fully parting. When they did, it was to trace a line of kisses along her jaw, each touch sending shivers down her spine. His lips moved to her neck, and she tilted her head, offering him the tender spot below her ear. Her breath came in sharp, uneven bursts, her fingers tangling in his hair, pulling him closer, harder. His teeth grazed her skin, a teasing promise of what was to come.
His mind was a whirlwind of desire, each thought consumed with the need to feel her, taste her, claim her on every surface of his apartment. He imagined the way her body would arch, the way her voice would break into a scream of his name as he pushed her to the edge and beyond. The vision of her, wet and tight around him, made his pulse race, his breath hitch.
With one hand cradling the back of her neck, he pulled her into a searing kiss, the hunger in him raw and unrestrained. Her fingers tightened in his hair, while her other hand traced a slow, tortuous path over his hip bone. She came to rest on the bulge straining against his jeans, her palm applying a delicious pressure that made him groan.
“Fuck,” the word tore from his chest, a primal plea for release. The intensity of his need for her was almost painful, each second a sweet agony. He felt her smile against his lips, a knowing, wicked curve, as she pressed harder, her touch sending waves of pleasure through him.
He stepped back, his forehead resting against hers as he wrapped his fingers around her wrist. Not to pull her hand away but to still her and center himself. The touch, even with fabric as a barrier, nearly sent him over the edge.
“You sure this is what you want?” His voice was raspy as he struggled to keep his hands to himself.
Her only answer was with her hands. Grabbing the hem of his shirt, she pulled it over his head and threw it to the floor. Black nails trailed over his chest, making every hair on his body stand up straight as she stood on her toes to kiss him again.
His hands moved with purpose, one sliding up her back, under her shirt, feeling the heat of her skin against his palm. The other traced the curve of her waist, pulling her closer, until there was no space left between them. He could feel her heartbeat, rapid and insistent, mirroring his own.
Her breath hitched again as his fingers brushed the underside of her breast, and he reveled in the soft gasp that followed. Every sound she made, every touch she gave, only fueled his desire, pushing him closer to the edge of his control.
He broke the kiss, just long enough to look into her eyes, dark and filled with the same desperate need he felt. There was a moment of perfect understanding, of shared
hunger, before he captured her lips again, more fiercely than before. He knew then, without a doubt, that he would never tire of this, of her, of the way she made him feel alive, as if nothing else in the world mattered but them, here, now, in this moment of raw, unbridled passion.
He didn’t know how it had happened. One moment, they were lost in the heat of the moment; the next, he was staring into her emerald-green eyes, her naked body trembling beneath his. Vaguely, he remembered the feel of her shirt beneath his fingers, the fabric giving way as he tore it open, buttons scattering like raindrops in a storm. There had been no room for restraint, no patience for careful undressing. Their clothes lay discarded on the floor, forgotten in the frenzy of their lips and bodies colliding.
Now, with the world narrowed to just the two of them, he couldn’t look away from her eyes. They were dark with desire, pleading silently. His hand moved between them, his fingers wrapping around his length, and he slowly dragged the tip of his cock through her slick heat. Her breath caught, and she bit her lip, the sight driving him mad. He did it again, watching her squirm, her eyes silently begging for more.
He inched deeper, the sensation overwhelming, but he kept his gaze locked on hers, searching for any sign of discomfort. Her back arched, a soft moan escaping her lips, and the pure, unfiltered pleasure on her face shattered his last vestige of control.
He shifted, bracing his weight on one elbow as his other hand slipped from his shaft to the hollow behind her knee.
Pushing her leg back, opening her further, he plunged into her, burying himself to the hilt. Her warmth enveloped him, her wetness slick and inviting, and the feeling was nothing short of intoxicating. Her breath hitched, her fingers digging into his back, urging him on.
He paused for a heartbeat, savoring the moment, the way her body clenched around him, the way her eyes fluttered closed, lost in the sensation.
Then he moved, each thrust slow and deliberate, driving them both to the brink. Her nails raked his skin, her hips rising to meet his, their movements a synchronized dance of need and desire.
The room filled with the sounds of their passion, gasps, and moans mingling with the rhythmic slap of skin against skin. He watched her, mesmerized by the play of emotions across her face, the way her mouth parted with each thrust, the way her eyes darkened with every surge of pleasure.
She was his everything in that moment, her body, her soul, every inch of her laid bare before him. He wanted to claim her, to make her his in every possible way, to show her just how deeply he felt. With each movement, he poured his heart into her, his desire, his longing, his unspoken words.
And she met him with equal fervor, her body arching into his, her voice a symphony of need. They moved together, a seamless blend of passion and tenderness, pushing each other higher, deeper, until the world outside ceased to exist.
A moan from her reverberated through his whole body, and he pulled out in a slow, torturous movement. Her nails dug into his back, drawing a roar of pleasure from deep within his chest. He plunged back in, burying himself in her wet heat, her walls clamping down on him like a vice.
“Oh, god,” she moaned into his ear, her voice a symphony of need, driving him wild. He picked up the pace, thrusting faster, harder, deeper, each movement a testament to his desire. Her breath came in ragged gasps, her body arching to meet his, and he could feel her building toward release.
Again and again, he drove into her, their bodies moving in perfect harmony. Her moans became cries of pleasure, and he could see the ecstasy in her eyes as she threw her head back, her eyes rolling with bliss. He kept his rhythm, pushing her, until she shuddered beneath him, her orgasm crashing over her like a wave.
He slowed, waiting for her to catch her breath, his hand tenderly wiping a midnight strand of hair away from her face. She was beyond beautiful, her hair forming a dark halo on his pillow, her lipstick smeared to the point of almost nonexistent. Those emerald green eyes never left his, holding him captive in their depths.
At that moment, he knew he was lost. She had come out of nowhere and completely knocked him out, breaking through every barrier he had ever erected. The thought alone pushed him to the brink, and he filled her again, maintaining his rhythm as he edged closer to his own release. But he wasn’t ready to let go until he made sure she joined him over the edge once more.
He felt her tighten around him, her body responding to his every move. Her fingers dug into his shoulders, her breath hot against his neck, and he knew she was close. With a few more powerful thrusts, he pushed her over the edge, her body convulsing around him, pulling him into her ecstasy.
When he finally let go, it was with a shuddering release, his body tensing before collapsing against hers. He buried his face in the crook of her neck, breathing in her scent, his heart pounding in time with hers. She held him close, her fingers threading through his hair, her touch a balm to his soul.
In her arms, in her heart, he had found everything he had ever wanted, everything he would ever need. The world outside ceased to exist, leaving only the two of them, entwined in a moment of pure, unadulterated bliss.
He knew, without a doubt, that this was home.
She was his home.