14. Dave
14
Dave
A s Alexia’s head rests on my chest, the euphoria begins to settle, and a nagging thought surfaces. I tilt my head back, sucking in a deep breath. It feels almost unnatural to break the peaceful silence, but I need to say it.
“Alexia,” I say softly, brushing a strand of hair from her cheek. She pulls her head up. Her eyes meet mine, softened in the aftermath of the intense moments we’ve just shared. I press a kiss to the top of her head, stalling as I gather my thoughts. “I got too carried away just now. We didn’t use protection.” The words taste bitter on my tongue, but they’re necessary.
Her brow furrows, though the corner of her mouth twitches in the hint of a smile. “We did get carried away, didn’t we?” she says, but there’s something in her voice that’s off. It’s playful on the surface, but her eyes flicker, her smile not quite reaching them. There’s a touch of something unreadable in her gaze. She’s holding something back. My chest tightens at the thought that she isn’t fully here with me, even now. I’ve known Alexia long enough to recognize when she’s hiding behind a mask, but I don’t press. Not yet. Not when the moment still feels too fragile.
I need her to know that I don’t take risks like this lightly. “I’ve just had my physical exams done. Clean bill of health.” I lift a hand, rubbing the back against her cheek. “I should’ve been more careful, though. Sorry. I hope that’s okay with you.”
She looks away for a moment, her hand idly tracing a pattern on my chest, fingers dancing over the outline of a tattoo. But her touch feels distracted, like she’s somewhere else entirely. “It’s okay,” she says quietly, her eyes returning to mine—calm but distant. There’s a storm behind them, something she’s not ready to let me see.
What is it, Alexia? What are you hiding? I want to ask, but the words get stuck in my throat. She’s like a locked door I haven’t been able to open in years.
But she’s been through hell with Igor. It must be it that’s going through her mind right now.
“Don’t worry.” Her voice is steady, and I see something flicker in her eyes—something she’s not ready to say yet. “I’m clean too.”
The relief hits me instantly, and I let out a breath I didn’t know I was holding. “Good. That’s great, in fact.” I pull her closer, her warmth seeping into me as I tighten my arms around her.
Alexia nestles deeper into my embrace, her fingers continue tracing gentle patterns on my skin. But the way she stills slightly tells me there’s more she isn’t telling me. There’s an unspoken tension between us, a quiet hesitation in her touch, but I don’t push. Not now. Her heartbeat slows, matching mine, and I know, despite the doubts lingering in the back of my mind, that this moment between us is real. Whatever she’s hiding, I can wait for it to unravel in its own time.
For now, I’ll lock the real world out and pretend everything is fine. I squeeze my eyes shut, relaxing into her warmth. I relish the fact that I’m holding her against my chest again. My heart swells at the realization that I have my Sandy back where she belongs. And I’ll be damned if I let her go again.
A fter a brief, restorative nap, we stir back into consciousness and get up from the sofa. I find my pants, pull them up, and scoop Alexia into my arms. Her high-pitched shriek of surprise and delighted laughter sets a fire deep inside me. It’s like the last five years never happened. It’s like we’re still that man and that woman who fell in love and made plans for our happily ever after.
I press a hot, quick kiss on her smiling lips. “Tonight, it’s only you and me. There’s no world outside these walls.” She blinks a couple of times, her lips quiver, and for a moment, I see the uncertainty flickering in her eyes—the part of her that’s still unsure, still afraid of what happens when this moment ends. I want to say something to ease that fear, but instead, I slip on my dominant mask, leaning into the role I know too well. “Promise me,” I plead, though the words feel like armor, hiding the softer side of me she once knew.
She nods.
I lift an eyebrow.
“I promise,” Alexia murmurs.
“Promise what, pet?”
Realization gleams in her hazel eyes before she casts them to my chest. “It’s only you and me, Sir.” Her gaze flicks back to mine for an intense second. She dips her head and adds, “Nothing else matters.”
“Look at me.” When she does, I confirm my suspicions. She feels the same way I do about this moment. Yet I need to hear the words from her. “Alexia, no role-playing now. For this night, at least, I want us to be free and wild like we used to. Nothing is out of limits. You’re with me?”
“A hundred percent.”
I lean in and she meets my lips halfway. Time and space freeze as we devour each other in a hungry kiss. It’s part heartbreaking longing and part desperate hope. She tangles her fingers in my hair, pulling me closer. I crush her body against me, as if I could absorb her.
As blood rushes through my body, the control I’ve held onto begins to unravel. I pull away, gasping for air. For a second, I let my forehead rest against hers, as if I could hide the emotions flooding me—the fear of losing her again, the hope that this night could fix what was broken years ago. I force a smile, pushing down the flood of feelings. “Better take this upstairs,” I grunt, trying to sound in control, even as everything inside me teeters on the edge.
“Yes, Sir.” The naughty woman winks.
I break a couple of world records as I rush out of the room, down the corridor, and climb the stairs to my bedroom. Once inside, I lock the door behind us. Alexia slides down my body to stand in front of me, and we get rid of the few items of clothing we still have on.
“Be still,” I order, moving around her in slow steps, scanning her glorious nakedness.
Stopping in front of her again, I dip my head until my lips hover over the sweet spot under her earlobe. I take a deep inhale that fills my lungs with the heady scent of her arousal. “Intoxicating,” I whisper against her skin.
I straighten my back and smirk at the sight of the goosebumps raising the fine hair on her arms. Her hard nipples beg for attention. So I oblige. Rolling one between my fingers, I pull the other inside my mouth. Moaning, I suck at it like Alexia is the finest delicacy.
Because she is.
Taking pity at her strangled groans, I grant her some leeway, “You may move and touch me.”
She sinks her fingernails into the flesh of my shoulders as I switch sides. I pinch the now-wet nipple and cover the other with my lips. I flick it with my tongue while tweaking the other. My cock throbs in tandem with my sucking of her sweetness.
Her trembling body and rapid breathing indicate she’s nearing her limit. I know Alexia can come just from me playing with her breasts. I’ve done that multiple times in the past. I abandon them and take a step back.
Confusion and dismay flash in her eyes when they meet mine.
“We don’t want this to end so soon, do we?”
“No, Sir.”
Her whispered reply is so sexy I clench my fists to keep myself in check.
I stretch a hand and wrap my fingers around her delicate wrists. I pull her close, feeling her pulse beneath my fingertips—a rhythm that’s quick and matches the wild look in her eyes. There’s a spark of something fierce in them, something that refuses to be tamed.
With the tip of my index finger, I trace the line of her jaw, the elegant column of her neck, until I reach the hollow of her throat. I press it there, feeling every quickened heartbeat underneath.
“I do this to you.”
“You do, Sir.”
Grinning, I breathe, “That wasn’t a question.”
A surge of something dark, something primal, burns my veins. It’s the knowledge of the power I hold, the control I wield over her body, and the responsibility that comes with it.
Her eyes drop to the purple tip of my cock, glistening between us.
She glides her tongue along her lower lip.
“Fuck, you’re good,” I grunt.
She chews at her mouth to keep a smile in. I let it slide because she’s right to be proud of her own power over me.
“Say you’re mine,” I demand.
Her eyes beam at me, and for a moment, the fire that drew me to her all those years ago is back. It’s the same flame that makes me celebrate each time she surrenders control to me.
“I’m yours.”
As my heartbeats skyrocket, I lift her into my arms, carrying her to the bed, laying her down with a gentleness that belies my urgency. She watches me, her hazel eyes turned dark by raw desire.
It matches mine.
I settle beside her, my hand sliding over her hip, tracing the curve of her waist, the dip of her spine. She shivers beneath my touch. I press my mouth to hers, a kiss that’s a claim laced with affection, a demand disguised as invitation.
She kisses me back, fierce and hungry, her hands pulling me closer. Her body melts against mine, soft and yielding in a way that makes my blood pound, makes my head spin. I deepen the kiss, letting my hands roam over her body, relearning the curves that I once knew by heart. She’s changed since then, but so have I. As I hold her close, a familiar sense of possession floods my mind and soul.
I pull back, enough to see the way her chest rises and falls, the way her lips are swollen and red from our kisses. There’s a flush on her cheeks, a gleam in her eyes. She’s as affected by this as I am.
“You’re mine,” I say again, a quiet declaration that holds all the weight of a thousand unspoken words.
And she nods, just once, a barely-there motion that makes my pulse race, that reminds me of why I don’t want to let her go ever again.
Then, she breathes out a quiet “Yes, Sir,” and the sound of it sends a thrill through me.
I pin her hands above her head with one hand, pressing her back into the mattress. Her body yields beneath mine, but it’s my own resolve that feels fragile—like I’m the one being laid bare. I tighten my grip, trying to hold onto the control I always need, but with her, it’s slipping. She’s slipping through my fingers again, and I can’t let that happen.
Alexia shudders. Her breath quickens as I let my other hand wander, tracing the line of her ribs, the dip of her waist. My hands roam over her body, marking her with a touch that’s both possessive and reverent.
She’s soft beneath my touch, yielding in a way that makes my blood surge, that makes me want to push her further, to test just how far she’s willing to go.
“Part your legs for me,” I tell her.
When she obeys, I settle between them, pinning her hips with my weight. With my free hand, I cup her heated sex, teasing and rubbing. She squirms and moans under me. I bring her to the edge before pulling back, savoring the way she gasps, the way she arches her body off the bed, the way she strains against the hand that holds hers in place.
Her eyes flutter, her breath coming in quick, shallow bursts as I push her further, as I test her limits in a game of control and surrender that leaves us both breathless and wanting more.
“Please!” she begs, fighting to lift her eyelids and focus on me.
My erection has turned so painful it’s hard to articulate words. I lean down and rub my nose along hers.
“What is it, pet?” I manage to gasp against her parted lips.
“I need to come, Dave, please,” she whispers, breaking the role-play, her voice raw and full of need.
Hearing her call me by my name—not “Sir,” but just Dave, the man she once loved— cracks something open in me, something I thought I’d buried.
“Me too,” I confess, my voice rasping with emotion I can’t hide.
This isn’t just sex anymore. It’s everything we’ve lost, everything we’re trying to rebuild.
I sear our lips together, releasing her hands and lifting her knee as I thrust my hips forward. She’s so wet that I slide fully in to the hilt. I’m wide and her tight walls grip me, enveloping my cock in their warmth. I still for a couple of beats, waiting for her body to adjust.
Her nails rake my scalp, pulling at my hair as she wraps her legs around my waist and dig her heels into my ass.
I come up for air and confess, “God, I missed this.”
Her chuckles connect to my lighter side, the one I thought I’d killed and buried a long time ago. My youthful self makes a comeback. And for tonight, I allow this part of me to roam free.
She frames my face and whispers, “I missed us so goddamn much.”
Locking eyes, we move together, finding a rhythm that is both familiar and new, a dance that’s as much about trust as it is about desire.
She’s fire and ice, soft and strong, breaking and unbreakable all at once. And as I hold her, as I lose myself in her, I realize that this is where I belong. This is where I’ve always belonged, even if it took me years to realize that.
Her sex vibrates around my erection and I speed up my thrusts, eager to reach the climax with her.
“Wait!” I growl when she throws her head back, rolling her eyes before closing them. “Look at me.”
She obeys and I dive into the pools of fire staring back at me.
“Fuck, you’re gorgeous.”
Her thighs trap my hips like a vise, and her staccato breathing marks each word as she enunciates them, “So. Are. You.”
Pleasure, white-hot and fierce, burns my veins as an earth-shattering orgasm takes over control.
“Come for me,” I order as I cover her mouth with mine.
We soar together in a blur of sensation, a tangle of limbs, and a million whispers. I unload my seed deep inside her until there’s nothing left in me. But I keep pumping my hips, rejoicing at the way her sex squeezes me before releasing me again. Her loud moans, her eyes shut tightly, and her head swinging from side to side are a vision of abandon and passion. The waves of pleasure continue to make her body quiver under mine while I sprinkle kisses on her forehead, cheeks, and nose.
“Thank you,” she rasps, gazing at me through half-opened eyelids.
“My absolute pleasure.”
I roll to my back, pulling her up my chest and draping an arm around her shoulders. She nestles her cheek over my heart, and I feel her smile against my fevered skin even if I can’t see it.
I smooth my hands along her back, from her nape to her ass, memorizing every inch of her. As the full moon casts a bluish light through the windows, I watch as Alexia sleeps. Her face is soft, unguarded, a stark contrast to the fierce woman I used to know. I reach out, tracing the curve of her cheek, the line of her neck, the faint lines of her scars. They tell a horror story. I can’t help but admire her for surviving it. I also will never forgive the monster who treated her like this. He took someone as pure and innocent as my Sandy used to be and broke her. He violated her body and tried to break her soul. But she’s stronger than even I’d ever imagined.
A wave of protectiveness as powerful as a tsunami surges in my chest, but it’s more than that. It’s not just about keeping her safe from the ghosts that haunt her, from the evil that still hunts her. It’s about facing my own fears—the fear that I might not be enough to save her, that I’ll fail her again like I did before. I wasn’t there to stop Igor from breaking her. As I watch her sleep, so unguarded, the weight of what’s still unspoken between us crushes me.
But for now, I push it aside.
For now, I’ll pretend that I can keep her here, in this moment, forever.
That I can make her mine again.
Because she is mine.
And I am hers.
And no matter what battles we face or what shadows lurk on the horizon, I know that we belong together.
Always and forever. Alexia and I made this promise all those years ago, when we fell in love and believed in happy endings.
We also promised that we wouldn’t let anything or anyone set us apart.
Life proved us wrong then.
Now, it’s giving me a second chance at it.
I won’t let it pass me by.