Chapter 24
AUTUMN
What are words anyway?
Simply letters floating aimlessly around my brain. Instead of helping me form verses and thoughts, they repel each other, keeping me victim to the devastation of how glorious it feels to have Brandon's lips and tongue pressed to my center with the same care he’d use to kiss my mouth. Delicious.
The tip of his tongue swipes through my lips and circles around my clit. Twice. The sensation is so potent that counting is the only thing grounding me to earth at this point. Otherwise, I’d be floating away like those silly little letters, whatever they’re used for.
“I knew you’d be sweeter than my favorite candy.” His thumb presses the button that has me squirming beneath him, and then he adds his tongue, circling my entrance.
“Brandon?” I whisper, pulling at his hair, knowing I can’t hang on much longer.
The heat of his hand returns to my stomach and he lifts his head. “What is it?” The dulcet tones vibrate to my core, causing me to tighten, to stop the rushing of ecstasy that wants to escape.
I look up again, needing to see his eyes, and hope I don’t see judgment lying in them. My chest sinks in relief when I only see acceptance. “It’s been a long time. A really long time.”
A grin that would have me saying yes a million times to anything he wants eases onto his lips. “It’s been a long time for me, too. Do you want to slow things down?”
“No. I just thought you should know.”
“Thanks for sharing, beautiful.” As if the pattern had never been broken, his tongue dips inside and starts to fuck me.
I wriggle, needing more, more, more, and tug at his hair to go faster. Each time I’m tempted to squirm, he keeps me pinned to the table and begins to work in a rhythm. A swipe teases me just as he reenters and starts all over again.
My breathing is ragged, the blood flow loud in my ears, as I relish every second of his mouth on me. “Feels so good.”
His stride doesn’t break, growing stronger and steadier as he takes me like I’m his to own.
Overwhelmed by the sensation, the edges of my thoughts dull, as my mind is laser-focused on the string deep inside me that’s begun to unravel.
Every lick and flick of his tongue tugs me closer to the cliff ahead.
And when a finger enters me, my toes reach the edge. I cinch my eyes, and despite my desire to hang on, all it takes is him to suck my bud to send me spiraling over. The darkness ahead turns bright and blinding as my body erupts, leaving me uninhibited and trembling to completion.
My body exhausts, and I take my first jagged breath before opening my eyes.
Cozy coffee meets the fire of scorched earth as he stares back at me.
“Do you know how goddamn magnificent that was to watch? I could feel you coming alive around me.” While the honeyed words speak to my heart, watching him lick his lips is speaking to a whole other part of my body. He kisses me.
There’s no rush in it, only building a bond that ties us together, our tongues languishing in the caress of the other.
Pulling myself away from him is one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do.
But when we do, I say, “I want you.” My chest is heavy with wanton breaths.
My eyes are locked on his as I wait impatiently for his response.
He stands so fast, bringing me with him. Another UNO card unsticks from my skin, falling behind me when we rush down the hall. Realizing I’m half naked, I pull off my top and jump into bed. I love this bed so much. The softness wraps around me as my head rests into the squish of the pillow.
Brandon grabs condoms from the nightstand and leaves them on top.
Pulling his shirt over his head, he drops it without care of where it lands.
The white bandaging is a stark reminder that we still need to be careful, even if the meds have made the pain tolerable for him.
He pushes down the loose shorts he had changed into when we got home, revealing nothing else underneath them.
He moves in confidence; each muscle highlighting the strength and control he has over his body.
Aftershocks of the orgasm are little reminders of how good it felt to be with him.
I rub my thighs together, craving more of him, and groan.
“Ugh. It’s like an ache I can’t soothe.” Flipping my head to face him again, he’s chuckling. “Hurry. I need you.”
“You need me, huh?” he asks like my body can stay in a state of flux like this all night.
Sliding his hand over my stomach, he doesn’t wait to go lower.
He just does it, slipping his fingers through my slickness and then pulling them out from under the covers to taste.
I could come all over again. Good lord, this man. “You are a needy little thing.”
He turns to grab a condom, leaving the other packs dangling over the edge of the nightstand. Ripping it open, he says, “I think you should be on top.”
I glance at his shoulder as he puts on the protection.
“I can do that.” I’ve never been a bold vixen in bed, and the lights are usually out.
But when he looks at me, I feel beautiful and sexy.
Remembering how protected I felt under his arm at the high school was an aphrodisiac.
And that sweet little kiss to my head made me feel seen, and I realized how much I had disappeared from my own life—from living, doing, and dreaming. With Brandon, I’m me again.
I kiss him before I shift on top of him.
His hand comes to rest on my bare hip, a gentle rub that has me feeling connected with him well beyond the physical.
This just completes the circle we create together.
Lifting to my knees, I maneuver over him and begin to sink down.
Putting my palms to his chest, I close my eyes and take him inch by incredible inch, breathing through each adjustment my body makes.
My body is volatile, so close to erupting.
The stretch burns, but the relief comes quickly after.
Settling into a seated position, I take another deep breath and then once more. I open my eyes to see admiration reflected at me. “I don’t know what I did to deserve you.”
“You saved a dog from a burning building.”
He chuckles, which lightens the mood, the gentle squeeze of my hip encouraging me to move. “I’d do it again.”
“I know you would.” I reach around and unclasp my bra first. I have nothing to hide from him. And when I’m bare before him, I start slow, rocking on top of him as the depth and fullness fills me like this is what I’ve been missing. “Your own safety be damned.”
“It wasn’t damned.” He sits up, wrapping his hand behind my head as he kisses me.
Our tongues swirl, and he huffs out a breath as he twitches inside me.
Pulling back, he places the gentlest kiss on my forehead before resting his against mine.
“I was the only one who didn’t have someone waiting for them at home. ”
Wrapping my arms around him, I kiss his neck and then higher near his ear, and whisper, “I would have waited for you.” My heart quickens from the confession, now realizing how different things could have turned out if .
. . Ifs don’t matter anymore. We’re together now.
I let my mind go blissfully blank as my body and soul fill with the perfection of this moment as I sink down and do it again.
Over and over. Harder and harder. Need and want colliding into each other.
His hands circle my waist, directing me faster and faster.
“Oh fuck,” he breathes with his eyes closed as he starts to jerk underneath me.
I’m laid flat on my back so fast that my hair flies into my eyes.
And to protect the injury, he rests his weight on the other arm and begins fucking me.
“You’re so good, so tight. Fuck, so amazing.
” Brushing my hair back, he doesn’t lose pace, and the stride picks up, each thrust sending me farther down the bed.
I hold his shoulder with one hand, and the side of his neck with the other. “So amazing.” The coil loosens and springs to life, and I meet him thrust for eager thrust. My moan is met with his as I pepper kisses under his jaw.
Raw.
Carnal
Punished and pleasured in equal measure.
“Don’t stop,” I plead. “I need more.” It happens fast. The pull to the abyss rips me away as my core uncoils before I can catch hold of it.
A stunning release of bright light and energy surges through every particle of my being.
The rush of ecstasy culminates in an earthquake that ripples through my body.
The last push sends Brandon falling after me. And when I land on the soft mattress, I open my arms to catch him right after. He collapses on top of me, his breathing heavy and uneven, his body tangling with mine as he recovers from the aftermath of his own bliss.
I rub his back and kiss the side of his head, but I don’t have much air left in my lungs, so I whisper, “You’re very attractive, but you’re also too heavy for me to hold much longer.” The scrape of the air through my throat coats the ending.
He chuckles and rolls to the side, his eyes closed and back flat on the bed next to me. Turning my way, he says, “I know I have a concussion, so I need you to confirm something for me.”
Already breathing easier, I smile as I run the tips of my fingers along the sweat at his hairline. “How can I help?”
“That was real, right?” Shifting onto his side, he kisses me and falls back again. “That just happened.” He doesn’t ask another question, but I can hear it lacing through his words. “Because if so, that beats playing cards any old time.”
He has me laughing this time. I find his hand between our legs and weave my fingers through his.
“It was very real.” My chest squeezes, realizing I’m talking about more than the sex.
My feelings for him are just as real. Draping my arm over my eyes, I close them and block out the light.
This is a lot to take in, especially when he doesn’t even know what happened in the past.
I turn back to him in a rush to share my heart and everything he can’t remember. He needs to know the truth, and our history. It all must be laid out on the table if we plan to move forward together. “I need to tell—”
The sound of a muffled ring travels from the living room. His attention turns toward the door, pushing up, and his eyes don’t return to mine. He says, “I need to answer that.” Instead of explaining, he leaves me lying in bed alone as he runs out the door.