Page 89 of Our Radiant Embers

I wedged a hand between us. Glorious friction as I closed my fingers around my cock, the leather bracelet sliding against the sensitive skin of my wrist.

Liam’s rhythm grew choppier, circling his hips to press into me, exhalations ragged. “Please tell me you’re close?”

“Yes.” I let my eyes slide shut, electricity shuddering through my veins. “So close.”

“Good boy.” Even though it carried humour, his voice was rougher than usual, breathless around the edges. I grappled for words.

“More praise?”

“Always.” His lips brushed a damp kiss against my ankle before he shifted his weight. Propped up above me on one arm, his free hand joined mine right as he drove into me, the angle slightly different, his fingers slick with lube—and that was it, God, I was done. A wave of pleasure pulled me up and under.

Spinning through the fall. I was dimly aware of Liam giving a couple of final, hard thrusts, groaning as my legs clenched around him. My magic danced down the line of his back.

Seconds lost between us. Everything was bright and radiant.

The ebb and swell of the sea. Rustling leaves outside my window. Our breathing and tangled bodies, my arms around his back.

“You all right?” he mumbled against my collarbone, lips tickling my skin.

“I’m brilliant.”

He raised his head for a smile, face flushed and beautiful. I knew I’d have to let him go eventually. But for now, I smiled back and kept holding on to him, to this moment.

* * *

I’d never thought I’d be waking up next to someone.

Hazy morning light filtered through the shutters as I drifted awake. I wasn’t sure what registered first—the warmth and weight of another body or the calm, gentle pattern of Liam’s breathing. When I opened my eyes, it was to find him watching me.

“Creep,” I mumbled, soft like an endearment.

His eyes crinkled at the corners. “Got to enjoy this while I can.”

I didn’t want to think about time limits, wasn’t ready to face reality. So I leaned into him for an unhurried kiss, warm and familiar already, closed mouths in tribute to morning breath.

We brushed our teeth side by side in the bathroom closest to my room, hips bumping, before we moved into the kitchen. I made coffee for us, just like I’d done the other mornings here—but now Liam hugged me from behind, nosing at the nape of my neck. Wrapped up in jackets, we took our mugs outside, not really talking as we gazed at the charcoal sea.

After a proper breakfast that I helped cook, the omelette ending up on the crisp side, we fell back into bed. Liam talked me through working him open, and when I finally pushed into him, it was…God. It was the best thing. Other than last night, perhaps.

Packing up the car felt like reality slowly seeping in through the cracks of our beautiful lie. The trunk closed with a thud that echoed along my spine. When Liam leaned against the hood of the car and took a moment to simply look at me, I held his eyes, words intangible, slipping from my grasp as I tried to reach for them.

“This doesn’t end here, does it?” His voice mirrored the misty day.

I waited for the dizzy tug in my stomach to fade, then stepped into his space. “No. It doesn’t.”

“How do we do this?”

“I don’t know.” I fitted my chin into the crook of his shoulder. “I just know I don’t want it to end.”

His arm slid around me, one hand tucked into the back pocket of my jeans. “Then we’ll figure it out.”

I nodded and brought my own arms up around him, hugging him as I closed my eyes and told myself that yes, we would.

The trip back started with meandering country views and bored sheep. Although I drove more slowly than I usually would, we inevitably hit a major road and then the motorway. We stopped at a petrol station even though the tank was half full, grabbed awful coffee and some nuts. When Liam took a toilet break, I snagged a napkin, scribbled a message onto thin paper that nearly tore under my pen, and tucked the note into his bag.

London loomed, thickening traffic its harbinger. My lungs seemed to constrict as the city crowded closer. Yesterday, I’d ignored all birthday messages other than those from Cassandra and Gale, but now reality washed over me again. This was my life. Not beach runs and playful bickering over coffee, nor falling asleep with Liam slotted up behind me and waking up to him still there.

He was quiet in the passenger seat, the line of his mouth drawn tight. I couldn’t read his thoughts. Did he regret me already?

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