Page 87 of The Sound Of Us

I grab the crate and only relax my nerves when Ben’s car disappears down the road.

Opening the door, I let Pepper and myself in.

Pepper drops the box gently onto the floor. I return the money to the cash register and carry the crate to the storeroom. Then I retrieve my secret phone to let Eli know I’m at the bookstore.

He replies with, I’m nearly done. On my way. No cameras, right?

Me: No cameras. Can you park over at David Shapiro’s parking space and come around the back?

Eli: Anything for you.

The smile caused by Eli’s last text is still there, even after I’ve packed all the books back into their places.

My heart joins in the happiness when Eli’s next text comes through. I’m near the back door.

I rush to the side where we receive stock and unlock the door just as Eli steps up on the last step.

There isn’t even half a second of greeting.

Eli drops a bag onto the floor and then pushes me back, slamming the door shut with his foot. Crushing his lips to mine, he kisses me so hard I feel the grind of his teeth against mine.

He drops his hands from my face, dragging them down my sides, and pulls my hips into his.

His erection presses into my stomach and I push into it, wanting, needing his hot, naked flesh on me as soon as possible. My hands race over his body, and I pull him with me toward the storeroom, our lips still locked together.

Pepper whines softly, but Eli came prepared. He pauses long enough to get the massive bones out of the bag, and Pepper is no longer guilty of third-wheeling.

I push the storeroom door closed and reach for Eli again. We come together like two oceans meeting—you can’t tell one from the other. We’re one, fused and flowing.

“Here?” I ask. “Is here fine?”

He nods and signs rapidly. I don’t understand. So he does it slower. You are mine. You’re beautiful. I’m hungry for you.

I laugh. “I’m hungry for you too, Eli. I’m starving. I’ve been starving my whole life. Starving for this. Starving for you.”

He smiles and drops his mouth to mine again. I reach into my pocket and then press a condom and a packet of lube into his hand.

We’re about to fuck in a bookstore. How many dreams is that made of?

Chapter 48

Eli

He’ll get carpet burn. It’s a weird thought to have when I’m about to rail this man all the way into fucking next week, but also very appropriate, given our lack of bedroom furniture.

I rip his clothes off his body. No finesse, no time, no gentleness. What we have here, right now, is a kind of brutality that can only be understood by people like us. Who steal moments from those who don’t deserve to have what we have.

Axel pulls at my hair, ripping into my clothing, his desperation for me more, it seems, than mine for him.

If what we have was borne from the violence that Axel has faced, then it isn’t gentleness that he needs now, but the brutality of our passion. Not a soothing balm, but the fierceness of the fire that roars between us. Burning everything around us until all that’s left is us. Just us.

Fury for Axel’s abuse is so great I can hardly stand it, so I claim him with the brutality of my love for him, and praying from somewhere deep in my soul that his days with Frank will soon be over.

Naked, he drops to the carpeted floor, pulling me down with him. His teeth graze mine as he kisses me. I feel his sounds vibrate in his throat, the urgency in the rapid movements of his hands.

I settle on my knees between his thighs. He sits up, easing the condom from my hand. He rips it open, his movements jerky and choppy and his chest heaving. He sheathes me and then pulls me down onto him. I lube us both, and guided by our desperation and our limited time, I push into him, slowing down only enough to offer him the minimal comfort needed.

When I’m deep inside him, he lifts his hips, his body asking me to take him all the way. I move, stroking him gently at first, grinding my way through the pleasure from the way his hole grips me so tightly.

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