Page 36 of Citadel

He reaches down and grabs one of my hands, holding it tightly, gripping it like he did on the cliff, like he’ll never let it go.

After a few minutes, with his free hand, he takes my head and pulls me into a messy kiss. I’m still feeling so good I sob against his mouth.

Then he makes an unexpected move, and his cock slides out from inside me. It’s squeezed between our bodies as he jerks against me tight and hard. He’s coming, I suddenly realize. Soft and rough and deliciously carnal. He squeezes my hand so tightly it aches.

When he finally pulls back, his come is smeared between our bodies. We both collapse onto the bed, gasping and looking at each other.

I’ve never felt like this before. Not just physically sated. But connected.

Connected.

And completely safe in that connection.

He gets up after a minute and wets a hand towel to clean us both up. When he lies back down, I cuddle against him.

“That was… good.” That’s a massive understatement, but I’m not sure what other word to use.

He gives that soft huff of amusement. “Yeah. Yeah, it was.”

I snuggle into him, nuzzling his chest. He’s got one arm around me, but I want him to hold me tighter.

“You feel okay? Sore or anything?”

“Maybe a little, but not much. You didn’t hurt me.”

“You should have told me.”

“I didn’t have to tell you if I didn’t want to.”

He huffs again.

“This is what I wanted,” I add, tilting my head to so I can read his expression. He looks relaxed. Softer than normal. Flushed and warm and kind of sleepy. “Maybe we can do it again.”

He strokes my head softly. “Maybe.”

I hide my face to say one more thing. “Maybe you’ll want to stay.”

There’s a longer pause this time. Then, “Maybe.”

It’s enough. It’s a possibility. I smile and relax against him, and it’s only a minute or two before I fall asleep.

* * *

I wake up a few hours later, happy and excited. He’s still asleep beside me, so I kiss him and crawl out of bed.

I need to return to our room before Breanna wakes up or she’ll worry.

Breanna is still sleeping when I climb back in bed. I get a few more hours of sleep before morning.

As soon as I’m dressed, I go to Cole’s room and knock on the door.

No one answers.

I try the knob and it opens easily.

The room is empty.

Not just empty of Cole. Empty of all his stuff.

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