Page 68 of Devotion

“I want tocome!” I’m making the weirdest sounds now as I rock eagerly to meet his thrusts. Helpless and whiny and not far from little sobs. “Why can’t I?”

“You can. You will.” His face is tenser than I’ve ever seen it. He must be trying so hard not to come before I do. “You don’t have to force it. You can trust me. Jess, trust me.”

I do trust him. With everything. And he’s never let me down. “I do,” I choke out as my body starts shaking helplessly.My pussy has clamped down around his cock. It aches. Almost hurts. But it also feels so good, soneeded.

The coiled tension inside me finally breaks. I cry out as the orgasm shudders through me.

It pulls Gabriel over the edge too. He makes a sound of agonized relief that matches mine as he falls out of rhythm, pushing into me with fast, hard jerks of his hips just before he yanks his cock out of me.

He keeps rocking into me with his cock trapped between our bodies. He comes like that, moaning hoarsely as his body is wracked with the spasms of release.

He falls on top of me, and we stay like that for a long time, shaking through little afterquakes and panting until we catch our breath.

I’ve finally stopped digging my fingernails into his skin and stroke the nail marks gently. He lifts his head, smiling with small tilts at the corners of his mouth. I smile back.

“How do you feel?” he asks, his eyes scouring my face, searching for signs of my response to what we just did.

“I feel good. Kind of sore if you want to know the truth. But also really good. It feels different than with your fingers.”

“I know.” He leans down to kiss me again. “It feels different to me too.”

17

For the next month,Gabriel and I have sex every morning after his swim. Sometimes he doesn’t even want a massage beforehand. He rushes through his shower, barely even dry as he emerges from the bathroom and drags me over to the bed.

It’s surprising. And thrilling. It’s not simply a physical release he’s after. It can’t be. He’s had that from me all these months—twice a day—and he’s never acted like this.

He wantsme.

He has to.

I don’t know any other way to understand his behavior.

Naturally, our relationship will always be defined by the bounds of the partner agreement. I’m not his wife or his girlfriend or his life mate. But there’s more between us than him getting a physical release. It goes deeper than that now.

This knowledge, when coupled with my family’s move to more secure circumstances, makes these few weeks the best in my entire life.

Nothing else even comes close.

Gabriel was able to negotiate for my getting two days off a month if I give up my weekly free hours, so on the Saturdaymorning of my first free weekend—my 177th day as Gabriel’s partner—I pack an overnight bag for the trip while he swims.

I’m excited. And not only because I get to see my family today.

I’ve never left the Capital before. I’ve never seen any other place in the world. And this morning a hired motor will drive me to Saint Louis.

I don’t even have to pay for it. The vehicle fee is supposed to be taken from my monthly earnings, but Gabriel insisted on paying for it himself. No objection on my part would sway him, so I gave up arguing about it.

The man is stubborn. And he takes his responsibilities seriously. He’s going to pay for my visit every month whether I want him to or not.

I finish packing forty minutes before the motor is scheduled to arrive. Gabriel isn’t back from the pool yet. Since it’s my day off, he’s no doubt assuming we won’t have sex like normal.

It’s a small disappointment but not one I let matter. There are far too many other things for me to be happy about right now.

I step into the bathroom to twist my hair up into the neat bun I still wear whenever I’m in public. Since I’m dressed and it’s not a private activity, I leave the door open so I can hear when Gabriel returns.

He must be quieter than I expected, because I jump when he’s suddenly striding into the bathroom as I’m sliding the first pin into my hair.

The salty scent of him hits me as I recover from my surprise. I beam at him in the mirror as he stands behind me. His hair is wet.

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