Page 56 of The Master

“I’m sorry.” He came over to me before I could say anything else. “I shouldn’t have snapped at you. You’re right about all of it. None of this is your fault. It’s mine.”

“No.” I wrapped my arms around his waist and leaned against him. “No, it’s not your fault either.”

He embraced me, kissing my head. “Still, I shouldn’t have taken it out on you.”

“I’m sorry that the things I wrote are being used to make you look bad.”

He hooked his finger under my chin and tipped my head up. “You have nothing to apologize for. I’m so sorry that your personal, private thoughts are out there for anyone to read because some people are pissed at me.”

“I’m not going to lie,” I said, “it’s not exactly the best thing that’s ever happened to me. But it’s not the worst either.”

“I’ll do whatever it takes to make things right,” he promised. He bent his head and brushed his lips across mine. “Starting with giving you a proper apology.”

The heat flaring in his eyes left no doubt about the sort of ‘apology’ he had in mind. And I wasn’t about to turn down what he was offering. Not with what we would have to face at some point today. I’d do it, face this whole shitstorm with him, but it would be nice to spend a few minutes not thinking about anything except how great he could make me feel.

Without taking his eyes off me, he walked us over to the table and boosted me up onto it. I’d fallen asleep in one of his old shirts, and nothing more, which meant sliding back from the edge of the table left pretty much everything he wanted bare.

He went down to his knees, spreading my legs and hooking them over his shoulders. He kept me waiting a little longer, letting anticipation build until I was almost ready to beg him to touch me. He knew me well, though, and lowered his head just before the words could leave my mouth.

My head fell back, and I barely had the presence of mind to grab the edge of the table, my fingers instinctively curling around the wood to keep me upright. The noises that I kept making might’ve been embarrassing if I was thinking of anything other than the things Nate’s tongue was doing between my legs.

I came fast, the sudden burst of pleasure nearly painful in its intensity. All of the tension that had been winding me tighter and tighter disappeared in a rush, leaving me boneless and limp. I dropped onto the table, my brain unable to produce anything but the most basic of commands.

Nate’s hands slid over my knees and up my thighs to take hold of my hips. I couldn’t quite manage words yet, but I knew I wouldn’t be completely satisfied until he was inside me again. I gave him a thumbs up for consent, and he laughed, the sound making me smile.

When he slid inside me with one smooth motion, for several blissful seconds, the world stopped. We didn’t breathe or speak, just existed in that strange place where physics failed, and two separate beings became as close to a single entity as they ever would.

A shudder went through him, and his grip on my hips tightened. I reached for his wrists, wrapping my hands around them as he drew back, then surged forward without a pause between. I hadn’t quite recuperated enough to be able to sit up and use his body as an anchor so I could move mine, or to put my legs around his waist. Honestly, I doubted he would’ve wanted me to have any control, not when he felt like this was part of his apology. I could see it in his eyes. Everything was focused on me, even more than usual.

I knew sex wouldn’t always be the solution, that there would be arguments that we’d need to talk through, or we wouldn’t last, but sex was a place where we didn’t misunderstand each other. No matter how different our views had been at the beginning or how vast the distance between our experience levels, the physical was the place where we’d always connected without the mess of misunderstandings and baggage.

He raised my hips slightly, changing the angle of how he glided in and out of me. One hand moved to hold me at the small of my back, and the other went to where his thumb could stroke my clit in time with his thrusts. My second climax came as violently as the first, my entire body stiffening.

I tightened around him, and he followed me over the edge, slumping over me even as he emptied inside me. His cheek rested on my chest, and I could feel the heat of his skin through the soft cotton. I could feel all of him, the places we touched, and the places we didn’t.

We were going to get through this. What we had was too important to do anything else.

Thirty-Seven

Nate

As much asI loved my place, I had to admit, it felt more like a home when Ashlee was here. I knew we each needed our own space, especially this early in our relationship, but I couldn’t deny how much I was enjoying sharing my shower with her.

“Mmm…” She moaned as she tipped her head back farther.

My fingers massaged her scalp as I worked shampoo into her hair. I’d known Doms who included bathing their subs as part of their aftercare. While I’d occasionally cleaned up after a session, I’d never been this invested. I doubted I would’ve enjoyed it with anyone else. With Ashlee, however, I found it not just enjoyable but desired. Iwantedto do this for her.

“When you make sounds like that,le soleil, it makes it…difficultto stick to my noble intentions.” My voice was low, rumbling underneath the white noise of the shower’s spray.

She turned toward me, our bodies close enough that her nipples rubbed against the hair on my chest. Judging by the heat in her eyes, she enjoyed the light, scratching friction as much as she did the more sensual sensations of the water on our bodies. She joined her hands behind my neck and smiled as she leaned into me. My cock was half-hard and rubbing against her slick skin made it harder, but I ignored it and waited for her to say whatever had been on her mind for the past half hour or so.

“I can’t deny that the idea of spending the morning seeing what other surfaces we can find creative uses for is extremely appealing, but I think I should go see my mom.”

That hadn’t been what I’d thought she’d say. Not even close.

“Are you sure that’s what you want to do?” I wasn’t second-guessing her. I just wanted her to be sure.

“Even after how I left things with her yesterday, as soon as she saw what the papers were saying, she called me. Our argument simply wasn’t important anymore.” She ran her fingers through the hair at the base of my skull. “I don’t want this thing with Mona hanging over Mom and me, and it will if I don’t face it head-on.”

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