Page 30 of Bond Strength

“Since we haven’t spent time together like this for a while, I propose this.” I plunked back down on the mattress. Noah loomed over me that way, and I liked feeling smaller than him a bit too much. “We go on a few dates and get to know each other again. See if dating is something that’s accessible for both of us.”

Noah shook his head, a wry grin on his lips. “You’re one in a goddamn million, Declan.”

“7.951 billion, technically,” I responded, unable to keep my lips from quirking.

“Okay, smartass.” He sat on the mattress beside me and placed his hand over mine. Sparks traveled across my skin. “When’s the earliest available time you have for a date?”

“Thursday,” I said. His earnest expression struck me in the chest, but a frisson of unease filtered through me. Outside this bubble, he had a lot of demands from the outside world, and Noah had always struggled to say no to people. While I’d been honest about my minimal need for upkeep—I’d rather be working on projects at home thangoing out with people on most days—I also didn’t adjust well to getting ditched when I did carve the space into my schedule. “Only offer the time if you can follow through, though.”

Noah swallowed hard. “You mean speaking up if other things come up, don’t you?” He ran his fingers through his tousled blond hair, the move effortlessly sexy. “I can’t promise I’ll be perfect, but you have no idea how long I’ve wanted you. If anything is worth trying for, you are.”

My chest squeezed tight at those words, and butterflies exploded in my chest. The brazen affection Noah spoke with…I’d never had a lover who treated me that way. Hookups or the dates I’d tried with for longer stints ended up getting frustrated with my need for clarity or the large periods I could spend away from them, working on the battery or whatever other projects preoccupied me.

“All right,” I said, soaking in the weight of his hand still on mine. I glanced up to meet his eyes. He stared at me with the earnestness I’d always appreciated about him. However, now that I’d felt how his mouth, his tongue, his hands could play my body like an instrument, I didn’t see the point in denying each other pleasure. “If the power’s back on, we need a shower.”

He lifted his brows. “We?”

I grinned. “Well, I can’t jack you off in the shower if I’m by myself.”

Noah hopped to a stand. “Shit, I thought we’d veered out of that territory with the talk.” He offered a hand to help me up, which I accepted.

“I’m capable of rerouting if you are.” I didn’t let go of his hand and led us to the bathroom attached to my room. It was just a shower stall that we’d barely squeeze into, but I liked being pressed up against him. The way my body reacted to his proximity finally made sense to me,and I wanted to slam my head into a wall that I had misconstrued the intensity of my reactions as uncomfortable all these years.

Noah roamed his hand along my side as if he mapped out my skin, and when I leaned forward to turn the shower on, he squeezed my ass cheek hard. My cock bucked. God, his touch was external voltage, and I was the conductor, the current flowing right through me. Now that I understood this was attraction with the voltage amped up, I didn’t hesitate to lean into it.

“You could slide in if you want.”

“Ngh, god.” He tilted his head back. “Don’t tempt me. Condoms are back in the room.”

“We’d better get tested, then.” I placed my glasses on the counter by the sink and stepped under the spray. The idea of him bare inside me, of his cum filling me…fuck. I reached down and squeezed my cock so I didn’t blow. The hot water pounded against my back, into my hair, and the scuzz that had clung to me from the dried cum got sluiced away.

Noah strode in and shut the stall door behind him. We faced each other, bare inches between us, and the water slammed down, a reminder of the pouring rain from last night. He dipped his head and pressed his lips to mine, even though the shower spray battered the sides of our bodies. Endorphins rushed through me from his mouth on mine. We had minimal room to move around, which meant I was close enough to him for my cock to brush against his leg.

Noah didn’t stop kissing me, but he shifted so his cock slid against mine. The shock of the sensation rocketed through me, and I plastered my palms to his chest. He wrapped his hand around our cocks, bringing them together. I licked into his mouth, savoring the sensation of his massive grip around us, of his lips to mine. This could fast become an addiction, but I didn’t want to stop.

He moved his hands up and down along our lengths. Holyfuck. A long, low moan escaped me, muffled as our mouths collided again. With each pass from his hand, a sinful shudder rolled through me. I wouldn’t last long. The hot water pounded on my shoulders, and my muscles relaxed from the onslaught. The feel of Noah’s cock shuttling against mine sent wave after wave of sparks through me.

Part of me wanted to hold on, to savor this longer, but we’d agreed to explore what being in a relationship might entail, which meant I could have this time with him again and again and again. The thought of him coming over to fuck me into oblivion any day of the week shot me with a dose of pure adrenaline, and my legs trembled. I scraped my nails against his chest as I held on tight. He wrapped his other hand around my hip, keeping me in place, and worked us both with a finesse that had me panting into his mouth.

My orgasm overtook me far too fast. One second, I was savoring the sensuality of his movements, the electricity that rolled up my spine with every pass. The next, my balls drew up, and I spilled over his hand.

He continued to work me through it, and my cum gushed over our cocks. Pleasure punched through me, and I drew my head back to gasp for breath. The spray of the shower washed my cum down the drain, but Noah didn’t stop with his steady strokes, even as my cock deflated. A low whine escaped me, and I sagged against his chest.

Noah pressed a kiss to the top of my head, and then his whole body tensed. The warm gush of his cum coated our cocks, and he slowed his movements, then stopped.

Our ragged breaths mingled with the hum of the shower, and the hot water pounded down on our skin.

“God, that’s a hell of a way to wake up.” Noah let go of our cocks.

“Next on the agenda should be tea. Or, I guess, coffee for you.” I didn’t bother hiding my distaste. Coffee tasted like black tea that had been steeped too long and mixed with road gravel.

“How about I actually clean you first.” He brushed a kiss against my nape, then reached past me and grabbed my bodywash. He squeezed some out and rubbed it all over my body. A shiver rolled through me at his attentiveness, how he took his time up my arms, along my torso. His hands were as steady as the rest of him, and the rhythmic movements lulled me into the quietness I craved again. If I could glue my body to his to float in this sensation, that would be great.

Noah washed around my hole, and a moan escaped my lips as I tried to press into the touch.

“Holy hell, Dec,” he gritted out. “You’re going to kill me.”

“I didn’t realize you were so fragile.” Amusement bubbled up inside me.

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