Page 70 of Poinsettia Lane

“Tell me what you want. How do you like it?” he says.

“Harder," Everly pants out, her voice hoarse, simultaneously demanding and needy.

Asim hooks his arms under her knees and leans over her again, covering her body with his while pulling her legs up and opening her wider for him. Everly gasps at the blinding pleasure as he plunges into from a new angle. He covers her mouth with his, teeth and tongues battling between them, inhaling her gasps and whimpers of pleasure. Threading a hand in her hair he angles her head to the side, nipping and licking and sucking, and just like that, he wins. Everly gives in to the sensations, his cock pounding into her, his tongue and teeth rasping along her neck.

She surrenders, letting him own her in every way until her walls clench tightly around him. He lets out a guttural moan as her body contracts and his cock becomes impossibly harder, sending her spiraling even higher, higher, higher, then he pulses inside her as her walls tighten with her climax. She clenches and throbs around him as he rocks them through their releases together.

Through a distant, floaty haze, Everly feels Asim’s arms adjust their bodies before his weight presses down on her, comforting and secure, surrounding her in warmth and safety and the earthy smell ofhim. She sighs as she comes back to reality, and her eyes blink open to see him hovering over her.

Asim smoothes her hair off her forehead and kisses it, a sweet and tender smile on his face as he looks deep into her eyes.

“You are…” He shakes his head, gaze scorching her soul, searching for words. “Utterly unbelievable.”

Asim leans down again and scatters kisses along her face; across her cheekbones, the tip of her nose, her eyelids and forehead, and from one corner of her lips to the other until she’s smiling so widely she can’t possibly contain it.

“That was amazing.” Everly breathes out, and his sweet smile angles into pure satisfaction.

He rolls onto his back and pulls her with him, so she’s cradled against his side with her head on his shoulder.Asim traces light patterns with his fingertips along her side and back, sending shivers over her skin, so she does the same to him, lightly running her hand over his chest and side, down his arm, and swirling over his hip. Asim pulls her tightly into him, kissing the top of her head and holding her possessively while she drifts off, and she knows he won’t let anything in the world tear them apart.

~~~

The last two weeks have been nothing short of nirvana with them working side by side as Asim straightens out the logistics of his business so he can get it back up and running again. Every day he has been taking phone calls, sending emails, ordering new supplies and fighting with the insurance company, scheduling contractors for repairs, and who even knows what else.

Everly pauses her typing when Moose starts snorting in his sleep, his paws and ears twitching like mad. She looks to the left across the desk from her where Asim sits with his laptop and they share a smile, Everly biting her lip to hold in a giggle.

She insists he work in her office and share her desk, even though he states he could just as easily work from his room or the canopy tent he set up on the property. Everly likes having him here though, his scent invading her space and permeating throughout her office every day, and his smile only seconds away at any given moment. It was a challenge at first, figuring out how to share the space effectively, and she learned he has a bit of a temper when it comes to working with “incompetent idiots” as he phrased it, also known as insurance agents. She was surprised to see this side of him, but after a walk to “cool off” he always comes back calm and collected again, ready to move forward. This impresses her even more, because she certainly could not have maintained that level of professionalism given the situation he’s been dealing with.

Asim’s work is endless, yet every time she looks his way, he meets her eyes and smiles or winks at her. The love she sees there is undeniable and it threatens to fillher heart to bursting every single time.

Moose gives a loud yip and startles himself awake, looking up at them with sad puppy eyes. Everly giggles and gets up from her seat, walking over to give him some comforting pets as his tail starts thumping against the hardwood floor.

“Should we pause for lunch?” Asim stretches his arms above his head, catching Everly’s attention, and her hand pauses on Moose’s back. Her eyes travel from one outstretched wrist, down the length of his arm and across his broad chest to the other one, tracing over his tattoos with her eyes. She’s had a lot of fun the last couple weeks learning every curve of those tattoos.

“Ever?” He’s smirking now, drawing her name out as he flexes his arms, and she makes a face at him.

“Yeah, lunch sounds good.”

Everly straightens and walks to the other room of her office suite, grabbing their lunches from the mint green vintage fridge she scored at an estate sale a couple years ago, along with a couple napkins and utensils on her way back.

Pulling out the vegan chicken salad sandwiches they prepared together the night before, Everly reflects on the therapy session she had with Carrie earlier that morning.

“Let’s step back for a moment,” Carrie said. “What changes have you noticed since last year?”

“Well, I think the most obvious one is that I’m seeing someone now," Everly replied, and Carrie nodded, but didn’t speak. “I guess maybe there aren’t a ton of changes. I’m not really all that much more social, and I haven’t made a ton of friends, but I do feel different.”

“In what way?”

“I feel… more like me, I guess. I don’t know. It’s hard to put into words.”

“Let’s take some time to figure it out. I think this is an important thing to find the words for," Carrie had said, encouraging her not to give up.

“I don’t feel like I’m wearing a mask all the time anymore. It’s almost like,” Everly had scoffed at herself, but continued, “almost like I’m shining?”

“Shining?” Carrie’s eyebrows went up and she lookedto be holding back a smile.

“Yeah, like something inside me is lit up. I feel brighter.”

Carrie had smiled then, but she wasn’t done yet. “Why do you think you feel brighter?”

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