Page 67 of Stick Fight

Her head lifts. Our eyes lock.

Jesus, I’m in so much trouble here.

When I don’t speak—fuck, I don’t even think I can string two syllables together—she smiles, and wraps her hands around my cock. The need in her eyes nearly steals the air from my lungs.

“I couldn’t wait to get home. Get you back in this bed,” I say, my voice low, barely recognizable, even to myself.

But then, for a split second, that same unease returns. That ghost behind her smile. And I almost call it out. Almost push her back, and demand to know what happened between last night when we talked, to her waking me up. But then she lowers her mouth to me with a soft moan that sends lightning bolts straight to my core. And all thoughts pack a bag and head south.

She takes me deep, her mouth warm and wet, her throat relaxing like she wants all of me. One hand strokes the base while the other cups my balls in a slow, sensual massage that sends heat crawling up my spine.

I prop myself on one elbow, needing toseeher. Needing to remember this. Her lips wrapped around me, the flush of her cheeks, the way her eyes flutter with pleasure like she’s doing this just as much for her as she is for me.

But as good as it feels, I need more. I need to be inside her. Now.

I pull her off me, breath ragged. She pouts. God, she’s fucking adorablewhen she pouts. But I drag her mouth to mine and kiss her hard. I roll her beneath me, my body covering hers like instinct, like protection, like possession.

I want to keep her here. Forever.

But she’s not mine.

So what the fuck are you going to do about that, dude?

She wraps her legs around me, pulling me close, and my cock slides into her like we were made for this. For each other. She moans, arching into me as her walls clench tight. I sink deep, and I stay there, still, savoring the moment. The feeling.

“Three long days without this,” she murmurs, teeth grazing my shoulder, “I thought I’d go insane.”

Fuck,I love hearing her say that.

“Yeah, baby,” I growl into her neck. “Me too.”

Her eyes roam my face, and for a second I wonder if she’s searching for what’s in my heart. I open my mouth, wanting to tell her, but fuck, I can’t. What if I’m the guy to keep her from what she really wants in life?I open my mouth to say something, anything, but the words catch.

Before I can spiral further, she pulls me down and kisses me, deep and consuming, her tongue exploring my mouth like it’s searching for answers I’m too afraid to say out loud. Her hips rise to meet me, and I grind down, rubbing slow and firm against her clit. She moans into my mouth, hips arching with a desperation that shoots straight to my core. I grab her wrists, link our fingers, and pin her hands above her head, spreading her out beneath me.

I need her open, body and soul.

And yeah... this isn’t just sex.

This is love.

At least it is for me.

There it is. I said it. Not out loud, but inside me, it detonates like a grenade. Truthfully it terrifies me. But with Gabby, it’s different. She’s not some blurred face I’ll forget by morning. She’s not a moment. She’s everything. It’s like we were meant to meet that night at the pool, meant to find each other again.

Even if she still has feelings for her ex.

Even if I’ve spent my whole life running from anything that looked like home—because home used to mean chaos. I spent my childhood shielding my brother from shattered dishes, slammed doors, and screaming matches that never ended.

But this? This isn’t that. This is us.

And maybe, just maybe, I want to give her a piece of myself. The part I’ve kept locked down for so long I almost forgot it existed. But can I be the right guy? Could this work? I’ve seen marriage from the outside. Polished smiles and Instagram-worthy dinners. But behind closed doors when the masks fall off, that’s where love turns into something twisted.

Right?

But… haven’t Gabby and I alreadybeen behind closed doors?

Yeah. We have. And it's been nothing short of fucking incredible.

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