Page 58 of Hard Check

Before I could respond, he gripped my waist, pulling me close enough to smell the sandalwood soap he used and count the amber flecks in his dark eyes. The kiss that followed was immediate and hungry like he'd been saving it up all day.

I laughed against his mouth when my snow-cold nose made him flinch. "Sorry. Winter casualty."

"I'll survive." His hands were already working on the buttons of my coat. "Been thinking about this since practice."

"Just this?" I helped him push the coat off my shoulders, letting it fall to the floor in a damp heap.

"Among other things." He backed me toward the couch. "Your aggressive streak today was... distracting."

"Distracting how?"

"Made me want to see what you'd do with all that energy in a different context."

My face flushed. Even after a couple of weeks of intimate connection, Carver's directness still caught me off guard.

I collapsed onto the couch, arms spread wide across the back cushions. "Well then. Consider this your opportunity to find out."

He raised an eyebrow. "You're ridiculous."

"But you like that about me."

"Jury's still out." He was already in motion, settling between my legs.

He rubbed my inner thighs through denim, thumbs tracing patterns that made my breath catch in my throat. When he looked up at me, something electric passed between us.

"You sure about this?"

Instead of answering with words, I reached down to rake my fingers through his hair. The gesture said everything I couldn't put into spoken words:Yes. Always. For as long as you'll have me.

Carver's response was to press his mouth to the denim covering my hip bone, a kiss so gentle it felt like reverence. His hands worked at my belt with practiced efficiency, and I lifted my hips to help him ease my jeans down.

The first touch of his mouth was a shock of heat that made me gasp and grip the couch cushions. Carver paused, breath warm against sensitive skin, waiting for me to adjust before continuing his careful exploration.

"Fuck," I managed, head falling back against the cushions.

He hummed in response, the vibration sending sparks up my spine. He grabbed one of my hands as his tongue slowly slid up my shaft with patience that bordered on torture.

My free hand tangled deeper in his hair, holding onto him like he might disappear if I let go.

"Hey." Carver's voice pulled me back to the present. "Where'd you go?"

"Nowhere. I'm here." I tugged gently at his hair. "Very much here."

"Good." His mouth curved into that rare, genuine smile that transformed his entire face. "Because I'm not done with you yet."

What followed was a masterclass in focused attention. Carver had learned what made me arch off the couch and drew helpless whimpers from my throat.

We hadn't actually fucked yet, but I knew we'd get there on our schedule—if we lasted that long. He applied suction and tugged on my balls with his free hand.

Every time my belly tensed, the tell-tale sign I was on the edge, he'd pull back and stare up at my eyes. I fought to keep them open and focused.

When I finally came, it was with Carver's name on my lips and my fingers twisted in his hair, pleasure crashing over me in waves that left me breathless and shaking.

He pressed one last kiss to my hip before crawling up my body, settling against me with his head on my chest. There, we collaborated on stroking his thick cock until he came with a thick, molten flow.

I wrapped my arms around him instinctively, feeling his solid weight and the steady rhythm of his breathing as it gradually slowed.

"You okay?" he murmured against my collarbone.

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