Page 119 of Always Meant for You
He groans.
And my words unlock a beast.
He grabs my ass and dials up his pace, pistoning his hips. His pelvis grinds against me, and the pressure builds at my core, fast and hot. My nails rake across his back, desperate to hold on as sensation swells around me.
He drives into me harder, each thrust deeper than the last. The roughness, the reckless abandon, heightens my desire. His mouth finds the curve of my neck, teeth grazing against me, breath hot and ragged.
“It’s all for you, Mabel. Everything. Everything.” He’s gasping, moaning, losing control.
A fire ignites, roaring through my blood. And God, I’m there again, balancing on the precipice between surrender and restraint, craving the fall but aching to stay here, suspended in the wanting.
I spiral higher, every nerve drawn tight, every muscle trembling. The rhythm of him, the weight, the heat, it’s perfect.
My release hits hard, tearing through me in a rush that leaves my body shaking. I break apart beneath him. I fall into a sea of desire, held together only by the strength of his arms, the sound of his voice, and the thrust of his magnificent cock. Our sweat-slick bodies move together, writhing, reaching, clinging to each other.
“Mabel,” he grits out. His back bows, every muscle drawn tight as he thrusts again, deeper and harder. His breath catches, his jaw clenches, and his chest presses to mine while the last wave rips through him. He spills into me, heat flooding where we’re joined, his body curling around mine. His arms lock tight, protecting me, holding me, needing me.
This heady euphoria surges through my veins. This carnal victory. I did this to him. My body, my breath, my spirit drew him in and left him gasping.
With our limbs entwined and breaths tangled, stillness swallows us. He slips from my body gently, then gathers me close, pulling a blanket over us.
He strokes my cheek, his brows drawn tight as he looks me over. “Are you okay? Does anything hurt?”
I sigh. “I’m a little sore. But it’s not painful.”
His jaw tightens, concern rising behind his eyes.
I catch his hand before he allows worry to take over. “Cal,” I say, lacing our fingers together. “I like how it feels.”
He stills, confused. “You like that I hurt you?”
“No,” I say, shaking my head. “It’s the kind of ache that reminds me this happened. That I’m different now. I gave this part of myself to you, and you didn’t take it. You received it.”
His features soften. He leans close. His mouth meets mine in a kiss that deepens, then deepens again, as if the years apart are something we can rewrite with our mouths.
When we break apart, he eases me into the crook of his arm, drawing me to his chest and wrapping his body around mine.
“Could you fall asleep this way?”
I hum my contentment and melt into him. “I think this might be the only way I ever want to fall asleep again.”
“Good.” His palm skims across my back.
I close my eyes, and he tightens his hold like he’s afraid I might disappear. I can’t blame him. I’ve done it before. But I’m here now.
I trace circles across his chest, grounding myself in his strength. Sleep pulls at me, but I don’t want to drift away. I’m clinging to the weight of what we shared. Of what we chose. What’s inside me won’t settle. Not yet. It’s too full. My heart is wide open. My soul is reaching for him.
I press in closer, listening to the rhythm of his heartbeat. The air hums with heat and moisture. It smells of growing things.The scent of our childhood. The scent of our present. And the scent of this night.
Our night.
But under the quiet, there’s a thread pulling tight in my heart. A truth I haven’t spoken. A corner of me closed off. There are pieces of my past I haven’t let him see. Why I’m back in Elverna. What I did in New York. I want to tell him. God, I want to. I want to be free of the shame. But part of me worries that saying it aloud could shatter this fragile peace we’ve found. And I don’t want to lose that. I don’t want to lose him.
I love him.
I don’t know if he loves me back, but I’ve carried this feeling for him for so long, it’s carved into me. And right now, nothing matters more than holding on to this.
To be near him.
