Page 30 of Throwing Fire

She moans in assent.

To complete my possession, I begin thrusting. Slowly, very slowly. There won’t be any wild pounding. Not this time, and maybe never this way. Mouse wanted me to fuck her ass hard and it didn’tgo well. Not something I want to repeat. This will be a slow, gentle fuck, and given how tight Kez is, that’s just fine.

Going slow lets me feel the flex of Kez’s muscles against my invasion. There’s no rhythm, but I know how to give her one. How to make sure she enjoys this as much as I do.

I stroke her hip, press her leg tight against mine and slip my fingers down over her thigh into that silk-wet valley. She gasps in surprise. “Is that okay, kitten?”

She twists in my arms. “Hale ...”

“Too much?”

“I-I don’t know?—”

“Relax.” She does, settling back against my chest as I begin working her. Slow, smooth thrusts. Light, gentle circles. When she’s shuddering sweetly, I push two fingers inside her. “That okay, kitten?”

“Yes,” she gasps.

“That’s my kitten.” I cuddle her close with my free arm. Her body tightens unbelievably on mine. “Glorious.”

She gives a breathy laugh. “Glorious?”

“Absolutely fucking glorious. How does it feel?”

“Full,” she says.

I chuckle. Hold her tight. “Full of me.”

I fuck her slow. Enjoying that sweet, sweet pressure to its fullest. Listening to her pant and gasp heightens my pleasure, as does her helpless shaking in my arms. I control this completely. Every movement, every sensation we share. Kez is enveloped in my body, wholly at my mercy, as I build the tension towards release. I plunge my fingers into her, draw myself all the way out and push all the way back in. Kez goes wild, screaming my name, which is exactly what I want to hear.

“Come for me,” I growl in her ear and give her the friction we both need to take us over the straining edge. Even as I lose myself in my orgasm, I’m careful not slam into her. Just slide deep and let her body pull me over that white-hot cliff. Through those too-fewseconds of convulsive release, then there’s nothing but pressure and pleasure and oneness. We drift, slow and easy, into the sweet aftermath she always gives me.

I lie in her for a minute, listening to her breathing. She’s panting, but her breathing’s not labored. She’s not in pain. “Push down a little, kitten.”

She does and I pull very, very gently out.

I’m fatigued and ready to sleep, but Kez needs caring for first. I’ve always taken care of my women, even the ones I’ve paid for. As a reward for giving me their trust. Kez has given me something far greater – something I never expected to find – and she deserves more.

As she watches me with those gleaming eyes and a grin that stretches from ear to ear, I unlock her, clean her up, then wrap her in towel number three while I hit the ‘fresher. I’ll want to fuck her again tonight at some point, and I need to be clean when I do.

The little monster is not enthusiastic about being washed, and the sanitizer stings. That ain’t good. Better get some serious stuff from Doc Gray before we leave for Yrillo.

Once I’m clean, I begin our evening routine. Dressing Kez in a little nightgown so she doesn’t stick to me while we sleep, straightening the covers and tucking them around her. It’s a small thing, tucking her in. But I’ve realized little gestures like this are hugely meaningful to Kez. She’s the caretaker for her whole extended family. When Nev is puking her way through withdrawal. When the rabbits eat something they shouldn’t and shit all over the place. It’s Kez who soothes them and cleans them up and tucks them into bed. She’s been there for all of them, for years. But she’s never had anyone to take care of her.

Until now.

The first time I tucked her into bed, she cried. Real, deep sobs, like I’d broken her heart. She couldn’t even tell me why she was crying. But I knew. She’s stopped crying, but I’ve kept tucking her in, and I’ve kept looking for little ways to take care of her. So she knowsthere’s someone she can always count on, just the way her crew counts on her.

Once I get her tucked up, position the pillows the way I want, and toss a few of them onto the floor – the Cloud Palace believes in far more pillows than I do – I stretch out next to her. Take a deep, satisfied breath, let it out, and close my eyes.

She wriggles closer, puts her head on my shoulder and sighs. “I feel so relaxed. Except—” She reaches back and pats at her ass, padded by the towel. “Ew, I’m leaking.”

I chuckle. “Nice. Thanks for sharing.”

“You keep telling me I don’t get to keep any secrets.”

That’s something we need to talk about, given the fairly important secret I learned about her tonight. But not now. Not when we’re both so relaxed. “Yeah, for future reference, that’s a secret you can keep.”

She laughs and cuddles so close you couldn’t squeeze a microlaser between our bodies. “I didn’t know I’d feel this good after.”