Page 44

The morning light is soft when it creeps through the edges of the blackout curtains.

It spills in anyway, faint and warm, just enough to illuminate the edge of Sage’s face beside me.

For a second, I think I’m dreaming. That maybe I’m still back in that pit I carved for myself—burned out, buzzed, empty.

But then I feel her. Her breath against my chest. Her fingers curled lightly near my ribs. Her warmth, real and steady.

My girl.

My eyes stay fixed on the ceiling, but my hand finds her. I trace the edge of her shoulder, then follow the curve of her arm. She doesn’t stir. And I don’t want to wake her. I just want to touch her. My body aches with want, sure, but it’s buried under something deeper.

Peace.

For the first time in years, the noise in my head is quiet. No pills. No haze. Just her. And she’s not running.

My thumb brushes the inside of her wrist. She stirs then, her breath shifting, a quiet sound leaving her lips as her lashes flutter.

She blinks up at me, sleep still clinging to her.

“Good morning,” she murmurs.

“Morning, baby,” I say. My voice is low, rough from sleep.

“Do you remember anything from yesterday?” she asks.

“I remember everything,” I reassure her.

She studies me for a beat. There’s no shield in her eyes this morning. No sarcasm. No edge. Just her.

She reaches up, brushing my hair back from my forehead with a softness I didn’t know I needed. And then she leans in and kisses me.

It’s not fast. Not frenzied. It’s not a battle of wills like every time before. This time, it’s her choosing me. Choosing this.

My hand slides into her hair, fingers threading through the strands as I kiss her back. She shifts, moving over me, her thigh sliding between mine, her body aligning with mine fitting so fucking perfectly. I’m already hard.

We move slowly. Stripped of all the games, all the anger, all the tension we used to hide how much we need each other.

She peels her shirt off, and I watch. I drink in the softness of her skin, grazing it with my fingertips. When she takes off her bra, I inhale at the sight.

“You’re beautiful,” I whisper. Her nipples are perfect. I try hard not to touch or suck them into my mouth.

She tugs on my shirt, so I pull it over my head and bring her closer to me. Our bodies smash together, and the feel of her against me is fucking everything.

“These,” she says, grabbing the top of my shorts.

I lean up on my elbows as she stands up to remove her shorts, leaving her in those cute as hell underwear.

I take off my shorts, and she glances at my boxers.

“Those too.”

She watches as I pull them down. Her eyes turn hungry when my dick swings out. She pulls her panties down her legs, and I shiver.

My tongue wets my lips as I stare at her naked body. Jesus fucking Christ. My eyes memorize every inch of her.

“We don’t have to,” I mutter, even though my dick is screaming at the contradiction.

I’m only looking. No touching.

My eyes meet hers.

She crawls onto the bed with me.

Fuck. I’m desperate.

I can’t contain myself or how I feel.

But hell, I have to control myself. I have no choice.

Her hand falls over my abs, and I quiver from the contact. She lays next to me and places her knee right over my boner. She’s touching it with her smooth skin, and it takes everything in me not to break.

She kisses my shoulder, her wet mouth feels like a burn.

“Slater,” she whispers. “Look at me.”

We’re bare. Finally. In bed together. Nothing left between us but everything at the same time.

I can’t help but to feel like this is another test.

I turn my head to her, glancing at those wet lips. I want to drink in her moans. I want to taste that delicious pussy again. I want to devour this woman. She has no idea what she’s doing to me.

But I can’t push because she pushes back.

This is all on her.

I press my forehead to hers. Her hand grips my cheek.

“What do you want?” I ask, grazing her shoulder.

“Tease me,” she says, and that’s all she needs to fucking say.

On it.

I roll onto her, forcing her legs to spread with my weight. I slide my dick against her opening, not inside. Not yet.

“Like this?” I ask.

She kisses me as I pretend to fuck her.

Fuck!

This is fucking maddening. I pick up my pace, imagining that I’m fucking her.

But it’s not enough.

I grab my dick and rub her opening. If only I could push just a little. I glance at her face and she’s panting in bliss.

“Baby, you’re so fucking wet. Is this what you want?” I ask, pressing just a little. I don’t enter her, just apply pressure.

Then I start tapping her clit. “What about this, Sage? Huh? You have no fucking idea what I want to do to you right now.”

She starts moaning, so I slip my fingers into her and curl them. Her body arches off the bed.

“Oh, shit, Slater. Holy fuck, that feels so good.”

I lower my mouth. “Imagine my dick, baby. Fuck, you feel so fucking good. Is this okay?”

“More than okay,” she groans, riding my finger.

Then as painful as this is, I pull out. My balls are starting to fucking hurt. Maybe it’s mental. Maybe it’s because I haven’t come in a couple days, but I can’t fucking torture myself like this anymore.

“Everything okay?” she asks, sitting up.

I lick the two fingers that were inside of her and nod. Fuck, she tastes so good.

She sits up, forcing my face to her. She starts kissing me, and I’m about to lose all control.

“I can’t keep teasing,” I mutter between kisses.

She lays me on top of her, grabbing my dick. That final contact feels like the nail in the coffin. She’s never touched me before, and right now, I’m on the verge of coming.

She starts pumping my dick, and then she tugs me. I follow her lead. My hips near hers.

She rubs the head of my cock on her opening. The feeling, the sight––it’s driving me fucking wild.

“Take care of me,” she says.

I meet her eyes. “Always.”

She tilts her hips to welcome me in.

“Are you sure?” I ask.

“More than anything.”

As much as I want to pound into her at her permission, I take my sweet god damn time. I press against her, and that first tight grip against my cock is pure fucking heaven. I kiss her lips and then watch the pretty view of her pussy welcoming me home.

“Fuck, Sage,” I moan, watching my dick slide deep into that sweet pussy.

Fuck, she feels fucking perfect, clenching around me. Her body is pulsing, and her head is thrown back in pure ecstasy. I haven’t even moved yet, and I’m on cloud nine. This is the most intoxicating drug I’ve ever had.

“You’re so fucking perfect, Sage.”

So fucking perfect.

Tastes so fucking perfect.

Smells so fucking perfect.

The way her pussy grips onto my dick…

Fuck, I can’t believe this is happening.

This is better than anything I envisioned. I earned this. I opened up to her and this was my fucking treat.

I’m ready to fuck her brains out.

“Baby, how does it feel?” I ask, starting to fuck her.

She grabs onto the sheets and moans, “So fucking good.”

“Do you trust me?” I ask, pressing my fingers against her clit.

She nods, and I reward her for giving me the right answer. I rub faster, making her hips buck against my dick.

“So fucking pretty,” I mutter, fucking her faster now.

She starts panting in pure pleasure. “Yes, Slater. Oh, fuck!”

The sound of my name rolling off her tongue like a song undoes me. I thrust faster, rubbing her clit faster, and not one thing could stop me right now.

Not a single damn thing.

This woman was always meant to be mine.

My moans start to get louder, sounding more like growls. Her pussy is clenching me tighter. But I keep my fast pace, grabbing onto her ass.

I stare at her face, savoring every single second of this.

I can’t believe she’s let me in. I swear it’s like coming home.

I don’t blink. I can’t. I don’t want to miss a single moment.

Because this can’t possibly be real. After everything that has happened, our huge fight, how I fucked up by leaning into drugs…

I blink now making sure that I’m not dreaming.

I glance down at my dick pounding into her.

I’ve imagined this so many times, what she would feel like, sound like in my arms, coming undone because of me.

But when her body starts shaking, her high-pitched voice cries my name, and her pussy starts pulsing around me, I know I’m not dreaming a single fucking thing.

This is really fucking happening.

I revel in every second of it.

How she cries my name. How she reaches for me. How her voice cracks.

My balls squeeze, my cock swells, and I reach climax, combusting inside of her. All the pent-up frustration from the last few years released heavily into my beautiful friend . She has no idea what she’s helped me do. I feel free. I feel like a new fucking man.

I keep fucking her until my high is complete. My body is satisfied, so I pull out. The trail of come follows out.

I don’t hesitate for one moment. This girl needs to know how much she means to me. I lean down, placing my hands on either side of her face.

“Do you have any fucking idea what you’ve just done to me, baby?”

She blushes. “I’m the bestest friend, aren’t I?” she teases.

I kiss her lips then her nose then her cheeks, her eyes, her temples, her forehead. She tries to hide away from it, but I keep kissing her.

“Don’t tell me you regret it?” I beg. I plead because I need to know where her head’s at.

“No,” she says, still flushed. “I would never regret that.”

“Fuck, Sage. Are you sure I didn’t cross a line?”

She grabs my face and kisses my lips. “I wanted to cross it.” Her eyes search mine. “Plus… now I know.”

She stands up and runs to the bathroom. I follow her.

“Now you know what?” I ask.

She steps into the shower glancing at me. “What happens if I stay.”

I’m at a loss of words, but she slides the curtain to the side. “ If you stay?” I call out, looking at my naked body in the mirror. Who the hell wouldn’t stay with this?

“Yeah, I haven’t decided yet.”

I open the curtain and look at her wet, glistening body. I step inside with her. “Baby, you have no choice. I’m not letting you go.”

“If I stay, I need to find a job.”

“Then let’s find you the perfect job.”

She grabs some soap, dumping into her palm. “You’re going to help me search for a job?”

“Baby, I’m willing to get down on one knee to get you to stay.”

Her eyes penetrate through me, probably imagining that. Now I’m thinking about how I would do it.

“Don’t do that, please.”

I don’t give her a choice. I lean down on one fucking knee inside this shower. The stream is hitting the back of her head, so she steps back.

“Sage,” I say, grabbing her hand. “Be mine, baby. Be my best friend. My girlfriend. My future wife. My everything.”