Page 14

Chapter 14

Jack

I woke when Henry shifted beside me. The room was still dark, and the clock showed we’d only slept about an hour. My bones were still mush from earlier, and I could have stayed curled into Henry’s big, protective body forever.

“You want to shower?” Henry’s sleepy words were warm against my head. “Get cleaned up before we sleep for real?”

Or get cleaned up before we get dirty again , I thought, and my cock perked up.

Like he heard my thoughts, Henry chuckled and pressed a kiss to my head. “Come on, we can save water.”

When Henry rolled from the bed, I stayed tucked in the warm divot he’d left and admired his broad naked body. He wasn’t lithe and smooth. He would never be a stick-thin, graceful runway model. But he was absolutely perfect in my eyes. Big and thick, like an immovable stone wall. Everything about Henry screamed protector. He was a safe place, a caretaker, and I knew he’d guard me with his life.

But what about my heart?

My heart was already happily entrenched into Henry’s life, the town, our business. Maybe it was too soon. Maybe I’d let my heart drop anchor for the first man who’d shown me any attention or real affection.

The first man who hadn’t seen me as a pretty face, an easy lay, a throwaway not worth investing any time in.

Maybe I’d end up heartbroken down the road.

But Henry made me feel alive for the first time since my mom died, and I wasn’t going to give up on what we had just because we might not work out forever. I’d lived the majority of my life feeling worthless, unwanted, and alone. Leaving Joseph’s house after what I’d heard him planning was the first step toward the rest of my life, and if that life included all the good I’d found since stepping off the bus in Haven Grove, I was one hundred percent here for it.

And even though Henry was the one deemed the caretaker by everyone who knew him, I had no doubt he could use someone to take care of him as well.

I was already completely committed to that role.

Once, while desperately trying to be happy selling cars for my uncle, I’d overheard a woman telling her friend, “You like taking care of people because it heals the part of you that needed someone to take care of you.” The conversation had continued while they waited for Douglas to close the sale, and I went on to fumble through one of my usual awkward interactions.

I’d sold the car .

Barely.

But those words had stuck with me.

You like taking care of people because it heals the part of you that needed someone to care of you.

Damn.

That was Henry, through and through.

And it was me, if I was being honest.

I had the first handful of years with my mom. She was loving, kind, gentle, caring—everything you’d expect a mother to be. And then she was gone, and I went from being a kid who felt loved and protected to one who was constantly on edge, always looking over my shoulder, never able to trust the people who were tasked with taking care of me.

While I’d never been one to put a lot of trust in fate—I mean, she hadn’t been all that kind to me up until now—I couldn’t help but see all the ways Henry and I were perfectly matched and meant to be.

We’d found each other so we could take care of each other and heal the wounds of our past.

“You coming?” Henry poked his head around the doorway, true concern filling that beautiful face under his scruff.

Smiling, I gave him a nod and rolled from bed.

I’d go anywhere this man asked me to.

Our shower turned out to be equal parts steamy, soapy, and sensual. Before the water ran cold, I reached deep for my confidence and asked Henry if I could have some time to myself in the bathroom.

After a moment of confusion, Henry gave an understanding nod, kissed me soundly, and rinsed his face one last time before exiting the shower. Once he’d dried off and left me in the bathroom alone, I took some time to prepare for whatever intimate situation Henry and I might possibly find ourselves in. When the water hinted toward running cold, I turned off the shower and wrapped myself in a towel.

Once dried, I made my way to Henry’s room. The sight of my gentle giant curled on his side, snoring softly, did funny things to me. I dropped my towel on the floor next to the bed and climbed in next to Henry. The way his big arm immediately reached for me and pulled me close meant more than any sexual situation we might have been moving to the back burner. With the blanket pulled up over our naked bodies, I snuggled into Henry’s warmth and drifted off to sleep with visions of making scenes like this a permanent part of our life together.

I woke later with an aching dick, a delicious warmth wrapped around me, and a tug in my chest telling me I could quickly get used to waking up every day with Henry by my side.

With a cat-like stretch, I pressed my ass backwards and smiled when Henry’s arm tightened around my waist. His warm, gruff words tickled my ear. “You need somethin’?”

The throbbing in my dick had already reached epic proportions when I grabbed Henry’s hand and drew it down to cover my erection. “Could use some help with this.”

He chuckled. “That so?” He lightly grazed his palm over my cock.

“Henry,” I whined. “Please. ”

Henry’s thick beard tickled my shoulder when he leaned in to kiss my neck. “What do you want?”

“Wanna feel you inside me.”

“My fingers?” His words reverberated through me.

I shook my head.

“Words, Jack.”

Huffing and wiggling my ass into him, I chewed on my bottom lip. “Want your dick. Want you to fuck me.”

Henry’s arms tightened around me. “Not sure I can do that.”

I froze. Had I read the situation wrong? I’d thought for sure…“Oh,” I started. “That’s okay.”

Henry chuckled. “No, I want to. I’m just saying I don’t know that what I want to do to you can be called fucking.”

My breath caught, and butterfly wings flapped into such a frenzy I was left lightheaded. “Oh.” I swallowed. “Oh,” I repeated as my brain realized what he was saying. “That’s okay. It’s all okay as long as we’re together.”

“Yeah?”

“Mmhm,” I hummed. “Henry?”

He grunted, tracing my bottom lip with his thumb.

Without allowing myself to overthink it, I brought Henry’s hand to my lips and pressed a kiss to his knuckles. “I love you.” The words, whispered like a prayer, were the truest words I’d spoken since I said goodbye to my mom all those years ago. “You don’t have to say any?—”

Henry’s large hand gripped my chin and turned my face to look at him over my shoulder. “The hell I don’t,” he whispered gruffly before capturing my mouth in a long, slow kiss. “Love you too,” he murmured against my lips. “ Never really knew what love felt like until you walked into my life.”

My heart soared, warmth oozing in my chest as I brought our mouths back together. Pouring my soul into the kiss, I rocked my ass against Henry until we parted, both of us breathless. “Want you inside me.” My words barely a whisper as my lips feathered over his.

“You wanna be on top? Or like this? It’s your call.” Henry asked as he reached behind him blindly searching for the lube.

I knew straddling his waist and riding him would provide me with more control, but I loved the way Henry’s big body pressed against my back, surrounding me with his heat, his protection, his love. “Just like this.” Bending my left leg, I pressed it against the mattress. Before Henry, sex had always felt like searching. Searching for that missing piece, the euphoria, the escape. Searching for a man who would accept me for me. Someone who would enjoy spending an evening with me as much as he enjoyed getting his nut before ghosting me.

Searching for that elusive mix of camaraderie and intimacy.

A friendship built on trust, laughter, and genuine caring that meant as much, if not more than, the sexual relationship.

Searching, yet never finding what I’d been looking for.

Until Henry.

Don’t get me wrong. The sex we’d had so far had been amazing, and I had no doubt what we were about to do would be just as spectacular. But Henry and I had something special and fulfilling—with or without sex. Lying there in his arms, the warmth of his body wrapped around me, I knew my search was over.

The sound of Henry pumping lube into his hand filled the air, mixing with the swish of his big body against the sheets and the distant sound of an early morning train passing through town.

When one thick finger spread lube against my entrance, I whimpered and pressed my face into the mattress. Loving the slow intensity Henry applied to working me open while, at the same time, wanting to scream and beg him to give me his cock, I panted through first one finger and then another as Henry crooned words of encouragement in my ear.

“This feel okay?” he asked, ever the protector. No one had ever cared for my comfort the way Henry did.

“It’s so good,” I answered on a satisfied sigh. Truly I would have been completely content with anything Henry wanted to give me. Or not give me. Sex wasn’t a deal breaker for me. I loved spending time with Henry, laughing with him, making out, cuddling on the couch.

“You want more? Or wanna stop here?”

“I’ll take anything you want to give me,” I said, meaning the words in the most literal terms along with the possible innuendo.

Henry kissed my neck. “You can stop me at any time.”

“I know.” I turned to catch his lips. “I trust you.” I nuzzled my nose against his. “I love you.”

The smile he gave me couldn’t stay hidden behind his beard. It lit up his face, his eyes sparkling in the dim moonlight trickling into the room. “Love you.” His gruff words were the perfect contrast to the gentle kisses he pressed to my eyelids, my cheeks, and my chin.

When I rolled my hips, trying to get some friction against my aching cock, Henry took his dick in hand and trailed his leaking cockhead up and down my ass, pressing against my opening, teasing the sensitive skin. “Push against me,” he instructed.

The initial sting was expected, and it took my breath for a moment. After breathing through the brief flash of discomfort, I rolled my hips, groaning when Henry sank all the way into me. He wrapped an arm around my waist, pressing his chest to my back while gently pumping his hips. With my body molded around Henry like we’d been made for each other, we fell into an easy rhythm backed by the sensual sounds of skin against skin, heavy breathing, and soft whimpers.

The sensation of Henry’s bare heat buried in my ass was more than I could have ever prepared myself for. Long before I was ready for things to end, my balls drew up tight, and I lost the rhythm as my body sought release.

Henry trailed his big, warm hand down my torso and took my throbbing dick in his fist. Thumbing over my slit, he stroked my cock. “You feel so fucking good,” he murmured in my ear. “So hot and tight. Wanna feel you come, feel this tight little ass on my dick.”

I whimpered, thrusting hard and fast into his grip. “Please, Henry.”

“Mmm,” he hummed before taking my earlobe between his teeth. “Tell me what you want, Jack. You wanna come for me?”

I threw my head back with a low groan. “Henry. Please. Wanna come so bad. So close. Wanna feel your cum in my ass.”

“That’s it,” Henry crooned. “That’s a good boy. Come for me.”

His words sent me over the edge, and my release exploded over his fist. As I rode out my own orgasm, Henry grunted and took my hand in his while burying his face in my neck. “Fuck, Jack,” he growled, his searing hot cum exploding deep within me. “Fuck.”

Henry held me close, our pulsing bodies coated in sweat as we came down from our shared high. When a soft current of air coaxed goosebumps from my skin, Henry slipped from my ass and quickly pulled the sheet over us.

The bed was a mess. The scent of sex hung on the air. And we’d definitely need another shower before work. But Henry’s arms around me, his chest heaving in tandem with mine, our hearts thudding erratically was the most sated, content, and protected I’d ever felt.

Nothing before Henry had ever been so right.

So perfect.

So unbelievably scary.

So exciting and fulfilling.

“You okay?” Henry whispered at my temple.

“Never been so okay.”

His smile pressed into my hair. “I know this is new,” he started. “And I know you’re young with a long future ahead of you.”

I tensed, fearing an ending before things even really got started.

“But,” Henry continued, “I need you to know that sex for the sake of sex isn’t my thing. I would never hold you back, but this isn’t just some quick and easy thing for me. I’m in this for as long as you want me.”

“What if I want you forever?”

“Then forever is what you get.”

Tears stung my eyes as I turned in Henry’s arms and cuddled into his broad, hairy chest. “Best plan ever.”