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FORTY

AUGUSTE

The first thing I feel is her breath—warm and shallow, brushing against the dip of my collarbone like a secret only meant for me. The second is her leg draped over mine, bare and soft and tangled in the sheet we somehow managed to cocoon ourselves in overnight.

And the third?

The third is peace .

It hits slow. Stretches wide.

It’s the first time I’ve woken up with her like this. Boneless. Not because we fucked all night, but because she’s chosen to let go. To choose herself. To love herself.

It’s beautiful and peaceful, and… just Courtney, asleep in my arms, face tucked into my chest where she belongs.

Her hair is a mess of curls across my skin while one of her hands cradles the side of my neck, over my pulse point.

I shift just enough to press a kiss to her temple.

She stirs, mumbling something that sounds a lot like five more years .

“You planning on hibernating, Princess?”

“Planning on ignoring reality,” she croaks into my chest. “You’re warm. Let me pretend we don’t have to go anywhere.”

“You do that, I might never let you leave.”

She finally cracks an eye open with a lazy gnaw of her lip. “Is that a threat or a promise?”

“Both.”

A slow smile lifts the corner of her mouth. It’s lazy and sleepy… the kind of sexy that’s going to make us late for work. I love it .

I love it even more when she follows me into the bathroom and we spend far too much time lathering each other up.

“Oh fuuuuck, baby, that’s so good,” she moans as I rub the suds from her tits, kneading them in both hands while she hooks one lithe leg over my hip and pulls me into her.

My hard cock finds her needy pussy as her elbows brace on my shoulders and she impales herself on me.

“So freaking big,” Court rasps above the patter of the water. “Hurts so good, baby.”

“Tell me how you want it, Snow,” I groan when she leans back into the wall and her pussy squeezes around me. “How do you want me to fuck this greedy cunt?”

“Hard,” she drawls in reply, her hands locking at my nape while I grip her ass and fuck deeper into her. “Harder. Make it hurt, Auguste. Make me hurt for you.”

With each brutal drive, her body coils tighter.

“Fucking split me open… bruise me… mark me from the inside out.”

"Fuck, yes! That's it, that's my good fucking girl," I rasp, my fingers digging into the flesh of her ass hard enough to mark. "Taking my cock so deep, aren't you?"

She nods frantically, water cascading down her face, her blue eyes locked on mine with that vulnerable, desperate look that makes me want to both worship and destroy her.

I press her harder against the tile, angling her hips so I can hit that spot inside her that makes her whole body tremble. The water beats down on my back, steam rising around us like we're creating our own atmosphere, our own fucking universe.

"Mine," I growl, leaning in to bite the tender skin where her neck meets her shoulder. Not gently. Not even close. "Say it."

"Yours," she gasps, her head falling back against the wall with a soft thump. "All yours, Auguste. Always yours."

My rhythm falters for just a second before I'm driving into her with renewed desperation, my hands sliding up to cradle her face.

"Gonna fill you up," I promise against her mouth. "Make you remember who you belong to every time you move today."

Her fingers dig into my shoulders, nails clawing deep into my skin as she starts to clench around me. "Please, please, please?—"

"Come for me," I demand, reaching between us to circle her clit with my thumb. "Let me feel that perfect pussy squeeze my cock."

It only takes a few more brutal thrusts before she's shattering, her body convulsing around mine as she cries out my name. The sound echoing off the tile, amplified by the steam, the water and the raw vulnerability of this moment between us.

I follow right behind her, my release tearing through me like a storm as I bury myself deep inside her, my forehead pressed against hers. The intensity of it steals my breath, leaves me shaking.

"Fuck," I pant against her mouth, unable to form more coherent thoughts as aftershocks ripple through both of us.

She's smiling—that soft, secret smile that makes my chest ache. Her fingers trace gentle patterns on my shoulders where she just left marks. "Good morning to you too," she whispers.

We finish our shower in a lazy haze, trading kisses and soft touches. I can't stop looking at her—the way water beads on her eyelashes, how her skin flushes pink from the heat. The bruises forming on her hips from my fingers.

Mine.

She’s all mine.

After, I wrap her in a towel and we make quick work of getting dressed. It’s all so natural and domesticated, down to the flasks of coffee in our hands and the thawed breakfast muffins we eat in the car as we drive to the facility.

The windows down, my hand on her thigh and her hair dancing wild in the wind as she bops her head to our playlist.

She’s radiant and alive for the first time in days.

I can’t help but smile to myself. I did that. I helped her find her gorgeous fucking smile again.

I’ve never been so proud in my life as when we step inside the facility together. I don’t let go of her hand this time. Not until she inches deeper into me, her hand wrapping around my waist as we walk down the corridor together, my arm coiled around her shoulders.

“Wait, are we official now?” Jayden comes up behind us, draping his arms over our shoulders as we walk past the cafeteria.

“Good Morning, Morrow,” Court chuckles, turning slightly to grin at him. She waves at Eli behind Jayden, and then stops by the stairwell to the PR and Marketing offices. “This is me, Masterchef.”

With a quick peck to my lips, she pulls back and winks at Jayden.

“Thank fuck,” he croons, lifting his hand for a high-five that Courtney slaps as she turns for the door.

“Don’t forget, Cece and I are meeting for drinks after work, and we finish early, so I’ll meet you at home.” I nod, and she adds, “I’m making dinner, all you have to do is bring the soda.”

“Got it, Princess.”

Court heads up and I stride to the locker room.

“We’re good now, right?” Jayden asks, falling into step with me. “Cause the scowling and growling is getting creepy and?—”

“He needs you to help him take down Matheo on Fortnite,” Eli finishes for him.

“And, I was going to say, we need to get our shit in order to kick ass this season.”

“We’re good,” I throw over my shoulder heading for my cubby.

Because it’s the truth. We’re good. Life is good. The whole motherfucking world, the universe couldn’t be better.