Page 87 of Stand Your Ground

“Whatever is going on, just know I’m here with you,” he whispered.

And then the sweetness was gone.

The kiss turned hungrier, more frantic, laced with passion and arousal. I wove my hands through his hair and arched intoit, and Carter wrapped me up fully, making me feel so safe and protected in his arms.

“I love tasting myself on you,” he rasped against my lips.

I moaned, kissing him harder, all while my heart beat with a very unsteady, very unfamiliar rhythm in my chest.

When he pulled back, my lids were heavier, my hands clinging to his shoulders like I’d fall if he didn’t hold me steady.

Wordlessly, he lifted my hand to his lips to kiss the back of it with a mischievous smirk, and then he did as I commanded, walking to the bed and crawling into it before reaching for the lube.

My pulse ticked up, anticipation thrumming through me like a river.

I stepped into the harness, buckling it tight around my hips as I watched him recline against my pillows. His hand was already between his legs, slick fingers working over himself with slow, deliberate circles.

The sight alone made my breath hitch.

“Such a good boy,” I murmured, adjusting the strap-on, testing the weight of it in my hand. “You take directions so well.”

His eyes darted to mine, heat sparking there. I marked all the proof of his anxiety, from the pinch of his brows to the thick swallow that constricted his throat. But under that surface-level emotion was what I loved to see most.

Excitement.

I crawled up the bed, the mattress dipping under my knees as I came between his spread thighs. My palm slid up his shin, over his knee, tracing the thick muscle of his quad until I rested my hand on his wrist. “Don’t stop,” I instructed. “I want you touching yourself while I’m inside you.”

He swallowed and nodded, his hand returning to his cock as I slicked the toy with lube. Then I reached for the lube bottleagain, pouring more into my palm before stroking it along his entrance, my fingers pressing just enough to feel him shiver.

“Breathe for me, Rookie.”

I lined the toy up, my free hand braced beside his ribs, holding his gaze. The moment I began to push in, his lips parted in a quiet gasp.

“That’s it,” I whispered. “Let me in… nice and slow. You’re doing so fucking well.”

He nodded, but his hand on his cock sped up instinctively. I smiled at the unconscious honesty of it, working myself in inch by blissful inch.

I wanted him to feel every single one.

We kept our eyes locked. The air between us thickened, heavy with the sound of our breathing, the faint squeak of the harness shifting, the wet slide of his hand. And when I was finally seated all the way in, Carter whimpered.

“Fucking hell, Liv.” He gasped the words, his hand moving over his cock with more intensity as he looked where I was nestled between his legs.

I withdrew just an inch before thrusting inside again, this time tilting my aim up to brush along his prostate.

The moan he let out was intense and unashamed, a higher pitch than normal, his eyes squeezing shut as he flexed his hips into his hand.

“That’s it,” I coaxed, picking up the rhythm to mirror the way he stroked himself. “Feel me. Let go.”

It didn’t take long — I could see the heat climbing his cheeks, the tension gathering in his abs. His breathing quickened, his fist working faster, and I matched him, hips rocking in time with his strokes until his whole body went taut.

“Liv—”

“Tell me.”

“I’m coming. I’m—”

I pushed in hard, deep, and that was all it took. He came with a shuddering cry, spilling over his abdomen and chest, his entire body shaking and his free hand gripping my thigh tight.