Page 33 of The Intimacy of Skin

Cuddling while I was unconscious or deep in a sleeping daze was completely different from deliberately letting him embrace me.

Intimacy was fucking terrifying.

Thinking of the warmth I knew would be waiting for me, I tried to distract myself as I crawled underneath the blankets with him. It was an awkward shuffle made even worse by the fact that we were both fully clothed. Usually, I’d be stark naked by the time I made it into another man’s bed.

I was right about the mattress, though. The moment I settled onto my side, my back facing Price’s front, I let out a deep groan of contentment.

If anything could compare to the hugs Mom used to give, this would be it.

Muscles I hadn’t thought about in years relaxed into the memory foam. The sheets were blessedly cool, whereas Price’s intruding frame was blazing hot.

Slowly, as if he was afraid of me bolting, he wrapped an arm around my middle. He tightened his hold when I didn’t move, securing me to him.

When his breath hit my neck, I fought the urge to jolt away. Price must’ve felt me tense, whispering next to my ear, “Shh, it’s okay. Get used to me being here. There’s no rush. Pretend we have all the time in the world.”

My heart hammered in my chest, adrenaline surging through me and preparing my legs to run.

“Breathe with me, Pretty Boy.”

I felt him inhale deeply, felt him blow it out against my nape. I found his wrist, holding it like a lifeline as I fought the demons in my head.

“That’s it,” he encouraged.

Feeling the rumble of his chest each time he spoke both soothed me and riled me up. He was so close, holding me tight in a way that I knew I didn’t deserve.

Deep in the recesses of my brain, there was a taunting voice calling out to me. This was far from the punishment I needed to receive. I wasn’t worth it. My body was tainted.

Rotten.

Decaying.

My sins were spreading, and only the roughest hands could stop them. Only bruises could cover them up before they took me over, pulling me down into the depths of Hell, where I’d surely drown in lava.

“Do you feel me, Crew? Can you hear my breathing? Do you understand how it makes me feel having you in my arms?” Price’s voice broke through the dark cavern I was heading towards.

His heat was burning me alive, and I couldn’t get enough of it. The wrist I was holding onto moved up and down, caressing my stomach. It made my shirt move with him, the blankets rustling against bare skin.

Taking a slow, deep breath in, I shifted. I allowed myself to relax in Price’s safe hold, melding my body to his. When I’d tried to get comfortable, my ass had pressed against him. We were both wearing jeans, a thick protection against the outside world, but I could feel it.

I could feel him. The outside world and the memories of the past withered away, leaving nothing but the heavy breaths against my neck, the warm, strong tattooed arms around my body, and the undeniable erection Price was sporting.

Knowing I’d caused that reaction without doing a damn thing but laying there had me smiling internally. A smirk spread across my lips as I erased the last bit of worry from my mind.

This, I could deal with. The lust of a man was something I was an expert in. I carefully pressed against him, biting down on my lower lip at the memory of his dick against mine. It had been freeing and electrifying in ways I’d never understood before.

His palm wrapped around my hip, holding me in place. It was gentle. I could feel his fingers fight against the knee-jerk reaction of digging further into my skin. “You with me now, Pretty Boy?” His whispered breath tickling against my neck sent chills down my spine.

“I’m here.” I ground myself against him harder, reveling in the warmth flowing through my body, my cock thickening in my underwear.

Those sinful lips of his explored the side of my neck, kissing a route only he knew the way of.

I arched into him, letting his hands roam underneath my shirt as they mapped my body.

Price was touching me like he was learning me.

I was precious in that moment. A treasure to be found and revered for years to come.

I was precious in his hands. When he maneuvered me to my back, I let my head roll along the piles of colorful pillows that lined his headboard and just let go.

My shirt came off first, his lips and tongue dancing together, partners in fragility and grace. I was amazed by the choreography they followed, the way my pulse leaped with each surprising, gentle nip of his teeth.

I heard his name being called as he pulled me under a spell, releasing me from the confines of the demons that shadowed me, that caged me. Just as my cock sprang free, slapping against my lower abdomen, I realized the chant was coming from me.

“Price, Price, please,” I moaned, a ghost of his tongue licking up my shaft. My hands begged him forward, clutching for his warmth against my skin.

Our lips met between my eager need to shed him of his shirt. I watched him from below, the way his eyes cataloged my face and committed it to his memory. He didn’t know I was doing the same, taking in the way his left eye had more wrinkles than the right.

Nor did he realize I was mesmerized by the symmetry of his cupid’s bow, a single drop of sweat beading there. His heat festered with my cold, mixing to create a biome of its own.

Hot and cold.

Ice and fire.

Peace and devastation.

Price and I.

When we kissed, I couldn’t stop the way my hands fisted the hair at the back of his head, pulling him closer to me. We were naked, dancing with each other now.

I learned the steps, letting the touch that scared me lead me to a brand-new place. Was it Heaven? It felt like it. The way he took my shaft into his hand, jerking me slowly as he licked my tongue, drinking in my essence like it was tainted with my soul and he was ravenous for it.

Sex had never felt this way before. Like I was flying in the air, floating serenely along with the clouds. My brain was quiet, but I could feel it.

A rising need for more. Faster. Harder. I waited for a fist to come or the bite of his teeth to sink deeper into my flesh until his claim was marked into my skin for weeks to come.

Price placed his palms against my inner thighs, spreading them. “Stay with me, Crew. Don’t try to rush. Just feel, and the pleasure will come to you.”

I think I nodded. Everything was so hazy, my blood was turned to pure lust, my mind so far gone into the air that was him. I panted against the pillows under me, my eyes closed as I was helpless to follow Price’s advice.

If I thought about it, I’d lose my composure. I knew if I let my mind wander, I’d start to choke. Hands that weren’t mine and weren’t Price’s would start to slide up my body, feeling over every inch Price had touched and tainting them once more. I couldn’t let that happen.

Not when something so gentle felt so fucking good.

Cool fingers slicked with lube rubbed against my hole. My back arched off the mattress, pressing my ass further against them.

“That’s it, Crew. Relax for me. I’ll give you what you need.”

His words lured me through that beautiful, peaceful place where nothing mattered. I gasped with the shock of his finger pushing through, sinking into me slowly.

I pushed into it, making it tunnel deeper inside of me with a whimpering moan. Price halted, reminding me to let it come to me. Don’t chase it, he said. Don’t rush it. Don’t force it.

Precum flowed from my dick freely, dribbling to form a puddle at my base. When a sharp shock of pleasure shot through my entire body, I couldn’t help but yelp and keen, my hips thrusting on their own accord.

Price held my hip, keeping me in place as he set the pace. I was thankful for it, knowing that if my body had its way, I’d ride his fingers to completion. I wanted Price inside of me. I was desperate for it.

“Please.” I looked down, finding him staring at me with a smile. The pointy canines I’d grown to adore were poking out just enough to drive me wild. “I need you. I’m gonna lose it.”

There was something so beautiful about the way Price lost his composure, much like I had from the moment his lips had touched my neck. His brows furrowed, his eyes glazing over with an intensity that made the unfamiliar heat in my gut burn higher.

I watched with anticipation as he leaned to the side, grabbing a condom from the nearby nightstand. He stroked his cock, slick and veiny, before sliding it on.

We met in a heated kiss, breathing into each other with a desperation I could feel, but Price wouldn’t give in to.

As he had promised many times before, he took it slow. The tip of his dick notched against my hole, teasing me before pushing in the slightest bit.

Our foreheads came together, a sweaty and matted mess of hair. “Gentle and patient, Crew. You don’t need to rush. You don’t need to be bruised.” We both groaned as the tip of him broke through.

My head flew back, my neck on full display as the burn brought me to life. It wasn’t painful. Not in the slightest. Every nerve ending came to life, firing one by one, over and over, as he inched his way inside.

One of his hands came up to cradle my head, pulling me as close as possible as his hips met my ass with an obscene smack.

We moved together, my hips undulating in time with his thrusts, the moment the burn faded. It was unhurried, a prolonged build-up of our skin coming together.

I was so full, his thick shaft filling me up and leaving no room for anything else. I clamped down around him, letting my mouth hang open on a mantra of moans.

Price pulled my chin down, forcing my gaze to his. Sweat dripped from his forehead, the fire inside of him clawing its way out to thaw the ice in me.

What I saw in his eyes terrified me. He looked at me the same way he touched me, like I was precious. I was the only thing that mattered. He looked at me like he wanted more, just as I did.

And that couldn’t happen. But for now, I’d pretend it could.

He pushed my hips up, angling us further. His cock brushed against my prostate, hitting it with each electrifying thrust. I could barely breathe, losing myself in the feel of it all.

My dick was trapped between us, begging for mercy as urgency took over. The tips of my toes tingled and my heart pounded as my orgasm begged to explode.

“Price, I’m gonna come. I’m gonna come. Oh, god.” I was barely making any sense, my pleas mumbled and stuttered.

Price was losing himself, too. I felt it in the way his thrusts got shorter, how his jaw got tight and clenched. He touched his forehead to mine once more, whispering to me below the sounds of our undoing. “You don’t need to feel hated to find pleasure. Find it in me. Feel it with me.”

A palm wrapped around my shaft, his strokes slow and steady, lazily matching our pace. “Come for me, Crew. Do it without a single mark on your skin. Do it with a gentle hand, and bask in what I can show you.”

My hands flew to his shoulders, feeling along his back. I grabbed onto his muscles there, finding an anchor in his shoulder blades as it all became too much. Too good. My breaths came out choppy and harsh, my muscles tightening, my legs wrapping around his waist the best they could.

Fear of what was about to happen slammed through me, almost ruining the moment. The realization that I’d lost control and was letting Price fuck me like he loved me had me going still.

I looked up at him, gripping his back for dear life. For some reason, I couldn’t hold my words back. I was so close to coming, so desperate for release, yet they came tumbling out .

“I’m scared, Price.”

His face softened, his hips and hands coming close to a complete stop. He shook his head, keeping his eyes locked on mine. “Be scared with me.”

And then he pushed in deep. Deep against my prostate, grinding his hips into me enough to rub it over and over and over again.

His hand squeezed around my shaft, twisting at my crown as he manipulated my body into letting go all over again.

Fire trickled up my spine, my muscles tightening once again as I threw my head back. I couldn’t get a sound out, my mouth opening on a scream that never made it past my lips. My body was unbearably tight just before finally letting it all go.

A storm of lightning took over my senses, my eyes snapping shut as I panted through my release. I could feel my cum pooling between us, pouring over Price’s hand.

Price rocked into me, his hands coming to either side of my head. He growled a deep, rumbly sound that took my breath away.

Shudders racked him just as he thrust into me once more, his hips stilling as he came inside of me. My ass was greedy, constricting around him, trying to never let him leave.

When he collapsed against me, our chests rising and falling in labored pants, I wrapped my arms around him in one final act of indulgence. Being in his arms, or having him in mine, didn’t seem so scary just then.

And that was the scariest part of it all.