Page 60 of Threads That Bind Us

His mouth is on my shoulders, my neck, my breasts, urging me closer and closer to another peak. I moan his name into his shoulder, leaving marks with my teeth, unable to stop myself from clawing closer to him.

He doesn’t stop. Words and bites and kisses. Every time hethrusts into me, our bodies pressed tightly together. I hear my name over and over, whispered and moaned against my lips, and with his teeth wrapped around my nipple, and into the place where my shoulder meets my neck. It’s too much, too good, too close.

My orgasm hits me without warning, stronger than the last one, pulling me under like a riptide. I feel myself clench around Charlie, fingernails digging into his back, chanting his name into his neck.

His lips find mine, and he murmurs something that sounds likeyoursuntil he stills, breath caught and muscles tight, forehead pressed to mine.

After a moment, he lets out a breath, and we’re panting against each other, skin sticky with sweat. Charlie kisses my lips, my cheeks, my forehead, any skin he can reach without shifting his position. When I finally collect myself, the last waves of my orgasm receding into a tingling sensation in my limbs, I can’t help but laugh.

I feel his smile even as I keep my eyes closed, his own laugh huffing against me where his lips meet my skin. He shifts gently, slipping his cock from inside me, prompting me to moan involuntarily. He rolls over next to me and immediately tugs me on top of him, cradling me against his chest and pressing his lips to the top of my head.

“We should clean you up,” he says, his words muffled by my hair.

“In a few minutes,” I mumble against his chest, my pounding heart soothed by the slow rise and fall of his chest.

“Okay, just a few minutes.”

I must drift off, the adrenaline drop and comfort of Charlie’s arms lulling me to sleep, because I wake a little while later to him lifting me from the bed, an arm under my legs and around my waist.

“I can walk,” I yawn, trying to blink the haze from my eyes.

“And I can carry you,” he says simply, propping me on the edge of the tub and starting the shower.

We rinse off together, silent and sleepy, a few lazy kisses exchanged here and there.

He does the same thing three more times that night, after every time we wake up tangled together, desperate for each other’s touch.

Chapter 20

Charlie

The sun peeking through the curtains is warm on my skin when I wake up. It has to be nearly noon, but I don’t move a muscle, because Gwen is tucked into my side, breathing steadily. She’s wrapped her body around me, her leg curled over my hip and her fingers twitching on my chest. Copper hair floats around her like a tangled halo.

I never want to leave. I’m content to the point of pain, each of her heartbeats increasing this strange and pleasant pressure in my chest.

The most poignant emotion I can identify isgratefulness. When I’d laid her on our bed, my first instinct was to lock down my desire, to suppress what I wanted and execute the carefully thought out steps I’d performed with every previous partner. She’d noticed the change, and I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to express how thankful I am that she did. That she pushed me to be honest, that she wants me for who I am.

I watch her sleep for a while longer, feeling relaxed in a way I haven’t in a long time. Eventually she rolls over, stretching her arms above her head and slowly blinking awake. I take my time soaking in her body, the way she forces her backto arch, lifting her breasts. The sheet twists around her waist, and I want to unwrap her again, to witness her naked and moaning in our bed.

Gwen’s surprised expression when she notices me stops that thought process in its tracks. It passes in a moment, her cheeks heating before she pulls the sheet up over her chest.

“Morning,” I say, suppressing the desire to touch her.

“Sorry, I kind of thought all that was a really vivid dream,” she mutters, covering her face with her hands.

My stomach drops a bit, but I try to temper my reaction, reaching over to pull her hand away from her face.

“Are you okay? With what happened?” I ask, running my thumb over her fingers.

I thought I would hate having my emotions be so out of control, but the need to comfort her, to ensure we didn’t cross any sort of line, outweighs any demand for restraint.

She rolls back toward me, giving me an apologetic smile.

“I’m sorry. I’m not doing this super well.” She presses a kiss into my chest that deflates some of the anxiety building there. “Yes, I’m very okay with what happened. Thrilled even. Thank you for trusting me.”

I can’t see her expression, because she’s nestled herself into my side, but I pull her even closer, pressing my lips into the top of her hair.

“Thank you, too,” I whisper.