Chapter 57 Everything....
I look at him for a long beat, the shadow of my own reality flickering at the edges of my mind. "Are you always this generous? Or are you just giving me the chance to cross things off my own bucket list because my time is limited?"
The air in the room turns cold for a split second. His expression shifts, a flash of something sharp and pained crossing his features before it settles into a hard, stubborn line. "It’s not," he cuts in, his voice low and stern. "Stop saying that. Stop thinking it."
His hand slides down from my neck, his fingers slipping beneath the waistband of my pants, the heat of his palm branding my skin. "I’m officially banning the pessimism, Ryan. Every time you think something like that, I’m going to give you something else to focus on."
I swallow hard, trying to reclaim my composure. "Is that really a threat or a promise? Because your 'distractions' are becoming quite the full-time job."
His lips twitch, but the fire in his eyes doesn't dim. “I want to be buried inside you. I want to feel you tighten around me until I can't remember my own name. But if you also want to take me, Ryan....I’m yours. I want you behind me just as much as I want you underneath me."
The unfiltered honesty is like a match to a fuse. I’ve spent so long being an afterthought in my own life, but he’s asking me to claim my own desire, to voice the things I’ve been too afraid to even whisper to myself.
"I think..." I start, my voice trembling as I finally stop fighting the flush. I look him straight in the eye, stripping away the last of my pride. "I think I’d prefer to be underneath you this time around."
His pupils blow out, a predatory heat taking over his expression. His grip on my nape tightens.
"You’re sure?" he asks and I nod. “If you want more...”
"I’ll tell you," I assure him, my fingers tangling in the hair at the back of his head. "I'll ask."
He shakes his head slowly, a fierce shadow crossing his face. He leans in until his lips are brushing against mine, until his scent filling my lungs. "No," he murmurs, the word a command against my mouth. "Don't ask. Just take everything I have to give until you’re full of it."
Our breaths mingle, hot and frantic, and I don’t wait for another invitation. I kiss him, my mouth finding his with a hunger that feels like it’s been building for a century. My hand finds him again....thick, scorching, and pulsing with a life of its own. I wrap my fingers around him, and the kiss instantly shifts from something sweet to something starved and carnal. It’s messy and desperate. Our tongues tangle, the taste of him flooding my senses as I stroke him with a firm pressure.
He lets out a long, low moan directly into my mouth, the sound vibrating against my teeth and sending a jolt of pure heat to my groin. When we finally break apart just to catch a lungful of air, his forehead rests against mine.
"Bedroom?" he asks, his eyes glazed with a lethal kind of intent.
I give a small, breathless nod and gesture toward the hall. We don’t walk so much as stumble, our mouths finding each other again and again, hands wandering, skin clashing in the narrow corridor. As we pass the kitchen, Ember stirs from her nap on the mat, her eyes blinking open. She lets out a sharp, inquisitive meow, watching us with that judgmental gaze that almost makes me laugh despite the haze of lust.
I push the door to my room open with my shoulder, the hinges creaking softly. The moment we’re inside, Michael kicks off his shoes and takes off his clothes in what feels like one fluid motion. Then he reaches for me. His fingers find the top button of my shirt, moving with a practiced, steady speed. But as the fabric begins to part, a cold, sudden wave of insecurity crashes over me. I stiffen, my muscles locking.
I think of Jason. I think of how sex with him was always held in the pitch black. He’d always insisted on the dark, claiming it was more comfortable, but I knew the truth. He didn’t want to see who he was with....a man. He didn't want to acknowledge the reality of us. I’d wanted to see him, to look into his eyes when we were at our most vulnerable, but I’d never argued.
Michael pauses. He’s got the buttons undone, the shirt hanging open, and his hand rests lightly, warmly, against my sternum. He looks up, and the moment our eyes meet, I know he can see it.
Daylight is still bleeding through the windows. It’s bizarre, I should be at school, teaching. Instead, I’m here, offering every shattered piece of myself to a man I’ve known for a week.
Michael doesn't say a word. He just holds my gaze, his expression softening into something fiercely protective. He slides the shirt off my shoulders, letting it pool on the floor, and then he leans down, pressing a slow, lingering kiss to the curve of my shoulder. His hand trails down my chest, his fingers light until he purposefully flicks my nipple, drawing a sharp, surprised gasp from my lips.
He begins to trail kisses down my torso, his mouth hot against my pale skin. I look down, catching sight of the faint, purplish bruises scattered across my ribs....marks I don’t even remember getting because my body has become a delicate, treacherous thing. Even a bump against a table or a firm grip can leave a mark.
But Michael doesn't flinch at the sight of them. He kisses the bruised skin with a sort of greedy reverence. He drops to his knees, his hands finding the waistband of my pants. He unfastens them, sliding them down along with my boxers in one smooth motion.
Suddenly, I’m standing there, completely naked in the unforgiving daylight. The air is cool against my skin, but Michael’s gaze is sweeping over me with an intensity that makes me feel more visible, and more wanted, than I have in my entire life.
He stands slowly, his palm skimming the length of my thigh. When he reaches my hips, he begins to lead me backward toward the bed and guides me down until the backs of my knees hit the mattress. I sink into the covers, my heart thumping a frantic, irregular rhythm against my ribs. He follows me down immediately, his frame blocking out the light, caging me in.
"I want to see every single inch of you while I do this." he whispers as he leans down, his chest brushing against mine. "Everything," he adds against my lips. His hands slide down my hips to the inside of my thighs.
With a slow pressure, he spreads my legs. I’m breathing hard now, the air feeling thin and electric as I watch him watch me. He looks at me as if I’m a prize he’s finally allowed to claim.
"You have no idea how long I've wanted to see you like this," he whispers, his voice a low, vibrating growl that settles deep in my gut. "Wide open for me."
A dizzying rush of endorphins hits me, and despite the raw exposure, a small smile tugs at the corner of my mouth. I look up at him through my lashes, my chest heaving. "I think I have a pretty good idea of the timeline," I point out, my voice thick with heat. "Considering we met exactly nine days ago."
He lets out a low, breathy chuckle that vibrates against my skin and shakes his head, his eyes darkening with a renewed, playful intensity. "Technically correct," he says, his thumbs grazing the sensitive skin of my hips. "But in my head it’s been a lifetime. And I’m about to make up for every second of it."