Chapter 68 Chapter 68

Chapter 68 Chapter 68
CHAPTER 68

DOMINIC'S POV

The apartment was quiet.

Cassian was asleep in my bed. He had been home for three days. Three days of watching him heal. Three days of making sure he ate. Three days of holding him when the nightmares came.

He was getting better. The color was returning to his face. The light was returning to his eyes. He was smiling more. Talking more. Being himself more.

But I was still terrified.

Every time he closed his eyes, I held my breath. Every time he winced, I felt the bullet hit my own chest. Every time he was quiet for too long, I thought I had lost him.

I was sitting in the living room. Staring at the wall. The television was off. The lights were dim. The city was asleep outside the windows.

I heard footsteps behind me.

"Dominic."

I turned. Cassian was standing in the doorway. He was wearing one of my shirts. The grey one. The one he had stolen years ago. His hair was messy. His eyes were sleepy. The bandages were still visible beneath the collar of the shirt.

"Hey," I said. "You should be asleep."

"Could not sleep."

"Nightmare?"

"No." He walked toward me. His steps were slow. Careful. "I woke up and you were not there."

"Sorry. I could not sleep either."

"Come back to bed."

"In a minute."

"Now."

He reached me. Stopped in front of me. Looked down at me. His eyes were soft. His hand reached out. Touched my face. His fingers traced the line of my jaw. The hollow of my cheek. The curve of my lips.

"Dominic," he said.

"Yeah?"

"I want you."

My heart stopped. Then started again. Faster.

"Cassian."

"I want you, Dominic."

"You are still healing."

"I know."

"You are not ready."

"I am ready."

"Your wound."

"It does not hurt."

"Cassian."

He leaned down. Kissed me. Soft. Gentle. His lips were warm. His hand was still on my face. His tongue slid across my lower lip. Requesting. Asking. I opened for him. His tongue slipped inside. I tasted him. He tasted like sleep and warmth and something that was just him.

"I want you," he said again against my mouth. "I have wanted you for days. I have wanted you for weeks. I have wanted you for years."

"Cassian."

"Please."

I looked at him. At his tired eyes. At the small smile on his lips. At the man who had almost died in my arms. His pupils were blown wide. Dark. Hungry. His lips were swollen from the kiss. His chest was rising and falling faster than it should be.

"You are sure?" I asked.

"I am sure."

"Cassian."

"I am sure, Dominic. I want this. I want you. I want to feel you inside me. I want to feel your hands on my body. I want to feel your mouth on my skin. I want everything."

I stood up. My hands found his waist. His body was warm under my hands. The shirt was thin. I could feel the heat of his skin through the fabric. I could feel the bandage beneath his collarbone. I could feel his heart beating. Fast. Steady.

"You are still healing," I said again.

"I know."

"Promise me you will tell me if it hurts."

"I promise."

He kissed me again. Deeper this time. His tongue pushed into my mouth. His hands fisted in my shirt. His body pressed against mine. I could feel him through the thin fabric of his sweatpants. He was already hard. Already ready. Already desperate.

I kissed him back. I could not help it.

\---

We moved to the bedroom.

His steps were slow. Careful. But determined. He lay down on the bed. His body was soft on the sheets. His eyes were on me. Dark. Hungry. He reached for me. His fingers curled around my wrist. Pulled me toward him.

"Take off your shirt," he said.

I did. The fabric slid over my head. I dropped it on the floor. He looked at me. His eyes traced the lines of my body. The scars on my chest. The tattoos on my arms. The muscles that had been earned through years of pain. His hand reached out. Touched my chest. His fingers traced the scars. The raised lines of skin that crossed my ribs.

"I love you," he said.

"I love you too."

His hand moved lower. Across my stomach. Across my hips. His fingers found the waistband of my jeans. He unbuckled them. Pulled them down. I stepped out of them. I was in my boxers. His hand touched me through the fabric. I was already hard. He wrapped his fingers around me. Squeezed. I gasped. He smiled. Small. Satisfied.

"I want to feel you," he said.

"Cassian."

"I want to taste you."

"Cassian."

"I want you in my mouth."

My breath caught. He tugged at my boxers. I let him pull them down. I stepped out of them. I was completely exposed. He looked at me. At the length of me. At the way I was already leaking for him. At the way my body was responding to his touch.

He leaned forward. His tongue touched the tip. I shuddered. His mouth opened. He took me inside. Warm. Wet. His tongue slid across the underside of my cock. I gripped the headboard.

"Cassian."

He hummed. The vibration traveled through me. I was losing control. I was losing myself.

"Stop," I said.

He pulled back. Looked at me.

"Why?"

"I want to be inside you."

His eyes darkened. "Yes."

He lay back on the bed. His legs parted. His body opened for me. I reached for the drawer. Pulled out the lube. Poured it on my fingers. My hands were shaking. He watched me. His eyes were on my face. On my hands. On my body.

"Tell me if it hurts," I said.

"I will."

I touched him. My finger circled his entrance. Slow. Deliberate. He tensed. Relaxed. I pushed inside. The tip of my finger entered him. He gasped. His hands fisted in the sheets.

"More," he said.

I pushed deeper. He was tight. Hot. I moved my finger. Slow. In and out. He arched his back. His hips pushed toward my hand.

"Another," he said.

I added a second finger. Stretched him. He moaned. Low. Deep. His body was responding. His skin was flushed. His lips were parted. His eyes were closed.

"Look at me," I said.

He opened his eyes. Looked at me. His eyes were wet. His lips were parted.

"I love you," he said.

"I love you too."

I added a third finger. He gasped. His body arched off the bed. His hands were gripping the sheets. His breathing was ragged. His skin was slick with sweat.

"Please," he said. "Please, Dominic."

"Please what?"

"Please fuck me."

I pulled my fingers out. He made a sound. Empty. Needy. I positioned myself between his legs. His eyes were on me. Desperate. Wanting. His legs wrapped around my waist. His heels pressed into my lower back. Pulling me toward him.

"I love you," I said.

"I love you too."

I pushed inside him. Slow. Careful. His body opened for me. His eyes closed. His mouth opened. A sound escaped him. Deep. Guttural. His hands fisted in my hair.

"Dominic."

"Yes."

"More."

I pushed deeper. The head of my cock entered him. He was so tight. So hot. So perfect. My whole body was shaking. I wanted to lose control. I wanted to take him. Claim him. Own him. But I held back. I was careful. I was gentle.

"Cassian," I said.

"Look at me."

He opened his eyes. Looked at me. His eyes were wet. His lips were parted.

"I love you," I said.

"I love you too."

I pushed all the way inside. He gasped. His body arched. His hands fisted in my hair. His legs tightened around my waist.

"Move," he said.

I moved. Slow. Deep. My hips pulled back. Pushed forward. He moaned. His head fell back. His throat was exposed. I leaned down. Kissed his neck. Sucked his skin. His body responded.

"Harder," he said.

"Cassian."

"Harder, Dominic."

I moved faster. Harder. My hips slammed against his. He cried out. His nails dug into my shoulders. His legs tightened around my waist.

"Fuck," he said. "Fuck, Dominic."

"Yes."

"Right there. Right there. Do not stop."

I did not stop. I kept moving. Kept thrusting. Kept taking him. His body was on fire. His skin was slick. His breathing was ragged.

"Touch yourself," I said.

His hand moved down. Wrapped around himself. He stroked himself in time with my thrusts. His body was trembling. He was close.

"I am close," he said.

"Come for me."

"Dominic."

"Come for me, Cassian."

He came. His body arched off the bed. His mouth opened. His eyes closed. He screamed my name. I felt him. Felt his release on my stomach. Felt his body tighten around me. Felt his orgasm ripple through him.

He was so beautiful. So broken. So perfect.

I kept moving. Kept thrusting. I was close. So close.

"Come inside me," he said.

"Cassian."

"Come inside me, Dominic. I want to feel you."

I came. Buried inside him. My body shuddered. My hands fisted in the sheets. His name was on my lips.

We collapsed. Our bodies were tangled. His face was in my neck. His hand was on my chest. His heart was beating under my palm.

"Dominic," he said.

"Yeah?"

"I love you."

"I love you too."

He pulled me closer. His arms wrapped around my back. His legs tangled with mine.

"Do not ever leave me," he said.

"I will not."

"Promise me."

"I promise."

He kissed my forehead. My nose. My lips.

"I love you," he said.

"I love you too."

We lay there. In the dark. The city was sleeping outside the windows. The world was still.

His body was warm against mine. His heart was beating under my hand. His breath was soft on my skin.

I had never felt more alive.