“Fuck.” He pumped harder, faster.
It built again, and I shuddered against him in little jerks.
“Come for me,” he commanded, gruff with need. “Come around me.”
That soft demand, just as it had been before, was my trigger.
I cried out his name, my fingers digging into his shoulders as I clenched around his driving cock, and I lost his eyes as I threw my head back in euphoria.
As I pulsed around him, Arran held me as his rhythm increased. A few seconds later, his face pressed against my neck, he stiffened, and groaned my name. His hips jerked against mine, and I felt the throb of his release inside me.
I held on to him as we tried to catch our breaths. My skin was slick against his, my breasts crushed into his pecs, and we were as close to each other as we could get. I squeezed my thighs around his hips, reveling in this delicious aftermath.
Don’t panic, I coached myself. You’re still in control. You can have this with him and have it not be complicated. This is Arran. You can trust him to keep it uncomplicated.
Before I could voice the reminder of what this was between us, he swept me into his arms and carried me into the bedroom.
He laid me gently, almost reverently, down on my bed. I opened my mouth to speak, but he beat me to it. “While I grab the condoms from the dining table, why don’t you take your hair down?”
My skin flushed at his intentions. “Arran, is this a good idea?”
His eyes narrowed. “I don’t want to stop. Do you? And be honest.”
I took a deep breath, not wanting to hurt his feelings, but wanting to give him the honesty he’d asked for. “I don’t want to stop, but I still don’t want a relationship, so where does that leave us?”
Arran contemplated me a few seconds before he offered, “I propose a casual affair. No one needs to know. We stop when one or both of us decide we’re done. No promises, no commitment. But we only agree to it if we promise to remain friends after. I don’t want to lose you. And no seeing anyone else while we’re doing this.”
My breathing grew shallow at the idea of losing Arran’s friendship. But I also knew I wasn’t done craving this closeness between us. It was exhilarating, and I was addicted to this new sensation. It was like I’d been living with all my senses turned down to fifty percent. Arran had come along and turned the dial until I was feeling and smelling and hearing and tasting and seeing everything at a level I’d forgotten existed.
I didn’t want to lose that either.
As for the latter rule, that wouldn’t be a problem for me.
I nodded. “Okay. Let’s agree to that.”
Arran’s expression darkened with satisfaction. “Hair down,” he repeated. “I’ll be back in a few seconds.”
“It’ll take me more than a few seconds,” I grumbled, sitting up. “I’ll just leave it up so we can get to the good times faster.”
“Please.” He smoldered at me.
I flushed under the heat of his stare but rolled my eyes. “Fine.”
Sure enough, when he returned, I was still sitting on the edge of the bed pulling out pins.
Arran laughed and sat beside me to help. I caught our reflection in the vanity mirror, and a smile tugged at my lips at the sight of us completely naked, taking hairpins out of my hair.
“By the time we’re done here, my balls will be blue,” Arran said teasingly.
“I told you. But you’re the one who insisted.”
“I love your hair.” He pressed a kiss to my lips and then whispered in my ear, “I love it wrapped around my fist as I fuck you.”
My breathing stuttered as I met his eyes in the mirror. No one had ever talked to me so crudely in the bedroom as Arran. Yet, surprisingly, it worked. It worked big-time. I guessed because it didn’t seem crude, it just seemed intense and visceral. He chuckled as I hurried to release my hair, and once that last pin was out, I lunged, taking him to his back.
Arran’s laughter filled my bedroom, but as my lips found every line and curve on his body, his laughter turned to desperate groans.
And we were lost inside each other.
Anyone might have called the cell phones we’d left out in the living room, but we’d never know. We only stopped to use the bathroom and grab snacks.
For the first time in my life, I spent an entire day and night in bed, sometimes talking about our lives without delving too deeply, but mostly savoring each other’s bodies and competing to give the other the most orgasms.
It was surreal.
It was mind-blowing.
It was a day I’ll never, ever forget.
19
ARRAN
Arriving at the Gloaming around seven thirty, eight o’clock every morning meant that me and the workers could secure parking in the large Main Street lot. By ten, however, all those spaces would be filled with cars and camper vans. That was what happened every year as soon as Ardnoch hit the summer months, and it was now June.