When the tingles of orgasm begin to fade, I remain limbless in his arms.
My throat throbs raw around each ragged breath, and my aching pussy pulses around his softened cock. Yet, as he presses tender, almost loving kisses to my neck and collar, I feel as light as a cloud. He handles me as if I’m as precious as the treasure he nicknames me after, and at this moment, nothing else matters.
My arms drift as if disconnected from my body and I loosely drape them around his neck for whatever weak steadiness I can get. Killian steps away from the wall, cradling me against his chest while still embedded inside me.
I like this. It’s the comforting connection I’ve been craving all day.
How did I turn into this?
Maybe it was inside me already, trapped under what IthoughtI should be like?
“What do you do to me,” I groan softly into his neck and he hushes me gently as he starts to carry me upstairs.
I know what he does to me.
He peels me apart, layer by layer, and cares for the parts I didn’t even know existed.
14
KILLIAN
I’m absolutelystarving. An hour ago, I had ravaged Cara against the very wall that frames the lounge where she now sits, curled up on the sofa under a weighted blanket at my insistence.
I’d read once that after a particularly rough love-making session, weighted things like snuggling or a blanket can help soothe the come down from the pleasure and adrenaline. We’re definitely not at the snuggling stage yet, so a weighted blanket it is. I’m not entirely sure she appreciates it, though. She’d also tried to push me away in the shower when I’d made it my duty to help her clean up. Eventually relenting when her aching muscles had complained against her stance.
I’d washed her, dried her, laid out some soft clothes, and tucked her up on the couch where she would be safe and comfortable. Not to mention several bottles of water to aid in her hydration; no one expects that type of sex to dehydrate you, but I swear, people are always surprised.
I’d ordered Chinese food as she dressed; good food after good sex makes for a perfect evening, and it gave me time to clean myself up and admire the marks she’d left on me. Several red claw marks were torn into my upper body.
I wear them proudly when the delivery driver appears, nervously flanked by two guards. Poor kid looks ready to piss himself. One of the guards takes care of the cost as I stride back into the kitchen with the food, pleased to see Cara curled up on the couch as I’d advised.
I gather two plates and begin spooning portions of the chicken chow mein onto each plate. It’s simple food, really, but it’ll taste amazing after what we did; take-out foodalwaysdoes. As I work, movement catches my eye, and I glance up to see Cara slowly stretching her arms up above her head. It causes her body to elongate and her breasts rise under her sweater, causing my mouth to water instantly.
Then she peeks at me around her elbow and meets my gaze, flinching slightly. She definitely didn’t expect me to be staring.
“What?” I ask flatly, daring her to admit she wanted to look at me.
“You’re impossible to read,” she groans and my lips twitch slightly. I glance down at the carton, spooning the rest of the noodles onto the two plates before me, then pick them up and carry them across into the lounge. I can feel her eyes on me, a soft, prickly heat sweeping down me in time to the flutter of her eyes as I draw close. I’m dressed only in a pair of soft lounge pants that settle loose around my waist, a much-needed comfort after an intense session.
“Of course I am,” I reply softly, leaning slowly over her and setting down one of the plates on the small oak table next to her. “You don’t live long in this world if you’re easy to read.”
“That’s not what I mean,” she retorts and I glance at her face in time to see her eyes again. I tut softly at her like she’s a petulant child, then turn on my heel and set my plate down on the side table opposite.
“Well, what do you mean?” I press a little further, desiring more detail, although I bet she’s confused by my actions. She seems almost alarmed that I could be so gentle.
“One minute you’re a hardass, you yell and you snap and you fuck like a man possessed,” Cara states. A soft bubble of laughter rises in my chest, forcing my lips into a smile as she talks. “And the next,” Cara continues without missing a beat, “you’re washing me, wrapping me up, and plying me with enough water to turn me into a water balloon.”
What an analogy!I snort, then head across the room to the deep oak wall unit, crouching down until I’m at eye level with the alcohol, running my eyes over the labels. I’ve never claimed to be a wine connoisseur, but with Chinese food, surely a red would be fine? I’m sure Cara will let me know if it’s not good. I grasp the nearest bottle and two glasses, musing over her words. Is it really that alien to her that I could be gentle?
“Just because Ifucklike a demon doesn’t mean I don’t know how to take care of someone afterward,” I state as I stand. I set a glass down on her table, pop the cork with a flick of my wrist and pour her a drink. Cara watches me like a hawk. I pour my own as I walk back to my side of the sofa, dropping into the seat with a deep sigh as my aching muscles are soothed by the comfort of the cushions. My legs settle apart as I push back into the pillows, setting the bottle aside.
“You didn’t do it before,” Cara says pointedly, reaching for her glass and tipping the liquid about inside.
“Before?” I set my wine glass aside and reach for my food instead. The thought of alcohol right now makes my stomach churn, and I ignore the glass in favor of shoveling a forkful of noodles into my mouth. I’m ravenous, and not just because of my time with Cara but because it’s hard to find time for a decent meal these days.
“Before, when we did stuff,” Cara clarifies in between sips of her wine. “You didn’t act like this.”
“Before, you would run the fuck away rather than give me a chance,” I reply smoothly, licking sauce from my lips as I glance up at her and fix her with a steady stare. “Besides, post-sex aftercare is different than the aftercare of fingering you. What we did requires attentiveness afterward, so I provided. I’m not a complete monster.” A slight edge teases back into my voice before I can stop it. After everything we’ve been through, can she really be this surprised that I know how to take care of someone? She pulls away from my gaze, turning her attention back to her glass.