The silence stretches between us, his mood turning serious. “I don’t find you annoying. I didn’t mean it when I said it.”
Oh God, could he be any sweeter?
“Not even a little bit,” he adds, making my heart swell with joy.
“I still think you’re cranky.” I poke his ribs.
Flinching, he replies, “That’s because I am.” He grins down at me, and I’m suddenly aware of how hard he still is inside of me.
My mouth shapes an O. “You’re still hard.”
“It’s kind of a problem when I’m around you.” His eyelids drop, followed by a rough guttural grunt, his confession does all kinds of crazy things to my body.
The thick muscles of his neck strain, like my pussy is heaven’s gate for his cock, and now the one thing he can’t live without.
“It’s not a problem; it feels great to me.” I clench my walls around him and his eyes bug out. “It’s so big.” I tilt my chin down, gesturing to the space between and below us. Even half erect, it’s enormous.
He begins moving his hips again, his dick becoming harder than it was before, and I hiss at his action when he punches his hips into mine much harder this time, my over-sensitive clit screaming at him to stop rubbing his pelvis against it, but I want this. So bad.
Ripples of pleasure surge through my core again. Everything he does makes my body feel like it’s going to combust, about to send me skyrocketing out into space.
“Again?” I ask, both astonished and basking in the way he’s ready to go again for round two.
“You fucking better believe it, baby.” He’s brisk and abrupt, his hips punching into mine as he speaks each word with the same pace as his thrusts.
“Then we need to walk Ghost.” I arch my neck back as he growls into my neck, fucking me with more power.
“We’re not taking your cat out for a walk,” he pants.
“Yes, we are. I have a lead. Oh God, right there.” I tilt my hips and grab onto his ass.
“That’s the stupidest idea I have ever heard in my life.” He bows his head and bites my nipple between his teeth.
“Oh my God, Elijah. Fuck me,” I call out on a long moan. “But I thought Boomwhackers were the stupidest thing you’d ever hea?—”
He cuts me off, covering his mouth over mine, and then he fucks me, all night until eventually I take Ghost for a walk along the beach, on his lead, hand in hand with Eli.
32
ELI
From the balcony of my bedroom, I stare at the ocean below. Tracking its movements in and out like it’s breathing, each slow wave cresting, folding back into itself as if being pulled back into the darkness below the surface. It sighs, crashes, and roars as if alerting surfers and early morning swimmers that it’s waiting for them, ready to seize the day.
From above, it looks like silver snakes winding this way and that, carving subtle paths through the deep, inky ocean.
This has always been my favorite part of the day.
Between worlds: when the sun seems to give the moon a much-needed break. It’s a smooth transition, one blending into the other, as the moon clocks out while the sun begins her shift, the half-light dancing across the ripples making them appear like sparkling veins.
When it’s just me, the sounds of waves crashing against the sand and the smell of salty air soothe me, grounding me. This is the time when I know I can just be. No paperwork, no files, no court cases, no court appearances, no stress, no checking, no aligning. Just calm.
As I sit here on the balcony, I almost dread the moment the sun rises for the day.
It’s when I start to get ready that my stress levels also rise, as my brain senses what’s waiting for me at the office: updates about Dad, client meetings, and emergencies that are all sent to test me. That’s when the urge to control things rushes in.
I wish I was still the guy where nothing fazed me.
I’m better, but still not where I want to be.