A soft, velvety darkness pressing against my consciousness, holding me down, keeping me still, secure. I’m not sure I’ve ever been quite so comfortable, my eyes closed, my body weightless — except for the form draped over mine, the lips ghosting against my mouth, wandering along the line of my throat, the hand sliding over my belly, and down — down —
“Cole?”
I push myself up on my elbows in the dark, peering at the face that’s just inches from mine, and then I glance over the clock.1:09 A.M.
“I’m sorry, baby —” His hands are moving even as he leans in to whisper into my ear, his hips rolling, his hard length against my thigh. “I missed you so much — I just had to —”
“It’s okay —”
I cradle his face with both hands, guiding his mouth back to mine, and the sound that comes out of him when our lips meet is almost a sob. We slot together, and it’s like coming home, dreaming coasting into waking as naturally as breathing. His hands are sliding up my sides, dragging my T-shirt with them, and I sit up, letting him remove it. He’s already naked, and when I lie down again, he pulls my boxers off, then straddles my hips.
“Is this too fast?” he murmurs, even as he’s rocking against me, the cleft of his ass teasing my cock, making me want to bury myself to the hilt inside him.
“Fast, slow —fuck, I don’t care — I just want to gowhere you’re going —”
“Good—”
A slick hand circling my cock, sliding up and down, making sure I’m ready for him. Then I reach down to hold myself steady, and he braces both hands on my chest, eyes shut in concentration, breathing deeply as he works his way down, his hips twitching as he moves. When we’re finally joined together, he sighs, leaning down to kiss me, to core me out with his tongue as his inner walls ripple along the length of me. And then he’s moving, his body undulating up and down as he presses his hands against me, his lips parted with pleasure.
I could lose myself just watching him. There’s no moon, but my curtains are open, and there’s just enough starlight to illuminate the rise and fall of his narrow chest, the hair tumbling over his shoulders. The window is open, too, and I can just make out the gentle waves of the Sound, the freshness of the night air. I wrap my hands around his waist to support him and plant my feet on the bed, and when I meet the fall of his hips with an upward thrust of my own, he lets out a soft cry of ecstasy.
“Ohfuck, I need — Ezra,please—”
He rolls off me and onto his back, and I take the hint, pushing myself up to knees and then settling between his spread legs, driving directly into the heart of him. His eyes are open, fixed on my face, arms wrapped firmly around my neck, and as I begin tomove, to give us both what we need, he pulls me down, tucking my face against his shoulder and putting his lips to my ear.
The words are barely coherent, half-muttered curses, my name over and over again, syllables that dash against the rocks of our shared pleasure. And as even the consonants disappear, as only the vowels remain, shapes mixed with gasps, with ripples echoing deep inside him, with a hand that leaves my shoulder to snake between us, I can feel how close he is —
And I’m there too, all finesse melting into sheerneed, into the longing for release, for spilling within him — and I can’t — Ican’t—
“Cole!”
I’m tumbling down the mountain, spilling deep inside him, and he’s falling too, both of us crashing to earth. And he’s sobbing, hiding his face against my neck, and I let him, rocking him in my arms because he told me that this happens to him, because sometimes it’s so good that the dam breaks.
And later, when he’s tucked against my side, warm and clean and satisfied, I close my eyes and listen to him breathing, the waking turned to dreams once more.
***
“Ezra, are you up?”
A fist pounding on my door. Blue eyes sharing mypillow, wide with panic. The click of my doorknob as it turns.
I have just enough time to shove him underneath the covers and sit up, pulling them up around my waist, when Seth opens the door and pokes his head in.
“Oh, sorry I woke you — have you seen Cole? He’s not in his room and Bree is just wondering where he went.”
I shrug, scratching my bare chest and trying to blink through the fog of sleep. “Maybe he went for a walk? It looks like a nice day.”
“Yeah, you’re probably right.” Seth starts to close the door, but then sticks his head back in. “I’m making pancakes, if you want some.”
“Thanks, I’ll be down in a minute.”
As soon as he closes the door, Cole emerges from the covers, nearly falling out of the bed as he scrambles to find his discarded briefs on the floor. “Shit shitshit, I’m sorry — why the fuck didn’t I bring any clothes with me — meant to sneak out before everybody woke up but it was so fuckingnice—”
“Cole, slow down, it’s not the end of the world —”
But he’s not listening to me, darting to the closet and wrenching the door open. “I amnotouting you. Are there any beach towels in here?”
“Bottom drawer of the dresser. But Cole —”
