“Good, let’s get you upstairs.” But he doesn’t make any move to go. He kisses me, and I melt into him as his mouth moves against mine. I can feel the shift in him now, thedominance giving way to tenderness, and I love this side of him just as much. When he pulls away, he whispers against my lips, “Thank you, I think I needed that tonight.”
“Anytime,” I promise, wrapping my arms around his neck to kiss him again before we head upstairs. My legs are still a little shaky as he guides us up to the bathroom, and I wait patiently, feeling like a mess but kind of loving it because of why.
We wait for the water in his shower to heat up, and I smile as he follows me in. Before I know what’s happening, John is soaping me up and rubbing me down. He’s thorough, washing away the sweat and cum and olive oil from my legs. When his soapy hands slide between my ass cheeks, cleaning me there, I tense slightly at the sensitivity.
He pauses his movements. “Sore?”
“Yeah, a little,” I admit. “But in a good way. I’ll feel you tomorrow.”
“Good,” he says, the satisfaction in his voice obvious.
“I’ll probably also have some bruising on my hips from the way you fucked me into the counter with no mercy,” I tease.
“I didn’t hear yellow or red from those pretty lips, Chad,” he murmurs, and I wonder if he heard himself call my lips pretty. I did. I’m going to hold onto that compliment forever.
“I promise to tell you if anything comes up, but so far, I seem to always be green for you. I think it’s partially because I trust you so completely,” I explain, earning a small smile from John. Then I take the soap from his hands. “Now, it’s my turn!”
He looks surprised for a moment as if he wasn’t expecting me to reciprocate, but he doesn’t protest as I lather my hands and start with his chest, tracing the lines of his muscles, feeling them flex under my touch. He keeps his bun out of the spray so he won’t have to deal with wet hair while I pay special attention to his nipples, circling them gently until they harden, earning me a sharp intake of breath.
“Chad,” he warns, but there’s no real heat in it.
“Just being thorough,” I claim innocently, moving lower.
The first time he cared for me like this, he told me it’s just the decent thing to do, that I shouldn’t read into it. But just like every time before now, that’s literally impossible. To me, it feels like there’s so much more behind his actions than just the same aftercare he’d give anyone.
When my soapy hands reach his cock, he’s half hard again, just like I am, and I can’t resist stroking him a few times, feeling the piercings under my palm. The Prince Albert fascinates me, and I trace it with my thumb, hypnotized by the way it moves with his skin.
“You’re obsessed with those,” he observes, but he’s smiling.
“Can you blame me? They feel incredible and look so cool. I can’t believe I’m lucky enough to get to feel them inside of me.” My hole clenches at the thought, already wanting to be filled with him again.
“Ready to get out?”
“Yeah.”
John turns the water off and hands me a towel, drying himself off, then rubbing the towel I have wrapped around me to help or something. I don’t know what he’s doing, but I like it and it’s making me smile.
After we’re dry and John hangs the towels up, he walks into his bedroom, so I follow.
“Cuddle time?” I press, hoping we can get into his bed together. He looks at me for a moment with an arched brow, but I didn’t ask for anything that would break the rules. I can cuddle now and still leave to avoid sleeping over.
Finally, he aims a small nod my way.
My heart rate doubles in an instant as I scurry over to the side of his bed and crawl under the covers. John surprises me when he joins me, scooting down to pull me into him.
This is different from the other times we’ve been together. Sure, we did have sex—rough sex at that, but there was no newkink exploration—but lying here naked with him wrapped around me feels like something more.
I think about what he said earlier again, what he’s said this entire time between us, and yet here I am, in his bed, held close in his arms like I’m something precious even though my man claims he hates cuddling and casual touching.
My heart does this painful squeeze in my chest because I know what this means, even if John won’t say it out loud.
He cares about me. I’m certain of it.
24
JOHN
Ishould pull away.
