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“Touch yourself.” Cold gritted his teeth, giving Jimmy’s thigh a quick smack. “Go on. Make yourself come for me. Just for me.”

“You,” Jimmy whimpered in reply. “Just you.” He grabbed his cock and jerked off rapidly, matching Cold’s relentless pace. He was tender, likely from the earlier spanking, but it heightened the pleasure behind every stroke of his hand. He was already so close, his body tensing as it prepared to climax. “S-sir…! I’m…!”

“There,” Cold growled hungrily. “Come for me, Mr. Poe. Right now.”

Jimmy pumped his hand frantically until he reached his end, a strangled sound escaping his throat as he came all over his belly. Each pulse was intense, his hips coming off the counter as he fucked his fist to work himself through it. He sagged back down with a whimper, his head light from the rush.

Cold must have been right on the edge because he came almost immediately. He fucked his load deep into Jimmy’s body with a few final slams before at last coming to a stop. He eased Jimmy’s legs down to fall around his waist, rubbing his shaking thighs. “Good boy. Such a good boy for me.”

“Thank you, sir… I’m…” Jimmy was exhausted and sore, his muscles tingling from the exertion, and there was a strange sensation forming behind his eyes. He felt heavy now, as if something was sitting on his chest and making it hard to breathe. The pleasure was great, but it was all too fleeting.

He tried to speak but nothing came out.

He tried again, and he sobbed.

A real, frantic sob.

He cried, his entire body shaking and convulsing as each bout of tears tore through him. Years of suffering, grief, and struggles moved through him in seconds, and the miserable waves reduced him into a broken, shattered thing.

He felt ashamed for losing control, and he tried to hide his face in his hands. He wanted to stop. He didn’t want Cold to see him like this. He didn’t even know what was wrong. Today had been such a good day. They’d just had incredible sex literal seconds ago, Cold was still inside of him, and now he was crying.

He thought of what they had shared, the new and fragile yet vibrant love they were building, and this was not supposed to be part of it.

He was so weak…

So broken.

Worthless.

But Cold’s arms were around him, pulling him up into a sitting position so he could hold him. He pressed close, his lips at Jimmy’s temple as he soothed, “I’m here. Breathe. Breathe for me, Jimmy. Let out whatever you need to. I am here. Always. I want you. At your best and at your worst.”

The words were meant to comfort, but Jimmy only cried harder as he tried to push through the pain. It was an agony he’d barely let himself confront, but one he knew he had to in order to move forward. He let himself be this shattered thing and allowed every soothing touch and gentle word and loving embrace to bring him back up to the surface.

It did truly feel like drowning.

Being caught in a current with no hope of escape.

It was despair, but…

He had Cold.

He had Roderick.

Who would lift him up, allow him to breathe, and be at his side. While neither of them could change the awful events they’d both suffered in order to arrive at this point, they could fight to protect the future ahead of them—the two of them against the world.

Forever.

“Sorry,” Jimmy mumbled weakly, cringing at the wrecked sound of his own voice. “I didn’t mean to get so… Yeah.”

“It’s all right.” Cold kissed his forehead and wiped away his tears, shifting his body to carefully pull out. “Talk to me. Are you hurting anywhere?”

“N-no.” Jimmy paused, taking a better assessment of his body. “No, I’m okay. Really. I don’t actually know what happened. It was good. Like, so good. It only hurt in, like, the sexy way? And then I got all caught up in my head and just—” He shook his head. “I don’t know.”

“It’s all right,” Cold soothed. “What we share, the way you give yourself to me, can be a very emotional experience. It is not without its risks, however, and I do not mean mere physical harm. It’s not uncommon for a submissive partner to go through what is called sub drop.”

“What’s that?”

“It’s the crash after a particularly intense session.” Cold swept Jimmy’s hair back out of his face. “Add to that how the last twenty-four hours have been especially intense.”