Hold Me Close(101)

Heath nibbled her hip. Her thigh. He brushed his mouth across her lace panties and paused to blow heat against her. His fingers hooked in the waistband and tugged them away. He hooked her knee over his shoulder and slid his hand beneath her ass to lift her to his kiss. His tongue found the seam of her cunt and parted her to his caress. Steady, steady, gentle and steady, unwavering, Heath used the flat of his tongue to stroke her clit. In minutes, Effie was on the edge, and that was where he kept her no matter how she writhed and moaned.

“Please,” Effie said.

Heath lifted his head with a grin. The sight of his wet mouth sent another surge of pleasure through her. She let her fingers drift through his hair, no longer so neatly combed. She took his chin in her hand, tight. Their gazes met and held. Slowly, deliberately, Heath tugged himself from her grip to give her another long, deliberate lick.

“You taste,” he said in a low voice, “so goddamned good.”

The adoration in his voice made her want to laugh or weep, and Effie did a little of both. She opened herself to him, with more than only her body. She gave Heath all of herself, and he feasted on her until she cried out, over and over. Her body tightened, tense, and released, only to be swept up again in another wave of pleasure that overtook her and left her gasping.

When she stopped shaking, Effie let her hands fall to either side of her head. “Oh. My. God.”

Heath laughed and kissed the insides of her thighs before moving up and over her. His cock pressed her belly as he kept himself from weighting her, his hands denting the bed on each side of her body near her ribs. He kissed her lightly before pushing up on his hands again.

“I want you inside me,” Effie said.

Heath’s breath hissed. “Yes. I want that, too.”

She pulled him back to her, urging him to cover her even though he resisted. “Kiss me.”

“I don’t want to crush you.”

“You could never,” she told him, still urging, until he gave in and lowered himself full on top of her.

Heath kissed her. He fit himself inside her slowly until Effie tipped her hips to draw him in—he filled her, and they both groaned. Heath pressed his forehead to hers for a moment, his eyes closed. He throbbed inside her, and she wanted to giggle, but it felt so good that she chuffed out a small sigh instead.

At the taste of salt, Effie used her thumbs to press away the tears—his or hers, did it matter, when they’d so long ago become one person? She drew him against her. “Hold me close.”


He moved inside her, and though she’d already had a dual orgasm, the pleasure built inside her again as he took his time and played her body the way only he had ever been able to do. They rocked together for a long time. She didn’t expect to come again, but the longer he drew out his climax, the closer she got. Every thrust pressed him against her clit, until Effie gasped and moved and raked her nails down his back to urge him to f*ck into her harder, faster, deeper. When she hooked her heels over the backs of his calves, Heath laughed, low against her neck. The noise muffled. He nipped her throat, sending a shock wave of delight all through her.

“I want you to come with me, Effie.”

“I am. Oh...shit. Yes, I am.”

So many times and with so many men, Effie had lost herself inside her own head at this moment of orgasm. Taking her own pleasure without sharing it with her partner had been more than a habit; it had been a practice. But not with Heath. No, here and now and always with Heath, Effie gave and opened and shared. They were in this together. For all of it.

Breathless, she let the waves overtake her. She held him close as he shuddered. She kissed him, sipping at his breath and giving it back to him with her next exhale.

Finally, Heath collapsed. For a moment, his weight did press her a little too hard, though she’d never have said he’d even come close to crushing her. A few seconds only, before he rolled to her side, and without the time it took for a heartbeat, he’d pulled her snugly against him with his hand on her belly. He kissed her temple.

They stayed that way awhile, dozing. Effie’s stomach rumbled. She twisted in his embrace to press herself against him.

“We’re sticky.”

“We could take a shower.”

Effie yawned. “Bleah. Okay. In a few minutes. I’m lazy.”

Heath cuddled her again. She drifted, waking with a start to the beginning of a nightmare about lying tucked up in his arms with that man standing over them. Her mouth was too dry, and her pulse pounded, but unlike the many other times Effie had woken from a similar dream, this time, in Heath’s arms, she simply settled back against him and let the dream fade.

Her stomach rumbled. She laughed. He pressed his mouth to her hair, and she allowed herself to melt once more into his embrace. When he kissed her, though, Effie put her hand between them so her fingers could cover his mouth.

“Hungry,” she said. “C’mon, let’s raid the mini fridge. No. No, let’s order pizza! There’s a take-out menu over on the desk.”

Heath pushed up on an elbow to look down at her, his brow furrowed. “You’re going to order pizza delivery. From a place you don’t know.”

Effie sat. Naked, she crossed her legs and leaned forward to run her fingertip down his sticky chest and along his thigh. “Yes. I told you, I’m hungry.”

“What happened to you? Where’s Effie?” Heath looked so concerned she couldn’t tell if he were joking or not, so she swatted him. He ducked from the swing and captured her hand, then pushed her back on the bed to pounce. He held both her hands with one of his so he could pat her all over, tickling.