Thrive (Addicted, #4)(84)

Her legs limply slide right back to the floor. “I…” she trails off, too tired for words. But her eyes are alight with cravings, wants and desires.

I raise only one of her legs this time and hold it above my hip. The angle slices her breath and lolls her head to the side.

I slow my thrusts, and a moan escapes her parted lips. Tears crease the corners of her eyes. I wipe them away with my thumb as I begin the perilous ascent, speeding up and climbing towards that high.

I turn my attention onto her small breasts, kneading one. Her body arches towards me, and I pinch her hardened nipple. She gasps.

“Lo,” she pleads. “Pleaseplease.”

“Almost, love,” I say and then let out a long groan. Sex with Lily Calloway just may be the most toxic, mind-altering experience of my life.

I do it pretty much every night and every morning, and together, we still manage to go into another dimension of pleasure. She clenches tight around my cock, and it’s over at that. My breath staggers, and my thrusts turn determined and even harder.

Her hands wearily grip my biceps, not even attempting to really hold on.

I’m the only thing supporting her at this point.

When I finish, I carefully pull out, my hands still firm on her waist in case she can’t stand. Her eyelids flutter in exhaustion, and I lift her in my arms.

She struggles to fight sleep that finally weighs on her. “Lo, I’m…” she yawns. “…really sorry.”

My muscles sear at her sincere apology. I wipe the strands of wet hair away from her eyes. “Don’t be sorry, Lil. It’s my choice too. Only for tonight though, okay?”

“Mmmhmm.” She can barely nod. We’ve been fucking for a little over four hours with few breaks in between. All to wear Lily down to the point of mental and physical exhaustion. Giving her sleeping pills would have been easier, but her therapist was worried she’d start being dependent on them.

I doubt she would’ve approved of this alternative, but it’s just one night of insane sex. I won’t let Lily get used to this and make it a new routine.

I set Lily on the bed, open her legs a little, just enough to wipe her clean with my crumpled gray shirt. Then I pull the black and white comforter to her chin. Her eyes fight to stay open.

“Where’s my spoon?” She pats the mattress beside her.

I kiss her forehead. “I’m going to take a shower.” I trust that she won’t masturbate while I’m gone. I had to have satiated her enough, only sleep on her mind. I tuck the edges of the comforter around her thin body. “I love you, Lil.”

“I love you…” Her eyes close, and she breathes out the last word. “…too.”

I watch her fall asleep for a couple seconds before I turn towards the bathroom, battling against the same fatigue. Before I even reach it, someone knocks on the door. I hesitate to answer right away.

“Lo?” I hear Connor’s calm and controlled voice. “It’s just me.”

Those last words are the only ones that reanimate my body. Slowly, I step into a pair of drawstring pants and slip out of the door, leaving it cracked.

Our house in Princeton is eerily quiet, mostly because Lily has finally fallen asleep.

Connor studies me with a long once-over, as though he’s examining a patient. I comb back my wet, sweaty hair with my hands and lean my shoulder on the wall. “She knocked over a lamp,” I say, figuring he heard the crash since his bedroom is on the main floor.

“You’ve been having sex for four hours.” He states it as a fact.

“Yep,” I say. “You’ve been timing me?”

“It’s hard not to.” His eyes never waver from mine. I don’t see judgment in them, which is why we’ve become best friends.

“Because Rose is worried about her.”

“Because I have better hearing than most people,” he says, “and you two fuck without restraint.”

I produce a half-smile. “We all can’t be into ball gags and handcuffs.” I have tied Lily up before though. That’s not new to me. Connor and Rose’s sex tapes, however, go beyond anything I’ve done. I haven’t actually watched them, nor do I ever want to, but the internet still talks.

“No, we can’t,” he says softly in agreement. “And I’ve never been a fan of ball gags, though I appreciate their purpose.” He pauses. “Can I talk to you in the kitchen?” His eyes flicker to the office across the hall, the door ajar. In the shadows, an outline of a body moves behind it. Rose. Her mere presence clenches my stomach.

For the past couple of weeks, Lily and Rose have barely spoken more than a few words in passing, on a quiet streak. Ever since Rose and Connor returned from their honeymoon in Bora Bora, the atmosphere has been…tense.

I glance back at my bedroom, the door cracked, Lily still fast asleep underneath the covers.

“I’ll save you the time,” I tell him, speeding up this lecture. “This was a one-time thing. I’m not enabling her. I know what I’m doing. The end. If you’d like any more information than that, then you’re going to have to spill details about your sex life.” Not that I want any more than what I’ve already received from the tabloids. But fair’s fucking fair. I cross my arms, waiting for his reply.

“I’m not Ryke or Rose,” he reminds me. “I trust that you won’t enable Lily and vice versa.”