Page 79 of Promise

With my hands on his belly, with only the faint dusting of his former bruises present, I nearly bounce up and down on him, drawing him deep and then balance on the tip, threatening to release him. The threat is merely seconds before I fall over him again, bringing him back into me before repeating the motion. Gliding up his length. Dripping down his shaft.

I’m so wet, and the sound of our skin smacking faintly fills the front hallway.

This is what I’ve missed. This unrestrained feeling. This sense of freedom. The safety of him.

Dart lets me play with his body. Use him, like the song we heard at RiverFest.

“So good,” I whimper, riding up and down him. A rush of counteractive motions that result in the most delicious pleasure.

“So good,” Dart echoes me, gripping my hips harder and adding to the rhythm by slowly bucking his hips upward.

“So deep.” He grunts. “Never⁠—”

I crush my mouth to his again. I don’t want to think about the past. Don’t want to think about the future.

I just want to be present.

And I am.

Through the spiral winding up my belly.

Through the tingle in my legs and a cramp in my toes.

Through the thundering of my heartbeat.

Until I finally let go.

The release is so sweet. Flower petals raining down on me. The burst of a firework. A wild jump straight into the river.

I’m soaring in a way I’ve never soared before.

With my fingers digging into Dart’s shoulders and my head tipped back, I practically howl.

And Dart follows me.

He lifts his hips faster, tapping into me harder, until he slams me down, pinning me to his lap. He tilts back his head and lets out his own deep sound of pleasure. His eyes close tight. The vein on his neck extends.

Then he flashes me with those amber eyes, and his mouth crashes mine. His fingers pinch my jaw, holding my lips against his. He kisses me as deeply as he did when we first settled on these stairs. Only the kiss is a little kinder. The sweep of his tongue softer. His lips curl into a smile against mine.

“Forever.”

The nickname snaps me out of the moment. A rubber band pulled taut then released.

I flinch at the term and pull back, staring at Dart.

So familiar. So far away in the same instance.

What was I thinking? I’ll never be over him, and a moment like this only renews the heartache.

Because I’ll never be with someone else the way I am with him.

Nothing will feel the way it does when I’m with him.

Never.

23

[Dart]