Page 20 of Bloom in Darkness

I suck in a breath and brace my forearms against the tile. “Bryn.”

“I’m going to knot you when we get home.” He slows his hips just enough to work the tip inside, his mouth finding the side of my neck while my body adjusts around the dry stretch. The water helps almost none, and the burn has me clenching hard enough that his teeth scrape my skin when he groans.

“Holy fuck.” My forehead drops toward my arms as he pushes deeper, taking his time with the finger even while his cock keeps moving between my thighs. Every thrust drags along the underside of mine, and every movement of his hand makes the stretch sharper until my body finally starts giving him room.

When Bryn curls his finger inside of me, my knees almost buckle. He catches me immediately, his free arm locking across my stomach and hauling me back against him. “Stay up.”

“Then stop doing that.”

Bryn curls his finger inside me again instead, dragging a wrecked “Asshole” out of me before his teeth close around the shell of my ear.

Bryn starts fucking me with his finger in the same rhythm as his hips. His cock drives between my thighs while his knuckle presses deep inside of me, retreating almost to the tip before he pushes back in and curls against the spot that makes my stomach pull tight. His grip on me gets rougher every time I move, his fingers digging into my hip, his teeth catching my ear whenever I try to turn my head.

I bend forward enough to get a hand around my cock. Water runs down my arm and over my fist while I stroke myself, matching Bryn as best I can until he decides he doesn’t like the pace and drives harder between my thighs.

“Fuck.” My hand slips once before I tighten it again. “Right there. Keep—fuck, Bryn, keep doing that.”

His bite moves from my ear to the side of my neck. Bryn’s hand slides up from my stomach to my chest, his palm spreading over me before his fingers close around one nipple. He pinches hard enough to make me jerk, then keeps me pinned back against him when I try to chase the sensation.

I can barely keep my hand moving now. My legs are shaking under me, my breathing too loud against the tile, and Bryn is everywhere at once. “Valla,” I breathe, unable to get anything else out.

His hips slam forward and stay there for half a second, his cock trapped tight between my thigh, his knot expanding against my skin. I come hard enough that my arm locks, cum hitting the tile in thick streaks before the water starts dragging it downward.

Bryn groans against my ear and thrusts again before heat spills between my thighs. I look down, still trying to catch my breath, and watch his cum run along the inside of my legs before sliding toward the drain. Another streak hits the wall beneath mine, spreading through what I already left there before the water starts washing it toward the drain.

“Fuck.” Bryn pulls his finger free of my ass, then turns me before I have time to straighten completely. My back hits the tile and his mouth is on mine immediately, one hand cupping the side of my neck while the other stays wrapped around my waist.

I slide both hands up his wet chest until they lock behind his neck. I’m still kissing him when the water suddenly turns cold.

I jerk so hard my teeth knock his. “Shit!”

Bryn grunts and reaches past me for the handle while I scramble out of the spray, rubbing both hands over my arms as he tries to recover some heat. “Damn water heater.”

The best we get is lukewarm for about five seconds before it drops again. “We used all the hot water having emotional breakthroughs and bad ideas.”

Bryn’s mouth curves. “Worth it.”

We wash quickly with whatever heat is left, Bryn passing me the soap before taking it back to scrub himself down. By the time the water goes properly cold, I’m already rinsing the last of it from my chest, and Bryn shuts the shower off before I can start swearing again.

I step out shivering, but I barely get one foot onto the mat before Bryn grabs a towel and wraps it around my shoulders from behind. He drags me back against his chest while he rubs briskly over my arms and down my back.

I almost tell him I can dry myself, but Bryn’s purr starts as he moves around in front of me, gathers the towel closed at my chest, and tucks it securely around me. I decide I’m perfectly capable of keeping my mouth shut. Only then does he grab his own towel, cover himself, and drop onto the bench by the lockers I keep reserved for friends and family.

I take a second to look at him. Water still runs down his chest, and the bruise from Marek’s lucky hit is already darkening along his cheek. The rigid tension that had packed his shoulders when we walked in here is completely gone, replaced by the heavy, satisfied quiet of a Valla who just got exactly what he needed.

I toss my towel onto the bench and walk over to my locker, pulling out a clean shirt and a pair of dark slacks. I dress quickly before grabbing a spare t-shirt and some sweatpants from the shelf. I turn back and throw the bundle at Bryn's chest. He catches it easily with one hand, a faint smirk touching his mouth.

I reach into my discarded bag and pull out his phone, holding it out to him. "Your phone's been buzzing."

Bryn takes it, his thumb swiping the screen to life. The relaxed set of his jaw tightens the moment the light hits his face, his attention narrowing entirely to the glass.

"What is it?" I ask, pulling my shirt down.

“Astra texted.” Bryn’s attention narrows to the screen as he reads. “He’s home. Says he’s tired.”

Considering how Bryn described him earlier, that doesn’t surprise me. “Are you going over?”

Bryn shakes his head after a moment. “He asked me not to interfere tonight. I don’t want to overstep, Caelan. I don’t want to mess this up.”