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Last night shouldn’t have changed that.
I told myself to put a cold, unfeeling wall up. To tell him to hurry the fuck up because I was done with him and I wanted to leave. To remind him that I’d only done this because he’d begged me for it. To reiterate that I still couldn’t stand him.
He made a tired little sound as he rubbed his eye and tried to push back his tangled hair, and I couldn’t do it. I just couldn’t.
“Do you want a shower before we go?” I asked, then heard myself add, “I can help. If you’re not feeling too steady.”
He shook his head, finally shifting toward the edge of the bed, so I hurriedly took the bottle from him. “No, it’s fine. I’ll do it when I get home. Thank you.”
Swallowing thickly, I watched as he got unsteadily to his feet and let out a trembling exhale. I knew he was feeling the same shaky, exhausted sensation in his gut that I was. Work was going to be rough for both of us.
Rubbing his chest, he looked around for his clothes and froze for a second when he spotted them poorly folded at the end of the bed. He didn’t say a word as he got dressed, but I heard him inhale sharply when he tugged his briefs over his ass.
“Sorry,” I mumbled again, heat flooding my face. I should’ve been more careful with him. I definitely shouldn’t have fucked him that many times. Or that hard. It had been his first time bottoming.
He shook his head as he fastened his pants, and my throat closed up a little when I saw a tiny, contented smile curve his lips.
“I’ll be fine by tonight.” His voice was softer than I’d ever heard it before.
“Maybe take it easy at work,” I said anxiously, finally standing.
He nodded, still shockingly loose and pliant. “I will.”
I watched in silence as he slipped his shirt on and buttoned it, his fingers still lightly trembling. He left it untucked and pulled his keys out of his pants pocket, then looked at me.
Clearing my throat, I walked over to the dresser and grabbed my keys and the one for the room. In silence, we shifted into our human forms and walked outside, both of us squinting and blinking fast from the brightening morning sky.
“I need to go check out,” I told him, my voice sounding rough and loud in the still quiet of the near-empty parking lot.
He nodded, tired eyes flicking to the front office at the other end of the building. “Alright.”
“I guess… I’ll see you at work.” Something pierced through my chest as I said it. This was it. It was over. Whatever fucked-up thing had developed between us recently was done. Coming to an end right now, just as we’d agreed.
Crossbody nodded again, clutching his keys and shivering slightly in the cool dawn air. Neither of us moved, and my pulse leaped when he parted his lips.
“Thank you,” he said huskily, for the third time this morning. “Thank you, Vince.”
My gut squirming, I nodded once and heard myself hesitantly ask, “Was it what you wanted?”
His mouth spread into a wider smile, face still soft and tired and sated. “Yes.”
“Good.” I cleared my throat and gestured wordlessly at the front office, so he nodded and turned for his car.
I had to force my legs to move, force myself not to glance back as I heard him unlock his car and open the door. The engine sounded loud in the still morning when he turned it on, and an uncomfortable lump formed in my throat as I listened to him back out of the space and leave the parking lot.
It was over. That was it.
The same incubus from last night was still behind the front desk when I walked into the office. He perked up at the sight of me, a dirty grin spreading across his face.
“Did you enjoy your stay?” he asked with exaggerated politeness as I dropped the room key on the counter.
“Yep.”
His mouth twitched as he reached for the key. “I certainly did.”
“Don’t be gross, dude,” I said flatly.
“Don’t stay at an incubus-run motel and have wild, passionate sex all night if you don’t want me to benefit,” he countered, then chuckled. “Had to jerk off, like, five times last night thanks to the energy pouring out of your room. Don’t think I’ve ever felt this satisfied and well-fed without having sex myself.”
