Page 65 of When I'm Gone

It’s not a lie. My relationship with Brady is still strained, despite our talk, and it’s hard to feel like myself around him. But when it’s just me and Chase, all my stress melts away.

“Whatever will we do with the time?” His voice is a deep rumble, full of devious intent that sends a shiver along my spine.

I know what I’m hoping for, that’s for damn certain. “Hmm. Monopoly?”

His eyes crinkle in the corners as he laughs, making my poor, stupid heart skip in my chest. My god, when he laughs. I don’t even stand a chance.

Chase’s lips find mine, and I lose the ability to form words. There is only him. The way his tongue dances with mine, firm and demanding, but also gentle in the way he guides me. My head spins as I melt into the hard planes of his chest. One hand lands on my lower back to support my useless legs and the other finds my shoulder blade, ensuring that there’s not an inch of space between us.

He grunts into the kiss as I start exploring the muscles along his arms and chest, whatever I can reach. His cock is hard against my belly, and I’m sure he can feel mine pressed into his leg. We’re a mess of limbs and desire, sharing each and every breath like our lives depend on it. Mine actually may, come to think about it.

“Inside, Easton, before your brother hears me take youapart all the way from next door,” he growls. I do not need to be told twice.

There is no way to know exactly how he intends to take me apart, but I don’t need the details to know I’m all the way in. Yes, please.

The race is officially on when I comply with his demand, both of us shedding clothes in between kisses. By the time we make it down the hallway and into his room, I’m inexplicably naked and he’s down to only black briefs that sit mouthwateringly low on his hips.

The tattoos decorating his impressive chest tell the story of my favorite person. Some are fantasy related, like the dragon unwinding on his ribs, reminding me of the movie he likes to put on when he’s feeling nostalgic. Others have a nature theme, there’s the one on his forearm that I’ve since learned is one-fourth of a sibling tattoo. My favorites are the little random ones slipped in here and there.

It’s like getting a sketchbook guide to his inner thoughts, which appeals to me way more than it should.

Hunger has swallowed all the blue in his eyes, and when I feel that trail down my body a pathetic noise climbs its way out of my throat. “Pretty big threat you made outside,” I taunt. My voice is huskier than I’ve ever heard it, more like velvet.

A promise hangs in the air between us, one that is so foreign to me, it steals my breath. With Chase, I’m safe. He knows me, has seen the worst side of me and is still here wanting me. I almost don’t know how to behave now that there’s no pressure for me to give myself to him. I simply want to. Desire is running through my veins so rapidly that my head spins. Sensing my need for grounding, he wraps his arms around my waist.

“If you’re not ready…”

I hurry to interrupt. “No. I am. Ready, that is. I just need asecond,” I mumble into his chest. It’s just overwhelming. Being wanted, no strings attached that I’ve been able to find. He looks at me like I mean something to him, and I’m trying really fucking hard to not think of the last time that someone saw me like that. Chase existed in the back of my mind for years as this sort of unattainable fantasy. He’d been nice to me and he was hot as sin, even before he was as defined as he is now. It wasn’t exactly voluntary, but it was a safe place to dream about that was just for me.

And now I’ve been dropped into some sort of parallel universe where that guy is standing in front of me mostly naked, and I feel treasured. Precious. Sexy, even. The power exchange has gone straight to my head, and I know I can fucking do this. He’s here, real and warm and wonderful, and I can have him.

Chase’s hands are locked onto my spine, the spot he favors when he’s trying to comfort me without overloading me with words. Something I appreciate more than I can tell him, the way I can feel the things he’s not saying.I’m here, I’ve got you, I’m not going anywhere.It’s enough, more than enough to vanish the last of my nerves.

Winding my arms around his neck, I stand on my toes and capture his lips in a kiss that I can feel down to my fingertips. Warmth creeps up my neck as Chase finds the pace we had set, deepening this kiss. His hands are everywhere, finding every spot that makes me gasp like he has a guidebook of my body tattooed on the back of his eyelids. He encourages me to wrap my legs around his waist before laying me down on the bed.

“You sure about this, sweetheart?” he asks against my mouth.

It’s an effort to pull away, both because sharing every breath with him makes me feel like I can fly, and because there’s a lingering tendril of worry that he’ll bail out and it’llbe my fault. But if we’re going to do this, he needs to see my eyes—see how much I want him. My breath hitches as I connect with his dazzling blues. “I’m sure.”

A wicked glint sparks in his gaze before he answers with a toe-curling kiss. When his tongue traces the seam of my lips, I open for him easily. The give and take, the way he reels me in only to make me chase him, is addictive. Desperation finds me fast, making me mewl like a newborn kitten as he kisses a path down my jawline before my neck. Chase keeps going until that magical tongue is lapping at the head of my leaking cock.

I grit my teeth so I don’t shout.Be silent. No one wants to hear a whore.He works me over until I’m a quivering mess. My hands are fisted in the sheets, but all I want is to be holding Chase’s. He’s so thorough in his dedication to my pleasure, making me feel things I didn’t even know were possible. Being so separated from him seems wrong in a way, but I don’t want him to stop.

He releases me no more than a second before I can come down his throat. My mouth falls open uselessly at the denied release. Seeing the look on my face, he chuckles darkly. “Don’t worry, Chaos. I’ve got you,” he swears.

If the goal tonight was taking me apart, he’s doing a damn good job so far. My skin already feels burning hot, I’m shaking, and I may actually die if Chase doesn’t fuck me immediately. He seems no less urgent as he grabs lube and a condom from the nightstand and slicks up his fingers. “You sure you’re ready for this?”

My heart gives a sharp twinge in my chest. He’s given me every chance to say no, but I’m not gonna. If I didn’t know him better, I’d be worried that he was hoping I’d say no just so he doesn’t have to fuck me. But I do know him, Chase keeps my comfort and safety at the forefront of his mind. “Please, Chase.”

He makes a pained groan. “God. You and those fucking manners.” A smile plays at my mouth. Knowing that I’ve got an effect on him emboldens me.

“Chase, I need you. Make me feel good. Please.” To hell with how desperate that makes me. He deserves all of the vulnerability I can offer.

It flows between us, an invisible river formed from the tears he’s wiped from my eyes. Each piece of myself that I’ve given, he’s used to build a bridge. Normally, it would be scary, I’d be forcing myself to not look down and make it worse. But it’s Chase. One look from him reminds me why I’m doing this, why I’m trying so hard, and I’m not afraid.

He smirks. “As if I could ever deny you.” The first press of his finger against my hole is jarring in its gentleness. His ministrations are coaxing, slowly urging my body to open for him. I could cry. Maybe it’s the carnal need coursing through my veins with each beat of my heart, or the disbelief that comes with watching something I was too afraid to ever truly fantasize about happening right before my eyes. Hell, it could be something else entirely; something darker that I don’t want to give space for in my head.

Chase works in one finger, then two before crooking them and finding my prostate. The bitter taste of copper fills my mouth as my teeth clamp down on my tongue in an attempt not to cry out.Be silent. No one wants to hear a whore.I’m doing my best, but holy shit, those long fingers of his should be illegal.

---