Page 41 of Off Balance

"As for the rest, the past is the past. You were young. Doing stupid shit is part of growing up." I scoff. "Hell, you're still young enough to make a lot more stupid decisions and get away with it."

"Oh, yeah?" His tone drops, and I hear him move behind me.

A wet hand reaches over my shoulder. He turns my face towards where he is on his knees, facing me. My body instinctively turnsto face him, sitting back on my heels and giving him the full brunt of my attention. His eyes are dark amber right now, like deep pools of honey that are too thick and viscous to wade through. I'm trapped, not even tempted to tear my eyes away from his for a second to look at his exposed body.

I swallow and try to remind myself of my convictions when I came into this room. Of the reasons we both regretted losing control not even an hour ago. That I'm here to help and protect him, not to take advantage of his pain. Not to allow him to take advantage of himself, to use my attention and attraction to him as a distraction for his troubles.

“Don’t worry,” he says, sensing my turmoil. “I’m not trying to seduce you again. But I… Before we go our separate ways and come back tomorrow and pretend this never happened… Will you kiss me?”

His eyes close, allowing me to drop my gaze. It falls to his mouth. To full pink lips and a tiny flash of his tongue darting out to catch the small beads of water from the condensation of the shower clinging to his skin. The deep flush of his face, his embarrassment and the timid way he shrinks back, have me moving against my better judgement.

Once again, I dive into a deep end swimming with sharks. The red flags are there, clearly visible even through the haze of my desire for him, but I soldier through, ready to face whatever fresh torture coming down from this will be. My lips have touched his skin, his chest and shoulder, but to kiss his lips will be the death of whatever sanity I have left. I have no doubt I'll walk away with more regret than I ever had about my career, my ex, or any of the many mistakes I've made in my life. Because I know the moment I taste his lips, I'll be addicted.

I'll be addicted and I can't have him. I'll be addicted and I'll have to walk away. I'll be addicted and I'll have to see him, be near him, breathe him in, every day for the foreseeable future.

And yet, I do it anyway. Before he can pull away completely and wallow in what I know he perceives as rejection, my hand shoots out to cup his face. I lean forward, halfway into the shower, with my head and shoulders in the direct stream of the water and brush our noses together.

"Please?" he whispers, so quietly it blends into the sound of the shower running.

Cam tilts his chin, and I lower mine, our lips meeting each other in a soft press of flesh. Tingles erupt like tiny fireworks across my lips, and I feel them on my tongue. My mouth parts on a breath, and Cam's tongue slips inside, licking the inside of my top lip and sucking it into his mouth. Where the scar across my top lip is usually numb, the constant reminder of the dumb mistakes I made in my youth, pure pleasure radiates down my spine. I shudder and press in more, meeting the movements of his lips. The kiss is gentle and tentative at first, testing and tasting, but then Cam's tongue brushes against mine, and they curl together.

I feel iteverywhere.

He moans, and I swallow it like a man stranded in the desert with only a sip of water to sustain him. The kiss becomes consuming and sloppy, open-mouthed and hungry. I let Cam pull me fully into the shower, not even noticing the water saturating my clothes. I follow him as he lays back on the shower floor, gorging myself on his mouth and tongue. My body blankets his, dwarfing him.

I'm so lost in the kiss I don't realize the position of our bodies, the way Cam's legs are forced wide to accommodate my bulk, until we instinctively begin rocking together. My hips chase the friction of our bodies melding together, the sopping wet fabric of my sweatpants the only layer between us. I grind against his bare cock, not coming up for air until his bare hand pushes beneath the waistband of my pants and grips the meat of my ass, pulling me against him harder and faster. He breaks the kiss, stretching his neck to whimper into the echoey chamber of the steam filled room. I press my mouth to his neck and moan, kissing my way down to the hollow at the base of this throat. I lap at the water pooled there, drinking from his skin.

The room is loud with the sounds of the shower running, the wet squish of our bodies frantically chasing an end we once again didn't agree to, and the desperate moans, grunts, and whimpers falling from our mouths between kisses.

"Fuck, Dom, I'm sorry."

My lust haze clears enough to lift myself up, worried that I'm crushing him. Cam's legs are locked around my hips so hard I can’t move without forcibly dislodging him. I look down at him, worried and confused. What could he possibly be sorry for?

"I'm–I'm gonna cum," he whimpers, hips lifting to meet me thrust for thrust.

Groan. "It's okay, baby. Give it to me, just this once." After this, we'll stop. After this, we'll pretend it never happened.

"Just this once," he repeats on a gasp. His pelvis grinds against mine until he stiffens and calls out. I slam my mouth to his, greedily sucking the sounds he makes into my body, committing them to memory so I can use them later.

Cam's nails dig into my skin, rocking me against him, drawing out his pleasure and bringing me to the brink. My body quakes with a jolt, and I fill the inside of my soaked sweats with my release, feeding him a garbled, moaned version of his name.

Our heavy breaths replace every sound except the shower, which is growing cold now. We kiss through the aftershocks and the comedown, and don't stop until the water is too cold to stand and my arms are getting tired of holding my body weight. With one more roll of my hips and a slow kiss, I push myself off him, then lower my hand to help him up. We quickly rinse in the frigid water, which ends up being helpful once I have to peel myself out of my pants and stand there naked with him. Another moment and it won't matter how cold it is, though. So I step out and grab towels, passing one to Cam.

"Do you need something to wear?" I ask him.

"No, I have spares in my locker."

"Oh, that's good."

Cam swallows, and we stare at each other blankly for long enough that most of the steam has cleared the room. After several beats that threaten to break through my rib cage, I take the few steps between us and hug Cam's body to mine. With one arm wrapped around his lower back, I lift him so he's closer to my level.

"One more," I rasp, taking his lips in one last slow, deep kiss that threatens to make a liar out of me again.

CHAPTER 11

CAMERON

Dom leaves the bathroom with a towel tied around his waist, his sodden pants still in the bottom of the shower.

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