Page 50 of Wandering Closer

At some point, that term of endearment won’t affect me, but today isn’t that day. I melt into his embrace, taking a deep inhaleof his rugged scent. My arms stay locked around him, needing to convey how much he means to me. I don’t want him to have fears about us, no matter how new things are.

He pulls back slightly, cupping my face. “What’s going on, Lily?”

“I just really missed you today.”

His soft lips meet mine in a sweet kiss. “I missed you, too. Now, I have something to show you. Our friends helped me pull this off,” he says with a wink. I look around, but both Michele and Jake are gone. “Follow me, princess.”

He leads me upstairs, stopping in front of the last bedroom that I haven’t been in yet. “Since you’re stuck here for another few weeks at least, I wanted you to have a space to write. I know your book is going to be amazing, and I wanted a space for you to feel that. Go ahead,” he motions to the door.

I push it open to see a desk and chair set up, with my laptop already on it. There’s a vase of beautiful purple lilacs on the desk next to a small lamp. In the corner is a small shelf with some pens, notebooks, sticky notes, and two framed photos. On closer inspection, one is a quote that says ‘Make Today Amazing’ and the other is a photo of Thoren and me from the hat store. It’s not the one he sent me though, in this one I’m smiling at the camera, but Thoren is smiling down at me, completely enraptured. The tears are silently falling as I look at what he did in the forty-five minutes Jake and I were at my house.

“I know it’s not much, but it’s what Michele and I could come up with and do with a short time frame.” His smile is shy as he leans against the desk.

“This is amazing. Thank you. No one has ever done something like this for me.”

Thoren is on me in an instant, pressing my small body against the wall behind me. His kiss is searing, his hands threading through my hair. “You,” kiss, “deserve,” kiss, “theworld,” he says, peppering kisses over every tear. When his lips meet mine again, they have a salty tang, but I welcome it as I arch further into his body.

One thigh presses between mine, and I can’t help but grind myself over it. Our groans are instantaneous, as his kiss turns even more feverish. One hand moves to slide up my shirt until his fingers are brushing over my peaked nipple. Our tongues clash as I grind against him again.

He pulls back suddenly, the loss of his body against mine jarring. “I want nothing more than to make you choke on my cock until those tears are streaming again. You left me hard and aching for you all day with your teasing earlier. Our friends are on the deck waiting for us, but know that it’s coming, Lily. They won’t be here forever.” He drops a kiss to my head, adjusting himself in his jeans as he turns toward that door like he didn’t just soak my panties with his words.

I follow him downstairs in a lustful haze, wondering how this sweet and caring man can have the filthiest mouth. Furthermore, how everything that comes out of it scares me and turns me on in equal measure. Is something wrong with me that I want him to shove his dick so far down my throat that I can’t breathe? That I hated sucking off Tyler, but I am on the verge of orgasming at the thought of Thoren coming down my throat?

Shadow is at our feet the minute we step onto the back deck. Jake and Michele are sitting at the table, pizza boxes and plates set out in front of them. I try to wipe the lust from my face, but I must fail because Michele gives me a knowing smirk before sauntering over.

“We’ll grab drinks, what would everyone like?”

Thoren and Jake both say beer, so I follow her back into the kitchen, where she turns on me when the door shuts. “Tell me everything right now. Did you guys fuck upstairs? I had morehope for his stamina for you,” she tsks, grabbing beers from the fridge.

“No!” I whisper-yell at her. “We haven’t even had sex yet. He promised a dirty punishment for making him hard, though. Michele, he has such a dirty mind. I don’t know if I can keep up. I’ve only ever been very vanilla. I’ve never even watched porn.”

She turns around, gaping at me. “What?! Oh, you sweet, sweet girl. He’s so head over heels for you, he’ll be gentle. Just talk to him about it. I mean, I hope he still fucks you into next week, but he’ll take it easy if you tell him you’re scared.”

I bite my lip, debating how much to say. I’ve never had a girlfriend to talk about these types of things with. I know whatever comes out of my mouth will never be judged by Michele. “What if… what if I don’t want him to take it easy, but I’m not good at rough? I don’t know what I’m doing half the time. He threatened to choke me on his cock, and I almost came on the spot.”

“Fucking hell,” Michele fans herself. “I always knew he was a freak in the sheets. Just take it one step at a time. Communication is key. Come up with a safe word and let that man go to town.”

A safe word? I hadn’t thought of that. I write about dirty talking men that have sex like gods, but I kind of thought it was all fiction. I am dying to find out if I’ve had it wrong all along; that maybe my book boyfriends are modeled after men like Thoren.

With arms full of beer bottles, Michele nods toward the back door. “Let’s go. Now I’m thinking about your boyfriend's dick and it’s weird. I need a pizza distraction.”

I laugh at this crazy woman who is my new best friend and follow her back outside, knowing no amount of pizza can distract me from thinking about Thoren’s dick.

CHAPTER TWENTY

thoren

“Ithink you found her,” Jake says, the minute the door shuts.

“Found her?”

“Your one. In one day, I watched her put more effort into taking care of you and making you happy than Jen did in years. That girl in there is all in, and I can see that you love her already.” He points at me when I open my mouth, cutting me off before I can protest. “Don’t deny it. You fall fast, it’s just who you are, and I see why you fell for her. She’s good for you.”

Focusing on the setting sun, I let that sink in. When Jen left, everyone close to me was supportive, but let me know they felt it was a blessing. I loved Jen, but the more I look back, the more I realize I loved the idea of her the most. It was best for both of us that she left to find her something more. Do I love Lily though?

Just the thought of seeing her puts a smile on my face. I’m aware of her movements, thoughts, and emotions, as much as she is of mine. I am happily giving up my time, money, and energy to make sure she is protected and cared for. Making her smile is constantly the highlight of my day, and I hate every moment we are apart. When I look at it that way, and think of how she is selfless with me, constantly thinking of my needs, andhow her eyes fill with joy when she sees me… yeah, I definitely love that girl.

I pull out the chair next to me when the girls come back outside, making sure I get my girl by my side. Michele passes out beers and we all dig into the pizza.

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