Page 47 of Arden and the Girl Downstairs

“All of it. I want you, Arden. All of you.” I honestly don’t know how I got so lucky with this girl.

“You promise to tell me if it’s too much?” I wait for her answer. Communication is important and I need her to understand fully.

“Yes, I promise. Just please hurry. I need you.”

That shatters the last shards of my self-restraint. I spread her legs further, line myself up, and slide my cock into her tight pussy. Her walls clench around me, and it takes everything in me not to move.

“Look at me, Ella,” I demand. Her eyes flutter open, and I lose myself in them. I kiss her to distract her while my hand moves up to her throat. Running my fingers along her tender neck, I feel her pulse pick up.

She breaks the kiss and stares right into my damn soul. “Do it.Please.”

Those words are my undoing. I pull my cock out and then slam it into her as I wrap my hand loosely around her throat. I glance down between us and—fuck me—this might just be the hottest thing I have ever seen.

She’s perfect, and she doesn’t even know it.

I speed up, angling my body to rub against her clit with each thrust, and it doesn’t take long until we are both tumbling over that blissful edge. I draw her pleasure out with a few slow rolls of my hips before stilling and taking a few moments to catch my breath.

When I eventually pull out, she slides off the seat and cuddles up to me. I wrap my arms around her and kiss the top of her head. “That was . . . totally worth the wait. Did I hurt you?”

She’s still recovering, but I’m pretty sure she would have asked me to stop if it was too much. That being said, if Ella had her way, we would have been having sex three weeks ago.

“Nope, I feel better than I have in weeks. Obviously, I can’t get pregnant, but I should probably ask if you are . . . clean.” Her voice quiets on the last part.

I haven’t been with a girl since we moved to New Hope, and I get tested regularly, but she doesn’t know that.

“They tested us in rehab. I’m clean. But I also haven’t been with anyone since New Year’s Eve,” I tell her truthfully.

“But that was over five months ago.” She seems shocked.

“Yep, I was with a girl the night Julia needed me. After that, I decided I wouldn’t put myself into that situation again—my friends and family would always be able to contact me, no matter what.”

“So, you stopped having sex? You get that we just had sex, right?”

“This is different.” Not the conversation I expected to have today, but I guess now is as good a time as any. “Before, it was just casual, meaningless sex, but with you, it isn’t just sex. It’s more than that. You’re it for me, Ella, and you are different. If my phone was to ring right now, you would tell me to answer it. Even if I was balls deep in you and you were screaming my name.”

She smacks my chest, but then snuggles in closer. I tighten my hold and relax.

“That’s crass. But you’re right, I would tell you to answer.”

“Because you care about the people who would call me. They are your family now as well. You wouldn’t get pissed at me if I answered Julia’s call at 2 a.m. Or if Rhys knocked on our bedroom door to ask for help.”

“That’s because I would be right there with you, helping them in whatever way I can. But do you really think they see me as family?” Her insecurity is clear.

We’ve discussed this in detail over the last few weeks, and she’s admitted she has a hard time letting people in. But she also has a hard time believing that people care for her.

“I know for a fact they do. Rhys threatened to blow up our friendship if I hurt you, and Yasmin told me she’d never talk to me again if I ruined this. My friends have always been my family, and it seems they were smitten with you before I even became a factor. Although, if you ask Yasmin, she’ll say she could tell from the beginning that you’d be the girl for me.”

“What? How?”

I laugh as I think back to the conversation Yasmin and I had about Ella.

“I have no clue. She called it voodoo senses, but she also said that she knew I was going to Grumpy’s every night. Apparently, she followed me one time and saw us talking. But when she spoke to you the next day, you never mentioned it, and neither did I. So, she assumed we were keeping it a secret. It wasn’t until the intervention that she realised I didn’t actually remember my visits with you.”

“Is that why she befriended me?” Ella asks quietly.

“Nope, that was all Rhys. He told the girls he had a feeling you might need some friends, so they stepped up. Which, by the way, pissed Yasmin off.”

“Why?”

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