Page 57 of Forever Not Yours

I came, just like that, having not even touched my goddamn dick. I shot load after load as he kept going. His hand. Me. Us. Everything good in the world.

It took a while until I came to, still lying there on the bed, worn out and flexing my fingers as he undid the tie around my wrists.

“Good boy,” he said softly. “You took thatso well.”

“I came,” I slurred, trying to get the image of him to sharpen, my vision still a little blurry.

“You did. It was glorious. Did you enjoy that?”

“Mmm.” I sounded like a baby after a feed.Fuck’s sake, Bastien.

“I almost had the fourth one in. Your arse is made for fisting. We’ll keep working on it, and one day, I’ll get my whole hand in there.”

Hell, no.

“Oh, yes. Can be really intense, but bloody good if done right.”

I made a noise, but he just smiled, disposing of the tie on the floor, then crawled into bed next to me, adjusted my pump again, looked after me. Pulled the covers over us both.

“Later, when you’ve had a nap, we’re going to talk. Set some new rules. And we’re going to figure all this out, okay?”

I loved when he kissed me. A soft touch against my dry lips. Something so small that felt like sunshine on my skin. My worn-out skin.

“Sleep, babe. You needed this, and now you can relax.”

Could I? I had no idea. But next thing I knew, I did just that.

“There are a couple of things I want you to do for me,” I told him later that evening, after I’d fed him and got him all wrapped up on the sofa. He still looked weird, pale anddrawn, and I wondered how, despite him living here, I’d let it go this far. He hadn’t stopped for weeks, and things had to change. With everything else, it was no wonder he was losing it.

“Oh, yeah?” Back to a more normal Bastien. Calmer. Brattier. Just the way I liked him.

“I want you to ring Juliet. Tell her you’re taking two weeks off, at least. Maybe even four.”

“Why?”

“Because you’re burnt to the bone, Bastien. You need to work through this and give your body a chance to adjust. Give yourself a break for once.”

He made a disgruntled sound, like he knew I was right yet wouldn’t admit it.

“Next, you ring your doctor and book yourself in for a check-up.”

“Already done. Got an appointment next week.”

I nodded appreciatively. Good boy.

“The early mornings have to stop,” I continued sternly.

“I can’t sleep,” he moaned, already rebelling against my new rules. “I try to sleep longer, but I can’t. I just wake up at the crack of dawn, and then I’m too wiredto go back to sleep. I wake up all the time, and then I’m exhausted in the evening. I need to sleep.”

“Classic burnout,” I said softly. “We’re going to fix that. So from now on, we’re going to go to bed together, and get up together. Have breakfast. Go to work.”

“You go to work.”

“And you pretend you’re my house-husband. Clean, cook and walk the dog.”

“Fuck off.”

I laughed. It was so nice to laugh with him.

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