Page 139 of Elas

August comes to my side and pushes onto his toes, kissing me softly. When I glance up again, Xeni is gone. “Come on,” I finally say. “We need to get clean.”

August

Elashasbeeninthe shower for over an hour now, according to the sun’s position on the horizon. I’m trying to give him some privacy, but I can’t ignore the need to check on him any longer.

“Elas?” I tentatively tap my knuckles before twisting the knob and pushing the door in. Behind the tarp we’re using as a makeshift shower curtain, Elas’s form is a shadow in the bottom of the tub. “El?” I say louder, rushing forward. At first, I think he’s passed out, but as his shoulders quake and a quiet sob slips loose, my heart plummets to the floor.

“Oh, sweetheart,” I murmur, climbing into the bathtub fully clothed. There isn’t nearly enough room for both of us, but it doesn’t stop me from scrambling on top of him and wrapping my arms around his broad form.

“I almost lost you,” he whispers. “So many things could have gone wrong. One little fucking mistake, and you could’ve been taken from me… locked up in that place forever.” He finally lifts his face to mine, and the sight of his drawn cheeks breaks me even further. “You could havedied.”

“You could’ve too.” My hand runs over the braids that sit close to his scalp, pushing the water away so it doesn’t run into his eyes.

“They would never have let me die. I would’ve lived in that cage forever.” He shivers, and I know it isn’t from the chilly shower. “You would only have been a memory, August.”

“I’m not a memory now,” I whisper, tilting his chin higher so I can kiss him. Fresh, minty toothpaste meets my lips in a punch, like he used an entire tube to get himself clean. “I’m right here.” My fingers wrap around his wrists, dragging one to my cheek and the other to my waist. “Touch me, El… touch me and feel me as much as you need to. Until you’re convinced that I’m real, and that I’m right here. I’m not going anywhere, sweetheart. Not without you. Not ever.”

His arm bands around my middle, hand moving to my hair and weaving through the strands as the kiss turns into something restless and demanding. Our lips part, tongues searching for each other as they move together. Water drips down my skin, soaking my clothes and pooling where our bodies touch. I pull away, my eyes heavy as Elas looks up at me with crystal droplets clinging to his lashes.

“Your clothes,” he finally notices. He helps me to my feet so I can strip them off, and they plop into a wet pile on the ground. Elas stands aside and makes room for me beside him. The bulging muscles that are always prominent stand in stark contrast to his tight skin. The days ofno food and too little water have made him lean, and a pink undertone tints his skin from scrubbing away the filth.

My heart breaks all over again.

His eyes roam my body—over the patched wound on my side and the bruises that create a scattershot over my skin. The red rawness that itches around my neck, inflamed and irritated from the constant contact of the collar.

“Come here,” he says, voice thick, and I don’t hesitate as I step into him. He captures me in another needy kiss right away, spinning us so I’m under the spray. I shiver at the cool water, but it doesn’t stand a chance against the heat of his body.

Without separating our lips, he reaches for the soap and lathers his hands, running them up and down my spine and lower to knead my ass cheeks. I groan softly, lost in the bliss. One slips between them, stroking up and down before circling my rim. My cock pushes against his thigh, shamelessly grinding as he teases me.

“Turn around, we have to get the other side clean,” he murmurs, and I spin until my back is facing him. He lathers his hands again, running soapy palms up and down my chest as his cock rests against my ass. He reaches my navel, then changes direction and scrubs my arms. I let out a pitiful whine as he chuckles in my ear. “Needy thing,” he whispers, placing a kiss just beneath my ear as his hands move lower. They scrub through the creases of my thighs and cup my balls, rolling them gently.

By the time his fingers wrap around my cock, I’m pushing back against him, grinding my wet body against his. He strokes me in deliberate, steady movements, andcontinues long after the soap has washed away. “Think you’re clean enough?” he asks with a slyness to his tone.

The playfulness lifts another edge of tension from my heart.

“N-no,” I answer, bucking my hips as my cock slides through his fingers.

“I agree.” He releases me as I whimper in protest. Spinning me to face him, he kneels and glances up at me with a scandalous grin. “Your legs need to be cleaned, too, don’t they?” Lathered hands meet my thighs as he draws my cock into his mouth, and the sound that spills from my throat is downright filthy. His palms run along the back of my legs, from the bottom of my calf until he’s teasing the crease of my ass, all while he sucks me in and out with rolling swipes of his tongue.

I swallow, my mouth dry and my body strung up tight after the stress of what we’ve been through. My cock wedges in his throat, and I gasp as his hands tighten and spread my ass cheeks. Chilly water cascades over my exposed skin, and I groan at the conflicting sensation of hot versus cold.

My palms slam against the shower wall, bracing myself as he sucks me harder and strokes a slow circle around my hole with his fingertip. “Gods, Elas, that feels so good,” I murmur, my hips rocking and dragging my length between his lips. Pulses of pleasure thud in my muscles, my lower back already tight. Days of nothing but pain have heightened every touch, and my lips part on a gasp as I thrust faster.

He presses against my entrance, and my hips snap forward as my mouth falls open. “Wait,” I gasp, clenchingmy core. “Wait, I’m going to come… I’m going to—” His finger slips inside me and I groan helplessly, trembling as my cock kicks against his tongue. He moans, the vibrations travelling through my body as my release shoots into his mouth, that finger slowly fucking me as I empty myself.

He sucks until I’m too sensitive, then pulls off and glances up at me, showing me his tongue covered in a puddle of white. “Hells, Elas,” I mutter as he repositions us until my chest is against the wall and he kneels behind me. There’s no time to consider what’s coming. No time to even think as he spreads me wide and presses his tongue against my hole. Hot, slippery cum dribbles from his mouth onto my skin, and I moan louder, knowing he’s eating my own release from me.

Aftershocks tremor through my body, my muscles clenching as he licks me harder. A wet, slicking sound rings out over the shower, and I glance down to see him stroking his cock as he eats me out. A fresh bolt of arousal jettisons through my system, my cock firming up again as it hangs untouched. Elas spreads me further, releasing his dick to grip both my cheeks as he spears his tongue inside. His hips thrust, humping the air as he growls against me.

He stands in a rush, banding his arm around my waist and thrusting. The tip of his cock catches on my hole as he moans, the sound as desperate as the quiver of his muscles. Hot, wet spurts of his slick shoot across my ass and directly into my hole, relaxing me as he positions me and pushes forward. I’m not as prepped as I usually am, and I gasp as he slips a few inches inside me. It’s so tight I can feel the way his cock pumps in time with his grunts.

The arm wrapped around my middle tenses as his other hand grips my hipbone. Fingers dig into flesh as he patiently fucks into me, and it’s the best kind of hurt. The sensation jolts through my entire body, replacing the reminders of the pain with the bittersweet sting of him slowly filling me. My forehead presses against the tiles and I pant.

Everything is hot and cold.

Frigid water and burning skin, chilly tiles and blazing friction.

A palm smoothes up my spine, and it’s hot, too. His thumb rubs the tight muscles in slow circles. “I love you,” he gasps as he bottoms out, skin to skin as our bodies fuse.

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