Page 108 of The Trust We Broke
Lucy shakes and gasps, sprawled on the cold floor. And I wrap my body over hers, breathing her in. There’s just the scent of sweat, and sex, and lube.
I feel weak and powerful in equal measure.
Silence settles like the dust.
Without words, I’m closer to this woman than I have ever felt with anyone else.
Sweat forms between us, her hair plastered to her neck. Tenderly, I shift to press a kiss between her shoulder blades.
Eyes half lidded, she shifts so I can see her. Her lips are parted and bruised.
And I’ve never been more in love with her. I press my forehead to her spine, just beneath her shoulder blades. Something sacred took place in this stairwell, and retrieving the Christmas decorations from up here will never feel the same again.
I ease back and reach for the condom as I pull out of her.
Lucy trembles as I tie up the rubber and place it on the stairs. I’ll worry about cleaning up once I know she’s settled.
“I’ve got you, Bug,” I murmur as I fasten my jeans.
She doesn’t speak, but her fingers find mine as I guide her to sit up.
Lucy sways, legs shaking, but the hallway is too narrow, and the stairwell too steep to carry her. So, I take the stairs backwards to hold her hands and keep her safe on the way down.
She lets out the softest breath.
“Still with me?” I ask.
“Hurts a little more coming down than going up.”
Once we’re out in the hallway, I scoop her into my arms. She rests her head against my chest, and I feel the way she snuggles into me. Every inch of her is soft and quiet.
Vulnerable in a way she rarely shows.
Hate how the men she’s been with haven’t served her right. It’s a fucking honor to be trusted with Lucy’s needs, and I cradle her tighter as I walk into my room.
By the time I get to the bathroom and put her down on her feet, she’s barely awake. “Hate to wake you up when you’re like this, Bug. But there are some cuts on your knees and a whole lot of lube that needs cleaning up. You up to a shower?”
“Will you wash me, Daddy?”
“Yeah. I’ll take care of you.”
I turn on the shower, then guide her inside before removing my own clothes. Her body is a mess. Marks on her ass and feet from the stairs, her knees from the way I fucked her, a bruise already forming on her hip, and two stripes from my belt on her ass.
But the soft smile on her face tells me I just gave her everything she needed.
And I can rest. Because us together, like this, is all I need.
31
GRUDGE
No one tells you how hard it is to get out of bed once you’re with the woman you want to spend the rest of your life with.
The number of times I was late for my job when we first got together because I couldn’t make myself let go of her in the morning, I was almost fired.
Lucy is sound asleep on my chest, and I’m gently running my fingers through her curls as I think through what happened last night. My sleepy little bug stood in the shower while I washed every part of her, then, leaned against the wall while I washed myself.
I bundled her in a towel and dried her off as she yawned and occasionally touched my cheek or ran her fingers down my bicep.
