Page 30 of Guarded Love

He leaned past me to reach into the nightstand, my pulse picked up speed and only raced faster at the sight of a foil packet he pulled out.

Oh, yes, we were on the same page. The wetness pooling all over again between my legs was proof of that.

“You get off on being smacked down?” I teased, carefully parting my legs as he gingerly settled between them after unrolling a condom over his thick length. So thick, so long, I wondered whether it would feel good or if the discomfort would be too much. That didn’t stop me from wanting to find out.

“I wouldn’t go that far. You got under my skin and stayed there.” His lips grazed my neck, and I let my head fall back to expose more of myself to his mouth.

“Then remind me to call you a self-absorbed, egotistical asshole whenever possible.” I ended on a moan when he growled against my skin before nipping with his teeth. My body began lighting up like a Christmas tree all over again, coming to life.

This was what I had been missing all along. The connection. The pleasure of letting go, handing myself over to be touched and kissed, almost tortured by delicious, sizzling sensations.

The pressure at my entrance was welcome and unlocked something in me. I barely stopped myself from taking Magnus by his firm ass cheeks and pulling him, demanding he fill me up. “You’re driving me crazy,” I admitted with a soft, almost embarrassed chuckle while I ran my hands over his back. I had to remember this. Every inch of him. The way he moved, the way his magnificent body felt under my fingers. All smooth skin and rippling muscle. It would never be enough.

“I hope you don’t expect an apology.” Then he rolled his hips, and I gasped, digging into his shoulders with my nails as, inch by inch, he invaded me.

Stretched me.

Claimed me.

“Oh my God.” I moaned.

“So I’ve been told,” he teased, and the glint of something in his gaze sparked a new heat.

I couldn’t argue with his egotistical joke. Not when his enormous dick threatened to make me forget everything I ever knew. Words, thoughts, my feelings about myself and my past. It all went away. The only thing that existed was this, the sensation, the all-consuming thrill.

He held himself up on his forearms, staring down at me as he moved in and out, driving me a little closer to madness with every sure, deep stroke. I couldn’t take it. It was too much. I closed my eyes and let sensations sweep me away.

“No.” He drove himself deep enough to make me gasp sharply. “Look at me. I want you to look at me while I make you come again.”

I was afraid to disobey. It might mean ending this, and I didn’t want this to end, not ever, for any reason. I wanted it to go on and on, just the two of us here. Our bodies locked together while a wave of pure, inexpressible bliss began to build.

Still, it took courage to gaze into his perfect blue eyes, eyes that seemed to darken the further he pulled me down, down, into unspeakable pleasure. There was no hiding from him. From what was happening between us. The connection. The intimacy of it—our breath coming faster, mingling between us, the sense of us both losing control as he drove faster, harder, shattering my walls, touching my very core.

“I don’t… want to… hurt you…”

I shook my head. “Just fuck me. Make me come again,” I begged. I was tired of being treated like I was some fragile thing that would blow away in a gust of wind. Sure, I was recovering from surgery, but I wasn’t in that much pain. I needed to forget all of that, to let go. And he was the one who could help me do it.

His teeth gritted, and he moaned as my end approached. I tightened and clenched around his length, my body wanting everything he gave. “I’m… I’m going to…” That was all I could say before the tension in my core exploded. I caught sight of Magnus’s knowing grin before letting go, falling to pieces in his arms. He followed me with a soft roar, burying himself deep one last time before he shuddered and carefully collapsed on top of me. Completely winded, coming down from his release, he was still thoughtful of me and where my leg was.

His thoughtfulness didn’t go unnoticed as I welcomed his weight, just like I welcomed the helpless way he groaned as he tried to catch his breath. I stroked his thick, soft hair, concentrating on the rapid beat of his heart so close to mine.

Something was happening, but I knew better. I might have been a lot of things, but I wasn’t an idiot. I knew this couldn’t last. This special, perfect bubble we were in. I would never, ever be with a man like him again. Not me. He would move on once he found someone better, leaving me to do the same.

So, I guarded my heart. I was careful. I wouldn’t let myself think of this as more than it was. I only held Magnus, cradling him because the moment was all we had.

14

MAGNUS

It was the oldest cliche in the book, one I never could understand. Yet as I fumbled my way through cooking breakfast in the kitchen while Evelyn slept off the effects of enough orgasms for me to lose count, the old, clichéd line ran through my head.

I didn’t know it could be like this.

How could I not have known? I shook my head at my own stupidity while cracking eggs into a bowl. Sure, there was plenty of food in the kitchen, but there were only so many dishes I was prepared to make, even with the help of a YouTube tutorial. We could have ordered food, but this felt better somehow. I wanted to give this to her, even if I had no idea whether it would be edible. Uber Eats could be a backup if she couldn’t bring herself to swallow what I offered.

Wanting so much to make someone else happy. It was the simplest thing in the world and the most profound. Until then, as I dropped butter in a pan intending to scramble eggs, I didn’t think it was real. Something people talked about in love songs, corny movies, and fairy tales. Desiring something more than physical pleasure, a brief diversion. Wanting to give. Wanting to make someone smile. To provide and to care. I was discovering parts of myself I had never met before.

Surprisingly, I liked it. That was the most baffling thing of all. I liked waking up next to a woman whose company I actually enjoyed, watching her sleep, listening to her breathe. I relished remembering how she fell to pieces in my arms, gasping, moaning, and whimpering my name. It wasn’t some ego trip, either. There was a deeper kind of satisfaction, a kind of connection in those early morning moments. Silent. Almost sacred.

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