17. Chapter 17

C ould this man get any more wonderful? Not only was his piercing a really fun surprise, and one I was looking forward to playing with more, but his simple acceptance—which was anything but simple—had me falling hard. I'd already been falling, but what he'd said and how he looked at me propelled me down even faster. Propelled me right into his arms and I never wanted to leave.

Not to mention the man was sexy. His salt-and-pepper stubble and the black fur with a few sporadic silver hairs on his chest. Derek walked behind me, his hands staying on my hips as if he didn't want to let me go. Every few feet, he would pause and pull me back to kiss my neck again. I equally loved it and hated it. Loved that he didn't want to stop kissing me, but hated that it made our short trip to bed take even longer. As much as I had always craved the romantic build-up, and as wonderful as Derek was for giving it to me, I was so ready for more.

"Derek?" I asked softly as we stopped again.

" Mmm ?" He hummed against the side of my throat.

"I'd really like for you to fuck me now."

His hands squeezed tighter on my hips, and he nipped at the spot he'd been kissing.

"Fuck, yes!" He growled out, making my dick leap with the possessive sound.

"Then can we perhaps move this along? I want to get horizontal with you."

He snorted and released me, making me wish his hands were still on me. "Sorry, you just taste so addicting; I can't get enough."

" Mmm …let's see if we can test that, shall we?" I marched straight ahead, not waiting for him, desperate to be in bed and naked.

"Good plan." Derek's voice floated in behind me.

Standing at the side of his bed, I turned around to face him. " Now you can touch me." Hunger burned in his eyes. Having it directed at me made my knees go weak. "Don't take your time about it either. We can slow things down later, but I need you."

The way he stalked toward me had me about ready to burst. He pushed off my outer button-up shirt and his hands paused at the edge of the tee I wore beneath it. Derek lifted his gaze, locking with mine. "Can I take this off? "

"Shit! Yes, Derek. I don't care if you rip it off of me, I need to be naked with you right now." He was being so sweet, and I loved him for it, but it had been way too long and my need to be touched burned through my entire body.

"Hmm. Tempting. Maybe later." Derek leaned in and brushed his lips against mine before drawing my T-shirt over my head. The coolness of the air conditioning in the room combined with the heat radiating from him was an intoxicating mix. And not enough.

He stood there and took me in, making me feel like I was a prize to be treasured. Derek reached out to touch my chest and stopped, again seeking permission. Damn him for being such a perfect gentleman. I grabbed his hand and placed it on me, letting the warmth of his touch soak into my skin.

"I don't want to be like those other guys, Marley. I don't want to do anything that makes you uncomfortable."

I pulled him close and kissed him softly, sweetly, despite the urgency pulsing through me. "You won't. Everywhere that has skin on it feels good to be touched; just don't fixate solely on my rolls and we'll be fine."

"Okay. Please tell me if there's anything you don't like so I can change it."

"You're very sweet to check in. I will tell you, so until then, I'm yours, Derek. Do with me what you will."

"As you wish." He grabbed me around the waist and bent over me, kissing me hard, blasting me right back to my Princess Bride fantasy. His hands roamed over my back and dipped beneath the waistband of my jeans, making me hum into his mouth.

Derek gently pushed me onto the bed before taking his shorts off and standing before me, completely naked and saluting. He looked as powerful now as he did in his suit, with that piercing the only noticeable adornment to his body. I licked my lips, ready to feel him, to feel owned by him.

"Yes, please," I said from my reclined position.

He smirked and lifted his brows. "Yes, to what?"

I waved my hand over his body. "All of that."

With that crooked smile I loved so much, he knelt on the bed and moved to undo the button on my jeans. For the love of God, if he stopped and asked me permission I was going to scream. I'm all for consent, consent is sexy, but I did that already. I consented the hell out of him. Luckily, he must have gotten the message. When the sound of my zipper sliding down hit my ears, I could have cried in relief.

He rolled the waistband down, and I lifted my ass so he could pull them the rest of the way off, until finally, after eighty-four years, we were both wonderfully naked, nothing else between us.

Derek stared down, seeing every inch of me, and there was nothing but admiration in his eyes. It was both soothing and igniting. Any lingering doubt I might have had about him—which I didn't—was gone with the way he looked at me.

"You are beautiful, Marley."

"Right back at ya. But can you just get down here?"

He grinned before leaning over me, bracing himself on his arms, and kissed me. His chest was on my chest, his stomach to mine, his dick rubbing along my own. Everywhere that our bodies touched sent an inferno blazing through me.

With his lips locked on mine, one of his hands traveled along my side, tracing my body. I wrapped my arms around him, moaning into his mouth. When his hand worked around my thigh, brushing against my balls, I arched up with a gasp.

"Keep going, Derek," I urged him on. He squeezed the inside of my thigh before moving to my sac, playing with my balls. "Fuuuck, I lied. You gotta stop, or this is going to be over before it starts."

Story of my life: overcome by the feeling of being touched mixed with overexcitement equaled an early launch.

Derek gave one last caress before moving his hand back up my body. He pushed up so he could look at me. "What do you want, Sunshine?"

"I want…no, I need you inside me, Derek. I need it like my flowers need water."

Derek growled and kissed me hard, claiming me, making me feel as if he had swallowed part of my soul, a part that now belonged to him. "Alright. What's the most comfortable for you?"

I cupped his face in both hands. "We can try different positions to see what works for both of us, but right now, I'm desperate to feel you behind me."

"Fucking perfect!" Derek snarled and climbed off of me. I rolled over to rest on my stomach and knees, grabbing a pillow to prop under me.

"Shit, Marley, you look so hot like this. I can't wait to feel you." A hand rounded over one of my ass cheeks, then the other. It felt so good to be touched, to feel his warm, tender, caresses. When he gave me a playful tap, a moan poured out of me.

"Please! I want to come while I'm filled with you, and I'm not going to make it if you keep teasing me."

That hand smoothed over my back in a loving touch. "It's going to be fast for me too, Sunshine. I've come close a few times already. You're just so damn perfect."

He placed a kiss on my back before leaving me. I turned my head to watch him collect lube and peel off the plastic of a new box of condoms. Knowing how long it had been since he'd last had a partner, it made the twirlies come back in full swing that he'd bought them and planned to use them with me .

Derek returned to sit on his knees behind me and I heard the pop of the lube a moment before he drizzled it onto my crack. His finger glided through the crevice, pushing through the lube until he circled my hole, making me whimper. I pushed back against him, needing more.

My cheek was pressed into the mattress, the only anchor I had, as I reached back and grabbed my ass cheeks to hold them open for him.

"Fuck! Look at you, so open and ready for me. Such a beautiful sight." His finger dipped inside of me, pushing past the rim, making me sigh with the relief and torture of it all.

"Faster, Derek. I need you!" I mumbled against the sheet.

Another finger plunged in, moving back and forth, making my aching dick leak as the head rubbed against the bed. When he pulled them back out, leaving me gasping at the hollowness, he rubbed my back once more.

"Are you ready, Sunshine? I don't think I can wait any longer."

"Yes! Now! I need you in me or I'm going to lose it." I was still holding myself open for him, the grip on my ass the only thing keeping me from throwing myself back on him.

"Fuck!"

I heard the wrapper open and the lube once more before I felt his covered tip rubbing over my entrance .

"I'm ready. I'm so ready." It felt like a mantra, with how much I said it. My new mantra. I was ready for him. To feel him, to let him in. Not just into my ass, but into my heart. I was ready for this man. I think I had been for a long time, it just took the right moment for us to get here.

With one hand squeezing my hip and holding onto me, I felt him push in. Agonizingly slow. So slow it made my grip tighten on my cheeks as I breathed through the breach. The zing of pain that came at first as my body stretched to welcome him, quickly gave way to pleasure. He pushed in, cursing the whole way through, until he bottomed out. A loud moan escaped me as I tried to move against him, loving how full I felt.

"I…just…need…a…minute." Derek was taking careful, controlled breaths as if he was trying to keep from blowing his load right away. And damn , that just made it even hotter to know he was that close to losing control.

I no longer begged and pleaded, but succumbed to being filled with him, feeling him deep inside me, and the torturous need to have him move. My hands lost their hold on my ass and I held tight to the sheets instead. Holding on for dear life in the most punishing moment of my life.

Then…he moved. Holy shit , did he move. That first withdrawal was slow with him pulling back so gingerly that tears welled in my eyes. It was immediately followed by a thrust, full hilt, slamming his hips into me in a move that had my head lifting from the bed and a scream popping out of me. Afraid that he would stop to check on me, I acted preemptively.

"Again," I rasped.

Derek gripped both of my hips, holding tight, the pinch of it almost too much on my soft flesh— almost. When he rammed into me again with a shout, it was enough to make me forget about whatever fingerprints I might end up with. It had been years for both of us, making us move with urgent need.

Again and again, he pounded into me; the room filled with the obscene sounds of our bodies clapping together, and it was erotic as hell. Derek adjusted his angle, and this time, he brushed right over the spot that had my vision go blurry.

"Yes! God, yes! Derek!"

"You feel so fucking good, Marley." His words came out through gritted teeth as he continued the assault. Each thrust had my dick rubbing against the sheet. With the pressure of him inside me and the thrilling sensations with each pump, tension built, and my cock throbbed. With one last slide across my prostate, that tension exploded through my entire core, and shots of cum burst out of me, covering the pillow I rested on and the sheet beneath it. My ass spasmed around Derek as the intense waves of my orgasm rolled through me.

Derek shouted and pushed deep into me, holding himself there as he filled the condom. He collapsed on top of me, resting his cheek on my back as we both tried to catch our breaths.

"Fuck, Marley. I forgot how good it felt. Even better that it was you." He kissed my back, not making any effort to move. That was fine; I wanted nothing more than to stay melded together with him, feel his body covering mine, and feel him in the depths of me. I relaxed my knees and flattened myself on the bed, bringing him down with me, still connected, so that he laid on top of me.

"Can we stay like this forever?" I breathed out in a contented whisper.

"Sure thing, Sunshine."

It was then that O'Malley climbed up on the bed, his head peeking over the side as if he was checking to see if we were okay after all the noise we'd been making.

"Come on, join the party," Derek called out, making my heart orgasm, too. How sweet he was with the little orange kitten absolutely undid me.

Derek began softening inside of me, and it was reaching the point of uncomfortable, but I didn't care. I wanted to feel him as long as I could. O'Malley walked cautiously toward us before rubbing his head against mine, making me chuckle. Derek's laugh rumbled through my back until he pushed up. Reaching between us, I felt his fingers brush against me as he held onto the condom and pulled out. A whine ripped from me at the lack of him, how utterly empty I felt with him gone .

O'Malley rubbed against me again, his little engine starting. Purring to bring me comfort. I scratched his head with a smile. "Thanks for checking on me. I'm okay. Better than okay. I'm hoping your daddy will do even more to me."

"Are you two conspiring?" Derek asked as he returned with a damp washcloth.

I pulled the pillow out from under me and tossed it onto the floor before rolling to my back. "I was just telling him he's going to have to get used to weird sounds coming from us."

Folding my hands under my head, I watched with affection as Derek gently cleaned me up. He took the pillow from the floor, stripped the pillowcase off, and threw it in the hamper with the washcloth. He grabbed another pillow from his closet and brought it back to the bed. So sweet, so thoughtful.

Derek climbed into the bed beside me and laid down, facing me. "Lots of weird sounds. Only…I might need a minute before we start again."

A blissful smile stretched my lips. "Me too, and I think I'd like to simply be held for now."

Derek held an arm out, welcoming me in. I scooted over until my head rested on his shoulder and my belly pressed against his side. A soft sigh released from me at the intimate position .

"How's that?" He kissed the top of my head, brushing my magenta hair back.

"Perfect."

O'Malley jumped onto my hip, making me hiss when his tiny claws dug in to keep him from falling, but he walked over me until he nestled in the nook our bodies made, snuggling in so that he was partially on both of our chests.

There we were, the three of us joined together as one family unit. That's what this felt like with him and with the kitten—a family.

With his free hand, Derek petted the kitten, causing his interrupted purr to grow louder. "Marley?" He whispered softly.

"Yeah?"

"About O'Malley? I know this was meant to be temporary." There was a worried tone in his hushed words.

"Shh. I know. We can't take him to the shelter. He belongs here. With you."

He physically relaxed beside me. "It's been really nice, you know? It's always been so quiet in my home. And I thought I wanted that. But now, with him, I feel like there's life here. It's nice to have something to come home to and to have someone besides myself to look after."

"You've been doing a great job taking care of him, too. He's happy here. I'd been hoping to take him to my place, but there's no way I could take him away from you. Besides, it makes me feel all gooey inside when I see you two together."

"Gooey is good?" Derek asked.

" Soo good." I pressed a kiss to his shoulder, trying not to jostle the sweet baby on top of us.

"I like having you here, too. It meant a lot to have you greet me when I got home, even if I wasn't in the best of spirits."

"It sure beats talking to my plants at home. I love them, but they don't have any sexy surprise piercings. And how are your spirits now?"

Derek stopped petting O'Malley and rested his hand on my stomach. " Mmm …they've left my body and are floating in the heavens."

With a snort, I covered his hand with my own, twining my fingers through his. "Floral arrangements, office blowjobs, and astral projections are all services provided by Bearclaw Blossoms . It's your one-stop shop."

"That's definitely marketable. I can see the ads now." His dry tone had me laughing, the movement too much for the little one, who meowed and crawled off us.

With O'Malley out of the way, I snuggled closer to Derek. He brushed his fingers over my bare belly in a touch that was comforting and cozy.

My hand went to Derek's chest, sliding my fingers through his fur. I loved the feeling of chest hair; it was the perfect combination of coarse and soft, and so very sexy. My eyes caught the glint of the nipple ring and I casually played with it, feeling the skin-warmed metal and the exhilarating way that it protruded from his nipple which perked under the attention. I didn't intend to get us revved up again, but I was so fascinated by it that I couldn't resist toying with it and rubbing the peak. Derek purred almost like O'Malley.

As I watched his body react to the gentle tugs and twirls of the ring, I thought of a future like this. The two of us embracing in bed, touching each other lazily, even getting interrupted by O'Malley. "I know we said we're exclusive, Derek, but I'd like us to be more."

"More how?"

"Can we make it official, with a label and all? Would you be my boyfriend? Or whatever title you see fit. I just want this to feel like more of a commitment, that we're in this together."

Derek breathed in deeply, making me brace for an answer I didn't want. "I want to, Marley, I do. I like you a lot. I like this… us , but I can't help feeling that you would regret it. You deserve so much better than me."

I pushed myself up so I could see him. There wasn't any cruelty there, merely the shadows of pain from him trying to push me away. He didn't want that; it was written all over his face.

"See…I think you are better for me. To have someone who cares enough to ignore his needs to ensure mine are met. A man who sees me as more than the skin I'm in. A man who trusts me without hesitation. A man who makes me feel like I'm beautiful in a world designed for smaller bodies. Do you think I deserve less than that?"

Derek placed a hand on my cheek and offered me a wistful smile. "No, Marley. Shit. You deserve that and so much more. But I don't know how much more I have to give."

"There's so much more to you than you can see. I know your heart, it's a good one, and you give it freely. I don't need more than that."

"But I work late hours. And things come up outside of that as well."

Leaning over him, I brushed a soft kiss on his lips, wanting to calm some of his worry. "The way I see it, I would be home alone if I wasn't here. Even on the long days when you come home late and are mentally drained, I'd rather have an hour with you or to curl up and rest together than to wonder if I'll ever meet another person who makes me feel as good as you do."

Derek stroked my cheek. "You shine so bright, Marley, I don't want to dim your light."

Needing to show him I was right where I wanted to be, I slid one leg over him and sat up, straddling him. With my hands braced on his chest, mixed emotions flashed through his eyes. Interest and hunger, with a hint of sadness.

"You don 't dim my light; you make it burn brighter. When you look at me, I feel like a shooting star illuminating the night sky. That there is nothing in my path that I can't blaze through."

His hands rested on my hips. "What about all the romantic dates you should have? I can't guarantee there will always be a duck pond or a water fountain."

"I may be a sappy romantic who swoons over moments like that, but these small, intimate spaces with just us—and O'Malley—those make my heart sing just as much. I might have been raised on romcoms and grand gestures, but those are only part of the story. What matters more are all the moments in between, and I want those with you. The quiet, in-between moments where the world melts away, and it's only us."

Derek squeezed his eyes tight for a moment, and when he opened them, they were misty. "I want that, too, Marley."

"Good, then it's settled. No more nonsense about not being good enough, because I think my boyfriend is pretty amazing and you can't tell me otherwise."

That crooked grin returned with one side of his lips pulled up. "I think my boyfriend is pretty amazing, too."

A wide smile stretched across my face. "Good. Glad to know we are on the same page."