Chapter 25

CHAPTER 25

Skylar

I woke up early, the bedroom still dim, and pressed up against Brooks's back, rolling my hips a bit to relieve the ache in my hard cock.

He shifted with a sigh.

I pressed a kiss between his shoulder blades, contentment rolling through me. I felt pretty damn good, considering how much I'd had to drink last night. That was mostly thanks to Brooks.

He'd brought me home and poured me into bed.

I'd tried to maul him in the process because he was damn sexy. But he'd patiently dealt with my handsy, horny ass by giving me some water and Tylenol, then wrapping me up like a burrito in the blankets.

"Are you awake yet?" I asked softly, my hand drifting to his waist, then slipping around to find his cock just as hard as mine.

He gasped softly. "Sky?"

"Is this okay?" I murmured into his skin. "Can I have you?"

He groaned. "Yeah. Take what you want."

Fuck. The way he offered his body to me was so sexy. Brooks was the ultimate alpha. He owned me not by blustering and bossing me around, but by always taking care of me.

Even when it meant letting me take the lead.

Not just any man could pull that off.

I rolled away long enough to grab the lube, then pressed two fingers against his hole. Brooks had bottomed for me twice, but he was by no means used to this. His ass was tight, and I took my time stretching him with my left hand while slowly stroking his cock with my right.

He began pushing back against me, taking my fingers as deep as he could.

"I'm ready."

"Mmm." I kissed his shoulder blade. "You sure are."

I guided his hand to his thigh. "Lift your leg just a bit like—Yeah, that's perfect."

I positioned myself and pushed into his body.

We groaned together.

Bliss washed through me as he took every inch of me, hot and tight, but yielding.

"You feel so incredible," I said as I rocked my hips.

Brooks's breath caught each time I thrust inside him. My pleasure was a gradually swelling wave, gaining momentum thrust by thrust.

I wanted Brooks there with me when I broke against the shore of my climax.

He was holding his leg to maintain our position, so I reached around him and began stroking his cock once more. This time in a tighter fist. Faster and harder.

"Fuck, Sky."

He rocked back against me, taking me deeper, and we both moaned and gasped.

"Now," I exclaimed.

I didn't know if I was trying to tell him I was coming, or if I was trying to tell him to come with me. Either way, it worked. My climax hit, my cock shooting inside his perfect body as he shuddered around me, ass tightening and relaxing with the waves of his orgasm.

I stayed there, inside him, even as the orgasm ebbed, too content to move.

It had been a lovely way to wake up. But would he be here beside me tomorrow? Or the next day? Everything suddenly felt so fragile and uncertain.

"So, are you taking that apartment?" I blurted.

I wanted to recall the words the moment they slipped out.

Brooks stilled in front of me. I started to withdraw, but he reached back, catching my hip. "Wait. Stay."

I pushed as close as I could to him, burying my face in his back.

"I, uh, didn't want to interrupt your celebration last night," he said. "You were having a good time."

I nodded, wordless, throat tight.

Brooks continued after I didn't fill a pause of silence. "This thing, it was always supposed to be temporary."

And there it was. I had to withdraw now, too raw to hear any more. Maybe Brooks had started as a rebound, a safe way for me to be intimate again, but he'd become so much more.

He rolled to face me, eyes searching mine. "I don't know what you want, Sky. What you're ready for. You're straight out of a bad relationship."

"I know."

He stroked my arm. "This is your parents' house, and I don't even know how long you're going to stay here. I'm…kind of afraid to ask."

My eyebrows flew up. "Why?"

"Because whether you say three weeks or a year, I'll feel the same. I don't want you to go." He paused. "And it's too soon to ask you for promises. It's unfair to bring up my needs when I started all this to meet your needs."

My eyes burned as I kissed him.

This man. This fucking precious man. No one had ever put me first like this.

"Your needs are important too, Brooks. You can't just be whatever I want. It's not your job to make up for my ex."

He exhaled. "I know."

"The truth is, I don't know how long I'll stay." His face tensed and I hurried on. "But I do know that you're an important part of that decision."

"Meaning what?"

"Meaning, I liked it when your aunt called me your boyfriend. I want…" I licked my lips, nervous. But Brooks had been brave, laying his heart on the table, and I needed to do the same. "This started as a way for me to find myself again, and I feel like I finally have. I want to see if this could work, you and me. And if it does, I'd stay here. Happily."

"But?" he asked, as if sensing my hesitation.

"But you're right. I'm fresh from a toxic relationship, and you've been my security blanket. You've made me feel safe, and I can't thank you enough. But at some point, I have to stand on my own, you know? I have to know that I can ."

He nodded, looking resolute. "If we want to do this right, really have a chance of lasting, then I can't just be your kept man."

I snorted. "As if you'd ever be that. You work far too hard."

His lips twitched. "You know what I mean. I need to take the apartment, so we can do this right. Date properly. If…that's what you want?"

"It is, but only if you want that, too. This isn't all about me, you know? In my last relationship, Blaize didn't treat me as an equal."

"I would never—"

I pressed my fingers over his mouth, and he fell silent.

"You would never," I agreed. "But you would give too much, try too hard, and I don't want that either, okay? We need to be equals."

He pursed his lips, kissing my fingers, and I dropped them from his mouth.

"Equals, yes. In that case, I need to be honest, Sky. The uncertainty of whether you'll stay or go really fucks with my head."

My heart ached at the raw vulnerability in his voice.

"I wish I could promise to never leave," I said. "All I can really promise is that I want to keep seeing you, Brooks, and as long as we're in this together, equal partners, what you want will always matter to me." I hesitated. "Is that enough?"

His smile turned wry. "Anything you offered would be enough, Sky. I don't know if you've noticed, but I'm kind of a sucker for you."

I chuckled, my eyes growing wet. "The feeling's mutual."

"Then let's try," he said. "When should we have our first date? Now?"

I gave him a searing kiss. "I wish we could. I promised I'd meet Fisher over at the resort. I have a contractor coming by to give me a bid."

"You're a fast worker."

I rolled on top of him, nuzzling into his neck. "But I have twenty minutes until I have to leave. How about we celebrate being actual, real boyfriends?"

"I like the sound of that." He coasted his big hands down my back, then cupped my ass in both hands, making a flare of heat unfurl in me. I hadn't brought up the possibility of bottoming for him since our first night together. But the question still lingered. Would it be different with him?

Blaize wasn't my only sex partner who'd topped me, but he was only the third. The first had been someone I met at a bar while I'd been sloppy drunk, so I barely remembered it, and the second had been an app hookup that was over so fast I didn't even get hard, much less come.

I'd never bottomed with someone who would truly put my needs first, as I knew Brooks would.

My phone alarm went off, reminding me that I couldn't find out now. Freddy chose that moment to appear in the doorway and yowl his displeasure at waiting for breakfast.

I groaned and dropped my head. "Damn."

"You take a shower," Brooks said. "I'll take care of Freddy."

I smiled. "See? You've already got this boyfriend thing down. What will I do without you?"

My stomach clenched at the thought of him leaving, even though I knew it was the right step for us. I'd been too codependent with Blaize. Mostly because he'd wanted it that way, but still, I couldn't put myself in that position again.

I didn't trust myself enough. Not yet.

"You won't have to find out anytime soon," Brooks said as he gave me a final squeeze. "Even if I don't live here, you can bet your ass I'm not sleeping alone."

I grinned. "Already addicted to my pretty dick, huh?"

He chuckled, red creeping up his neck. "Never thought I'd say it, but yeah. I am. That, and the rest of you."

Damn, I really wanted to stay here and go another round with him, but my phone blared its alarm again. I snatched it up with a sigh as Brooks pulled on boxer briefs.

"I'll help you move when you're ready."

"Sweets, I've got like two duffel bags. It's not much work."

I gave him a stern look. "You'll let me help."

"I will," he agreed.

A tight coil in my chest relaxed. "Good."

I wanted us to take this step together as partners. Brooks wasn't really leaving. We were just transitioning from a temporary situationship to a real, adult relationship with a future.

This was a good thing.

But that didn't mean the growing pains weren't going to hurt.