He clears his throat and looks blankly at the wall across from him. “Every day is a struggle for me to get by. Just the thought of losing them takes the breath right from my fucking lungs. It hurts so fucking bad. I never thought a day would go by that I wouldn’t have Helena by my side. We spent every day together. Even as kids. It’s not easy to just move on with life after losing the biggest part of you; like losing a vital organ. After that day, I just shut down. I gave up. Every day I feel like I’m fucking dying, over and over again. I can’t fucking breathe, Aspen. I can’t.”

Feeling my heart break for him, I wrap my arms around him and pull him to me as tightly as I can. To my surprise he doesn’t push me away. Instead he snuggles his face into my neck and wraps his arms around my head, letting the tears fall. So, I sit here and hold him for a while until the tears stop. It feels like forever, but I refuse to let him go. He needs someone. All of this pain has been consuming him and he’s been living his life by numbing himself to the world; getting out of his own head.

Quite a bit of time passes, but finally, he pulls away from me and stands up. He doesn’t even bother with wiping his face off. He just lets the last tear fall; unashamed. “You should get some rest, Aspen.” He looks me in the eyes for a moment before picking me up and walking over to his bed. He stops in front of it and gently places me atop the mattress. “It’s really late. Cale should be home soon. You can just crash in here.”

He takes a seat at the edge of the bed and places his face back in his hands while yawning. I sit up and crawl over to him to place my hand on his shoulder. It’s tense and he’s still slightly shaking. “You should get some rest too. I am fine on the couch.” I swallow hard while looking at his solid muscles though his snug shirt. They keep flexing as if he’s struggling with something; as if he’s fighting frustration. “I can stay if you need me to, though.”

He turns around, wraps his arm around my waist and pulls me to him before laying back on the mattress. He gently brushes my hair away from my neck and snuggles up against me with his face against the side of my neck. His breathing is soft and warm against my flesh. It gives me goose bumps. “I need you to,” he whispers.

My heart skips a beat from his words and I find myself wrapping my arms around him for comfort and to pull him closer; as close as I can get him. For some reason, being in his arms this way is making it hard for me to breathe. I have never seen this side of him and I’m afraid the feeling is too good for me not to want more. Right now, being in his arms makes me feel special. He’s opened up to me in a way that I doubt he has with anyone else in a long time. This feeling makes me happy.

* * *

When I wake up, Slade is gone. Just like he was the last time I stayed in his room. Except this time, I know he stayed the whole night because he never let me go. He held me so tight that I could barely move. Being in his strong arms made me feel safe and at home; something I haven’t felt in a while. It confuses me.

I sit here for a while waiting for Slade to return, but he doesn’t. It’s been, I don’t know, maybe twenty minutes or more since I’ve noticed him gone. A part of me worries that he’s still suffering from the pain of last night and maybe he left to numb the pain. I’ve noticed the way he uses alcohol to numb the pain because, well, I did it last night. Pain gets the best of us all at some point.

I tiredly crawl out of bed and make my way down the stairs. When I pass the couch, I see that Cale is asleep on it. He must’ve assumed I was in his room when he got home late last night. Well, he was definitely wrong.

When I get to the bathroom door I stop, because it is slightly cracked open, but the lights are off. Last time this happened, Slade was behind that door and I’ll never forget that look in his eyes when he saw me standing there. I’m not sure I can face that again. It made my knees weak.

Working against my nerves, I push the door open and take a step inside. Slade is standing there in a T-shirt and a pair of white boxers briefs. He’s leaning against the sink while staring up at the ceiling. He looks lost in thought.

I hesitate before speaking. I’m not sure he wants to be bothered.

“I . . . I just wanted to check and make sure that you’re okay.” I step further inside and he turns to look at me. The look in his eyes is different this time. I can’t tell exactly how, but just different. He doesn’t speak; just clenches the sink and then lets go. “Do you need anything?”

He slowly walks toward me, his eyes focused on my face. His expression is calm and relaxed. I’ve never seen him like this. His hands reach out and he softly caresses my cheek before bringing his eyes down to my lips. “Yeah,” he whispers. “You.”

“What-”

My words are cut off when he tangles his fists in the back of my hair and gently presses his lips to mine. He kisses me soft, but with a want that makes my heart speed up. My lips part enough for him to slip his tongue inside and swirl it around mine. When this man kisses like this, he doesn’t just kiss you, he owns you.

His muscles flex around me as he pulls me closer to him and slowly backs me up against the wall. I find my hands desperately seeking his body; just wanting to touch him in any way I can. Right now, we couldn’t possibly get any closer, but I’m still trying; he’s trying.

“I love the way your mouth tastes,” he whispers against my lips. “I haven’t wanted to kiss someone this much . . . in a very long time.” He tugs on my bottom lip with his teeth before sucking it into his mouth and releasing it. “With you, I can’t get enough of it.”

Desperate for more of him, I slam my lips against his and dig my nails into his strong back. I feel him growl against my lips before he picks my legs up and walks to the right, stepping into the shower. He sets me back down on my feet while grabbing my hip and pulling me against him.

With his lips still pressed against mine, he reaches over and turns the shower on before guiding us both under the water. He continues an assault on my lips; kissing me so hard it’s a little painful. The stubble from his lip scours my smooth skin, but at the moment I couldn’t give a damn.

The water is cold at first, causing me to jump back, but he squeezes me tighter to him and causes a friction between our bodies. The radiation of body heat warms me up and it only makes me want him more.

His hands work slowly, pushing his T-shirt up my thighs as he works his beautiful lips against mine; teasing me in a way I have never been teased.

Every time his tongue caresses mine, I feel myself clenching my thighs to keep from going crazy. His touch and the taste of him is driving me mad; not only making my body want him, but crave him. Now I see why Hemy was so hard. This man is so erotic.

Both of us are drenched; our wet clothing plastered against our bodies as we stand here trying to catch our breath. He’s now looking me in the eyes as he reaches for my thong with both hands and drops to his knees, gently guiding them down my legs as if I’m delicate and he’s trying not to break me.

I place my hands on his shoulders and look down at him as I lift my feet out of them. After he tosses my panties aside, he looks up at me while running his hands up my thighs, followed by his soft lips. My whole body quivers from his touch and my breathing picks up as he gets closer to the ache between my thighs.

Just when I think he’s about to pleasure me, he stops and stands up while wiping the water from his face. The bathroom is still slightly dark, but I can still see the steely blue of his eyes and the intensity in them is so great that I find myself grabbing the back of his head and slamming my lips back to his for more. They can’t get enough; I can’t get enough.

I feel his erection press against my belly as he cups my ass cheeks and squeezes. He picks me up and presses me against the wall. My legs wrap around his waist on instinct. His stiffness against my pussy sends a surge of pleasure and need throughout my body, causing me to moan out against his lips.

“Why does this feel so good,” I ask breathless.

He runs his hands up my side and speaks against my lips. “Because it’s with me,” he breathes, “And I want you in a way I never thought I’d want anyone again. There is something about you that is different.”

Pressing my body tighter against his, he rubs my pussy against his erection, making me want to scream out, even through the wet fabric. It feels so big and firm and it is still confined inside the cotton of his briefs. I’ve never wanted a man like this before. I want to touch him bare; undress him and pleasure him.

Loosening my legs, I slide down his front until I am standing on my two feet. I drop to my knees; my eyes level with his hard cock that is begging to be released from its cage. As I take hold of it in my hand, I picture what it felt like inside me and with that vision I lose control, having no other option than to release it from his briefs, so I do by hooking my small fingers underneath the elastic band. Pulling outward, his cock springs free, allowing me to pull them down his legs until they pile up at his feet.

His cock is standing at attention, commanding to be touched. It’s the most beautiful cock I’ve ever seen. I run my hand up and down his shaft, brushing the tip of his penis once in a while to tease him. Each time I do this, he moans and bucks forward.

“Touching you drives me crazy,” I whisper. “I want to feel you.” He takes my hand and pulls me to my feet, pressing me against the wall. He touches my cheek with the tips of his finger, brushing my wet hair off my face. He lightly traces the seam of my body, stopping at my thigh and clenching it in his palm before pulling it upward to rest around his waist.

He brushes his finger of the opposite hand over my entrance, slightly dipping inside and running it up my folds before sticking it inside and slowly moving it in and out. He’s good at pleasuring me and he damn well knows it. “Mmm . . . yeah. Touch me, Slade.” I run my tongue up his wet chest, then up his neck, making my way to his ear. “I love you inside me,” I whisper.

Pinning me against the wall with his sculpted body, he presses deeper inside, quickening his pace at an angle like a hook. Each time he slams inside, he hits a spot and it feels amazing. I can’t help but to vocalize the way it makes me feel. “That’s it. Don’t stop. Please don’t stop.”

No man has ever made me come with his hand before, but I can feel it starting. I’m beginning to zone out as the feeling of bliss takes over my body. “You like my fingers inside you, baby? Do you want my fingers to make you come or do you want my cock?”

As the last syllable escapes his lips, he stops as I’m on the verge of orgasm. He looks me in the eyes with those magnificent blue eyes waiting on an answer. “I want your cock, Slade. I want you to fill me completely.”

I feel his chest rumble before he grabs the bottom hem of the large T-shirt, pulling it off in one quick motion. “I need you naked for this,” he says in a voice that makes me want to come right now. Placing his palms over my ass cheeks, he trails down both of my thighs with a quickness, picking me up and pressing me against the wall, aggressively. I love this side of him.

His eyes lock with mine as he lowers me to his erection and slowly eases it inside of me. I close my eyes and moan as I feel his thickness stretching me to accommodate his girth. He holds me there for a minute, being sure that I’m okay before he slowly starts moving me up and down his cock allowing the wetness to spread. He’s taking me for another ride, despite the fact it’s against his rules and I’m definitely not blind to this. It gives me a rush like nothing else and is hot as hell.

We both moan with each thrust; not able to get enough of this pleasure. It’s beautiful, raw and erotic just like him.

Feeling him raw, inside of me, has my adrenaline pumping so hard that I forget how to breathe. I’m not sure if I want to. I just want to feel this moment for what it is and never forget it.

     I slowly peel his shirt off him while his eyes take me in; every inch of me as if he can’t get enough. His arms flex each time he enters me and his breathing picks up as he pushes himself deeper inside me. I lean my head against the wall, moaning, with each thrust.

     My body becomes heated as the steam fills the shower, causing my head to become a clouded haze. Nothing else can be processed but the moment at hand. Between the water splashing against our bodies and the slow rhythm, I’m becoming hypnotized by him. It’s a cruel pleasure. He’s teasing me; ruining me. I can’t concentrate on anything; only the sensation that is building in my body each time he pushes inside me.