He lowers his head, until we’re nose to nose. He takes a drag and I watch as he blows it out slowly before saying, “I love you, Little Zero.” I don’t need to be fluent in lip reading to understand it. He made it deliberately clear, so that there would be no confusion. I want to say it back, but I don’t want to shout it at him, and he shouldn’t have to read it.
We keep passing until it’s down to the roach and he throws it into my sink. His hands land on my hips and his fingers squeeze and knead. I tilt my head back and slightly to the side, and he doesn’t hesitate to run his tongue up the column of my neck. He trails the same path with his lips, and then his teeth. I grip onto his shoulders, my legs feel weak, and we’ve barely even started.
His hands slide up my sides, until they fall on my shoulders, slipping the straps of my cami top down to my elbows. My bra is off in moments, and he captures my nipple between his teeth, through the fabric of my top. I know I’m crying out, there’s no way I’m being silent, and right now, I couldn’t care less if I was screaming from the rooftops.
He hooks my knees and pulls me into his arms, his mouth seeking mine, his tongue exploring every inch as he carries me to my bed. Our tongues twirl, there’s no battle for dominance, it’s just… perfect.
He removes my top completely, before sliding my black leather skirt down my thighs, taking my lace panties with it.
“Aeron.”
His head snaps to me, the question in his eyes is easy to see, and I shake my head. No, I can’t hear yet, but I don’t care. Not while I have you touching me.
He pulls his top over his head, before shucking out of his jeans and boxers. His shoes fly across the room, and then his hands are on the mattress, either side of me. He slowly climbs my body, every inch of him, sliding against every inch of me. I lie on my back, tucking my chin to my chest so I don’t miss a single minute of it.
He steals another kiss, before he flips us over. I sit up, rest my hands on his chest, as I stroke myself against his length. He sinks his teeth into his bottom lip, and I groan. He grips my hips and pulls, I’m sure I yelp as he shuffles further down until I’m straddling his face. He grips my hands and leads them to his hair, before he drops me a wink, and slams his tongue inside me. My back arches as I throw my head back. Gripping onto his hair for dear life, as my hips start to move. I ride his tongue as he strokes my nub, bringing me closer and closer to the edge and I feel as though I’m free falling. I shatter in the best possible way, my breath falls out jagged, as he taps my hips and I rise up, flattening my palm on the wall to keep my balance.
He taps me once more and I relax back down, my toes curling as he pushes into me. I peer over my shoulder, as he rests on his forearms staring at me. I roll my hips as I ride him in reverse. My hand stays on the wall, as my other grips his calf. I need all the support I can get, especially as his arm reaches around and he strokes me, sliding his fingers against my clit as I ride him. It’s exactly what I need, as I pick up the pace, my stomach pools as electricity shoots up my spine and I clench around him.
I don’t think I can go again, but he doesn’t seem to feel the same. He guides me onto my back, and slowly pushes into me, as he runs his thumbs across my cheeks. He moves slowly, drawing it out, pulling almost all the way out, before slowly coming back to me. His kisses are soft, long, and beautiful. Everything about this moment is beautiful. So much so that when we explode together, and my heart thumps against my chest I almost kid myself into believing I hear him say, “I love you.” That I didn’t read his lips, and I actually heard the words.
I won’t fool myself into believing everything is suddenly perfect, but it doesn’t matter. I don’t need to be able to hear him or myself, because when we come together, the whole world disappears and nothing seems quite as important as it did before.
I get up and stretch my arms over my head, I ache in the best possible way. I hope Aeron is still here, but I desperately need a shower. I’ll try and hunt him down afterwards, although I am not leaving this room alone. As long as I am in the Academy, I know I’m not safe. The strangler may be gone, but the Academy girls are out in full force. They want me gone, and they don’t seem to have any qualms over killing me to make it happen.
I step into the bathroom, and switch the shower on. I mean, it shows how little attention I pay when I’m half asleep when it hasn’t even registered that I can hear the water running. It should be hot enough now though, that’s the main thing. I step under the spray, my eyes slip closed, and then… I squeak.
I can hear, yes! It wasn’t permanent. I’m okay, I can actually hear the shower running. I don’t even care that tears are running down my cheeks. I’m relieved, this is amazing. Yes, I can’t even resist doing a little fist pump as I quickly clean myself and wash my hair, before stepping out and wrapping a towel around my body and head.
I can’t wait to tell Aeron, I can finally tell him properly how I feel. We can talk, and just be. Damn, I don’t think anything could ruin my good mood right now.
I practically skip out of the bathroom, throw on a white dress with flowers stitched into the fabric with gold thread. It has to be new, I don’t remember seeing it before, but it reminds me of Aeron and that’s enough to make it the perfect outfit in my mind. I slide on a pair of wedge sandals that have ribbons that tie up my legs and stop just below my knees, and then my leather jacket. Although, there’s two in here. The one D gave me and… a brown one. It’s almost identical to the one Thallon gave me when we were away, only this isn’t designed for a bike. I know this is from him, and I can’t resist sliding it on over the dress.
I breathe out slowly, pull my hair out of the jacket, and make my way into the living room. I come up short when I see Thallon and Aeron on my sofa. Thallon looks at me, and he smirks as he stares at what I’m wearing before refocusing his attention on Aeron.
“Can we still speak freely?”
“Yeah, her hearing hasn’t returned yet. I hate those girls for doing this to her, I can’t wait to make them suffer,” Aeron says, as he uses his hand to beckon me to him.
I know I should tell them that I can hear every word they’re saying, but the words won’t come. I’m sure this makes me a bad person, but it is what it is.
I sit down on his lap and curl into him, my head rests on his chest as he strokes his hand across my hair.
“So, what’s the verdict? Am I in or not?”
“After what you did for her, risking yourself. Yeah, we managed to talk Emmet round. He’s not happy about it, but welcome to the team. Now, tell me why I vouched for you. Because you realize it isn’t just us four, right? There’s another guy who may join, but that one’s going to be even harder for her to bring up. But she will, she won’t be able to keep it to herself for much longer.” He drops a kiss on my temple and I sigh at the contact.
It’s hard not to react to his words. How does he know about Darius, and why hasn’t he ever brought it up to me before?
“Who is this mysterious guy?”
“Nope, not my story to tell. That’s for her, if she decides she trusts you enough. I’m still not sure she should. I know you saved her, but what’s your motivation? Why does Arthur want you here, Thal?” I look up at Aeron, but he guides my head back down, maybe he’s worried I’ll be able to read his lips. I feel sick to my stomach, doing this. I’m going to have to tell him that I heard every word. I can’t keep this from him. It’s too dishonest.