When he slides inside me, we both stop for a moment, gasping. I can feel him, thick and heavy and hot, and I can’t even remember the last time someone had me like this. Slowly, Warwick slides home, inch by slow inch, and I hold onto his shoulders so tightly that my knuckles turn white.
Then, finally seated completely, he pauses. I almost fall over the edge right then and there, my muscles are tensing and flexing as I adjust to the intrusion. Warwick is breathing harshly over me, his hands trembling.
Slowly, the overwhelming sensation begins to fade, and my body relaxes.
“Move,” I breathe.
Warwick draws out and slides back in, shallow thrusts designed to get us both used to the sensations. With every movement, he pulls out further and goes in deeper, until my body begins to jolt with it, my hips meeting his every time.
Then he hits it, the place that makes stars explode across my vision, and I throw my head back with a guttural cry.
“More, harder!” I hear myself begging.
“Fuck, Luciana,” Warwick groans over me.
He snaps his hips forward and I’m lost in a wave of pleasure and lust, jerkily meeting each thrust as we both desperately chase the fire threatening to consume us. Our bodies slap together and I can feel our sweat mingling as we gasp and choke on the sensations, until finally I feel myself drawn to the very edge and pushed over in a spiralling sensation of desire.
My vision blacks out for a short moment. When the world returns, Warwick is still braced over me, his entire body trembling as he, too, orgasms. We ride it out together, clutching one another and, when it’s done, I collapse back onto the bed, boneless and exhausted.
A moment later, Warwick falls beside me and we stare up at the ceiling. I want to say something, perhaps about what just happened between us, but a yawn overtakes me at that moment, my body finally seeing fit to remind me of the late hour and what time I should be getting up in the morning.
“Sleep?” Warwick asks.
“Yeah,” I agree.
We crawl up and slide under the covers. For all his talk of Dane missing him, Warwick doesn’t even think about leaving, and I’m glad. It means we can talk about this.
In the morning, though. For now, I just want to sleep.
Luciana
When I wake up in the morning, my first thought is of David.
It might seem strange, especially since I slept with another man last night. But the reason is because I didn’t think of David at all yesterday. Not once did his face float in my mind as Warwick touched me.
And my thoughts of him now are calm and gentle. It was as though, in allowing myself to be with someone else, I was finally letting go. He’s been gone for far too long. In many ways, I had already grieved him long ago. I had just needed to allow myself to move on.
I rolled my head to the side to look at Warwick. He’s peaceful in sleep, snorting softly as he curls into the pillow, oddly adorable considering how tall and muscled he is.
Last night was not something I had expected. Part of me knows it only happened because we had both been drinking and because we both had memories we were trying to chase away. But, somehow, none of that matters. I can’t bring myself to regret it.
A few days ago, when Warwick and I first met, I would never have imagined ending up here. But so much has happened in a small period of time and, for some reason that I can’t explain, being here right now with Warwick feels more right than anything else I have ever done in my life.
Then Warwick’s phone, which he had placed on the nightstand, rings.
Warwick snorts loudly and starts awake, blinking wildly. For a moment, as he looks around, there’s no comprehension in his eyes and then he looks at me. His face clears and he snatches up his phone.
“Dane, hi,” he says, trying to inject cheer into his voice.
Then he winces. I can well imagine what the other, stricter brother was saying right now.
“Sorry, last night was just a lot,” Warwick says after a moment. “Let me just clear my head, okay? I’m fine, and I’ll be back later today.”
Dane replies and Warwick smiles softly.
“I will,” he says. “See you later.”
He hangs up and turns to me.
“Sorry, Dane was worried,” he says.
“I’m not surprised,” I point out. “After what happened yesterday, he’d be wanting to make sure you were okay.”
“I am okay,” Warwick replies. “More than okay.”
There’s so much warmth in his gaze that I look away, stunned by it and not sure where it has come from.
“Um, coffee?” I cough.
We get up and dress quietly before heading out to my small kitchen. I pull the kettle out and put it on to boil. Then I jump as arms slide around my waist from behind before I can reach for some mugs.
“We probably need to talk about last night, right?” Warwick asks, his breath tickling my ear and sending a shiver down my spine.
“Yeah,” I say, my voice cracking slightly. I clear my throat. “Do you want anything to eat?”
“Just coffee is fine for now,” Warwick says, pulling away, and I feel an odd sense of loss.
I make the coffees and carry them over to the small dining table, sitting across from Warwick. I can feel a throbbing mark on my neck, where Warwick had sucked on my skin last night, and I busy myself with looking down into the dark liquid, trying not to think about it too much.
“Thank you for allowing me in last night,” Warwick finally says. “I was just…”
He trails off, searching for the words.
“Overwhelmed?” I suggest. “‘I’ve met many people who saw the deaths of loved ones, and they all felt the same way. I’ve seen patients die right in my arms. It’s never easy, and it’s doubly hard when it’s someone you care for.”
“Have you ever had that?” Warwick asks.
I think of David and wince.
“No,” I say quietly. “But someone I loved went missing, I know he’s dead, by now.”
“I’m sorry,” Warwick says soberly.
I quirk a small smile at him and we sip at our coffee in silence.
“So, last night,” I say after a moment.
“Do you regret it?” Warwick asks.
“No,” I say readily. “It was just a surprise, is all.”
Warwick nods. I notice that he doesn’t look surprised in the slightest and I raise an eyebrow at him.
“I’m a phoenix, Luciana,” Warwick says when he notices me staring. “There are… certain aspects of that which makes it easier for me to understand things like this.”
I frown at him.
“Like?” I ask.
Warwick opens his mouth and then hesitates.
“Can you leave this one for now?” he asks. “Just for a little while. I promise I will tell you… just not at this moment.”
I’m burning with curiosity. But I also know I’m not going to force him to tell me. He had already revealed so much of himself to me last night. If I ask for any more, I’m just being greedy.
“Alright,” I agree, nodding. “Actually, there was something I wanted to ask you about. Do you have a sample of that poison you were talking about?”
“The one that can kill us?” Warwick asks, frowning.