“This?” Draping himself over my back, he wrapped his fist around my cock. I’d never been harder, and I made a low, keening noise.
“Oh, thank you.”
“Yup. Fucking perfect.” He blessed me with kisses all over my shoulders and back.
“Feels so good.” I couldn’t keep the awe out of my tone.
“Yeah, you do.” He quickened both his thrusts and his hand. “Feel this. Feel me. Feel us.”
Us. That was it. This wasn’t simply me. Or him, wonderful as Ezra was. This startling, amazing, special thing was us. Together. A safe place that was ours and ours alone. I started to shudder, and Ezra encouraged me with every thrust.
“Come on, baby. That’s it. Let go.”
And with a muffled shout, I did exactly that, letting go and coming over and over into Ezra’s fist.
“Yes. Yes.” I couldn’t stop chanting. Couldn’t stop coming either, wave after wave, and all I could do was ride it out.
“Can you take a little more?” Ezra’s voice was tense. I’d done that, gotten him so close to the edge. I thrilled and shuddered all over again.
“Yeah. Yeah.” As soon as I agreed, he went hard and fast, bed shaking along with my knees. I was hyper-sensitive, each thrust making me moan along with him. “Come, Ezra. Want you to come.”
“You want that?”
“Please.” And apparently, that was indeed the magic word as he tensed and held, cock pulsing inside the condom as he groaned and groaned. Collapsing next to me, he showered me with more kisses and praise.
“You were so amazing. Beautiful.”
“Ha.” I was many things, but I was pretty sure beautiful wasn’t one of them. But if Ezra wanted to think that, I’d let him. Pulling him tighter against me, I kissed the back of his hand. “You might be changing my opinion on rewards.”
“Yeah?” He dropped a kiss above my ear before sitting up, finding my discarded towel from earlier.
“Oh yeah. I love rewards.” I gave him a dopey grin as he cleaned us up. “Especially when we both win.”
Eyes narrowing, he paused, towel in his hands. “Did you mean it earlier when you said we were a team?”
“Absolutely.” Maybe I wasn’t the only one who had needed stress relief and distraction from the earlier events. I motioned him closer, but he continued to look deep in thought with faraway eyes and thinned-out lips.
“You say that, but it sure felt like you saving the day.”
“We were a team,” I said firmly, sitting up enough to hug him from behind. “When I told you to call 911, I trusted completely that you would. Never doubted. That’s teamwork. And you spelled me, and you took direction like a champ. We’re a good team, Ezra.”
“Yeah.” Ezra exhaled hard and slumped against me, head falling back against my shoulder. “Sometimes being a rock star feels pretty darn inadequate next to a real-life superhero.”
“You’re a hero to a ton of people,” I reminded him. “And I know for a fact you’ve saved a lot of people from bad days with your music. Including me.”
“You’re good for my ego.” Chuckling, he turned his head so he could kiss my neck. “Friends, benefits, and a pep talk? I really did win the lottery with you.”
“Same.” My stomach wobbled as I bit my lower lip, unsure how much to reveal. But he’d been so reassuring with me earlier, giving me exactly what I’d needed. I could give him my honesty. “It’s entirely possible you’re the best friend I’ve ever had.”
“You’re cute sex-drunk.” He kissed my jaw.
“I’m serious,” I whispered.
“Oh.” He released a shuddery breath. “Me too. Duncan—”
“Shh.” I cut him off, tipping my head against his. Admitting as much as I had left me raw, and I wasn’t sure I could handle any more soft confessions. In the distance, I swore I heard a clock ticking. We only had so much time left, and simply thinking about letting him go made me tremble, made me hold him that much tighter.
We clung together for long moments until we tumbled backward onto the bed. I got cozy with my pillow while Ezra arranged the covers around us.
Groaning, he lay next to me with a big yawn. “I promise I’ll sneak back to my room, but I’m gonna need a few minutes.”
“Stay.” I blamed the ticking clock in my head. Or maybe how the sex had turned me inside out, undone everything I’d thought I’d known. Or the sweet words, both said and unspoken. Whatever the impulse, I didn’t want to let him go.
Let me have this, I asked the universe. Just this. I’ll be happy with that, promise. It wouldn’t be enough, and my chest crackled, ancient locks around my heart creaking under the strain.
“All right.” He laughed softly, cutting the rising tension in my body as only he could. “Knew you’d change your mind on cuddling.”
“Shut up and spoon me, Ezra,” I demanded, shoving my hips into his groin until he wrapped me up from behind. Safe. I was safe. And maybe this would be my only chance to drift off surrounded by his warmth and strength, but I was done denying myself even a few more precious hours with him.