Chapter Twenty-Four

 

 

Kaiden

He’d been gone for hours. The horrors my mind created were progressively worse. Could a person go to jail for what we’d done? Fuck, what if the school called the cops? What if Emerson was behind bars? What if they came for me next?

I shot off the couch and paced by the front window for the hundredth time, looking and waiting for Emerson to show up. My phone remained silent, but I checked it periodically in case I missed the notification noise.

It was shy of noon when keys in the front door sent my heart to catapult into my throat. Emerson pulled the door open and met my frantic stare. He kicked off his shoes in silence, and I couldn’t take it anymore.

“What happened? Why didn’t you call? I thought maybe you went to jail?”

He chuckled. “Really?”

“I don’t fucking know. You didn’t call me, Emerson. What am I supposed to think?” I could hear the frantic tone of my voice, but I couldn’t temper it. He looked so calm, but there was no way this all got brushed aside.

Emerson crossed the room, snagged my hand on his way by, and dragged me into the bedroom. After he closed the door behind us, he turned and took my face between his hands.

“What—” He kissed away my question.

His tongue sought mine, taking me deeper, and issuing his claim the way he always did when we came together. Stealing my breath and every argument I might summon, he guided me to the bed, only breaking the kiss to rip my shirt over my head.

“Em, what—”

Pressing a finger to my lips, he shushed me. “After,” he whispered. “I just want you right now. Need you. Then we can talk.”

Lips found lips, tongues danced, and Emerson took me onto the bed where he ravished my mouth, marked my skin with teeth and suction, and stripped me bare. He was assertive and demanding, and I knew better than to argue and force him to talk first.

Emerson loved being in control, and I slipped into a more submissive role willingly under his hand. It was exactly where I liked to be. Emerson always took care of me, always saw to my needs, and never let me down. I trusted him, and if this was something he needed first, I wouldn’t argue.

His mouth surrounded my dick, his lubed finger sank deep in my ass. Before I knew what was happening, I was arching off the bed, fighting to stay in control and not launch into orgasm too soon.

He sensed I was close and spared me embarrassment by letting up on my prostate and licking up my chest to my nipples. A sharp pinch between teeth and I gasped, clasping his hair and thrusting my hips to gain friction on his abdomen.

“Fuck me, Em. Need you inside me.”

“Believe me, I will. There is no rush.”

He locked our mouths, devoured and licked his way around every part of me, turning me inside out with desire. Wetting a trail up my neck, he paused by my ear. “I love you, Kaiden. Nothing and no one will tear us apart. Ever. You are mine. Always mine. You understand me?”

“I do.” I drew his face up so I could look him in the eyes. “I love you, Em. So much. I was so scared you weren’t coming home.”

His forehead rested on mine. “I’ll always come home to you.”

I wrapped my legs around his waist, lifted my hips and begged without words for him to take me. With an extra squirt of lube, he slicked himself and lined up, pressing inside slowly and without ever breaking eye contact.

“Mine,” he whispered.

“Yours.”

Every movement had a purpose. Every glide sent shivers to crawl from my head to my toes, engulfing me in a love I didn’t know was possible. We were joined in more than just body, but spirit and soul as well. There was no rush to finish. We savored the moment, closed our eyes, and rode each wave until our union brought us both to our peak.

After, we lay together in blissful silence, too caught up in the moment for words. Emerson stroked a hand over my side, peered deep into my eyes, and captivated me with his heart-warming smile.

“Jagger covered for us,” he eventually said. My eyes had begun to grow heavy, but his words cut into the empty air, bringing me to the surface of consciousness again.

“What? How?”

Emerson explained the entire ordeal, all Jagger had claimed, and what happened with Alexa and her father. He told me how he’d shared about us with Jagger, and although he didn’t understand, he was glad we were happy.

“Is it wrong to be kinda relieved someone knows and it’s not just us?”

Emerson smiled. “No, honestly, I feel the same way. Jagger has always been there for me. He’s my best friend. I think it helps to have someone out there who we don’t have to be fake for. This won’t always be easy.”

“Oh, I know, believe me. We need to be a lot more cautious. Kissing you in the parking lot was my fault. I’m so sorry.”

“Forget it.” He brushed the hair off my forehead. “We go forward. We be careful. What’s done is done, and hopefully, it all stays buried now.”

I snuggled closer, needing to feel Emerson’s arms around me along with the security they brought.

“So, college?” he said, slapping my ass and encouraging me to get up.

I groaned but couldn’t contain my smile. “I’ll call Cooper tonight and tell him I’m gonna register. He’ll be excited. Poor guy has been confused as hell.”

We found our underwear and pulled them on before heading to the kitchen. Emerson rooted through the fridge and cupboards. “I’m proud of you, Kai. This is a good thing.”

“I know. I’m trying.”

He abandoned his search for food and snagged my waist, pulling me in. “I know you are. This move here was the best thing for you.”

I smirked. “Nothing selfish in that statement though, right?”

“Not at all.” He kissed my temple and breathed me in. “How about we order out and snuggle with a movie?”

“I like that. Pizza?”

“Hold the pineapple. On it.”

“Emerson,” I said just before he pulled away. He paused, dark eyes focused intently on my own. “Thank you for everything. Being you. Believing in me. Not freaking out when everything turned upside down.”

The corner of his lips turned up, and he winked. “We’re a team, Kai. We always have been and always will be.”

“Yours,” I whispered.

“Mine.”

 

THE END