I’m not normally this cuddly, this possessive with someone I’m dating. Granted, I have minimal experience with actually dating, and it’s been a long time. But even with Christian when I lived in Boston, I never felt this aching need to keep him as close to me as possible.

Brenden’s different, of course. He has been since the day I met him, even if it took longer for my feelings to develop into this.

“G’morning,” he mumbles sleepily. It’s so cute that I have to bury my nose in his hair and kiss the back of his head. His hair tickled my nose all night, but it was worth it for the privilege of being surrounded by his scent.

“Morning,” I tell him, twirling my fingers aimlessly over his stomach. “How do you feel?”

“Wrung out. And not in the fun way.”

I laugh, squeezing him to me a little tighter.

“But I’m glad we did that,” he continues. “I think it was good for everyone.”

“Mmhmmm,” I murmur, pressing my lips to the nape of his neck as my fingers resume trailing over his soft skin.

“This feels nice,” he says, and I can hear the smile in his voice.

It feels more than nice, but I’m not sure I’m capable of finding the right words for how perfect this is, so I kiss him again. And again, and again, marking a path down his spine. I don’t get too far though, because I’m not willing to move away from him that much.

When he lets out the tiniest, sweetest moan, I can’t help myself. I remove my arm from around his waist and bring it down between our bodies. My hand almost covers his entire ass cheek. I squeeze, making him moan again, and then I use one finger to rub over his hole.

“More,” he says softly. “Please.”

Hearing him beg for me makes me feel like a king, but I’m incapable of making him ask twice for anything. So I roll away to grab the lube and a condom out of the nightstand drawer, then come back to him. Even though I revel in being able to give him what he wants, I still take my time. I start by pressing only the tip of one slick finger inside him, crooking it to tug gently at his rim. I fuck him shallowly with it, waiting until it feels like he’s sucking me in, his body requesting more before I go deeper.

Eventually I add a second finger and work to loosen him up. He pushes back against me, matching my slow pace and whimpering when I suck on the juncture between his neck and shoulder.

“Ready?” I ask him, though I know he is.

“Yeah. Can we stay like this?”

That’s music to my ears. “Yeah,” I tell him. “Just like this.”