I'M IN A state of complete and utter relaxation. My body floats off the damn ground as I squint my eyes into the morning light seeping through the blinds.

Letting out a sigh of contentment, that is when I feel Everett's tongue between my legs.

This could very well be a wet dream, but the pinch I give myself on my stomach causes Everett to chuckle, and I'm still feeling his tongue swipe against my clit.

I guess he wasn't lying.

"Everett," I plead, squirming beneath him.

"You want me to stop, Em?" I feel his breath against my inner thighs, but to give him his answer, I shove his head back down over the comforter and hold him there, urging him to continue. "Good choice."

That damn tongue piercing is swirling around my clit in countless circles, one of his large hands splayed over my stomach to attempt to hold me in place. I can't even think straight from the sensation, especially having just woken up.

He darts his tongue inside me, gathering all the accumulated wetness, and his moan has me covering my mouth with my hand. I'm not sure why I'm trying to be quiet since it's just the two of us in the house, but I'm afraid to make Everett's head any bigger if he knows just how good he really is at this.

"So wet for me," he hums. "Do you have any idea how good you taste? I can't even think about anything else, Emery. Knowing you're in bed across the hall from me... Knowing these sweet, sweet thighs of yours are just begging to be worshipped..."

"Oh my god," I moan.

He slips a finger in, coaxing it against my inner walls. I can't see his face since the comforter still covers him, but the pure raspiness of his morning voice is going to put me over the damn edge. This has never happened to me before. Ever.  Having someone see every part of me always made me feel self-conscious, and I think Liam knew that, so he never tried to do anything more than what I wanted. 

But with Everett... 

"I didn't know you slept naked," he says.

"I don't," I reply breathlessly. "I only did it in case you were going to follow through with your plan."

He hums appreciatively, adding a second finger. "Glad I did."

After that, he stops talking and puts his mouth to use. I'm writhing beneath him, grasping the sheets with white knuckles, crying out in pure bliss as he takes my first orgasm. As soon as I gasp, as soon as my first wave of wetness hits, he slides up my body, coming out of the comforter, and slides his cock into me, catching that gasp with his mouth.

I must be having an out-of-body experience. That's the only explanation for how our bodies move in synchrony like this. His hips seem to follow mine before I know where they'll end up. We rock together, moving as one, and then he's fucking me so hard that the headboard is smacking against the wall at a rhythmic speed.

Everett doesn't give me a chance to feel self-conscious. He looks at me in a way that makes me feel comfortable, and there's never a scrap of doubt on his face about whether or not he's attracted to me. Even now, as he's staring at my breasts while he fucks me, his tongue darts out to lick his lips, and his eyebrows are bunched together as he tries to hold his release back. He's weak because of me, and knowing that...

"Everett, I'm going to—" My eyes roll to the back of my head, unable to take the pleasure. I don't think I'm capable of accepting much more.

"Yes," he urges through gritted teeth. "Yes, Emery. Give it to me."

With a shattered scream, I unravel beneath, on, and around him. My legs are quaking as he fucks me through it, rolling his hips while supporting himself on his forearms. He buries his head into the crook of my neck, and with a strangled groan, he stills inside of me, the headboard finally growing silent.

I'm unsure what to say after sex with him, partly because I have no words for it. I've never had a man be able to read my wants and desires so well without me having to express them. He knows exactly what my body needs, and it's him.

Still panting, he rolls onto his back, turning his head to stare at me. "Good morning," he says with a cheeky smile.

I move my gaze down his fully naked body, sending him a cheeky smile of my own. "Good morning, Ev."

"I want to wake you up like that every morning." When I arch a brow, he clears his throat. "As long as you're here, that is."

"I'm surprised you even got up this early. You're not a morning person."

He shrugs, putting an arm behind his head. "I may or may not have set an alarm to ensure this could happen. I'm not sure how you ever did it, though."

"Did what?"

"Wake up and be chipper. I used to hate when Liam and I would have to pick you up on the way to school. You'd get in the car and beg for your stupid vanilla latte and—"

"You remembered my order?"

"Kind of hard not to remember it when it was the same damn thing for four years straight." His voice lifts higher into an obnoxious tone, mimicking mine. "Hi, can I have a tall vanilla latte with two pumps of sugar-free syrup and a dollop of whipped cream?"

I shove him jokingly, erupting into a fit of giggles. "Oh, shut up, Everett! I did not say dollop."

"You did. Multiple times."

My cheeks burn at his admission. I didn't realize just how much he paid attention to me. He remembered my order by heart, rolling it off his tongue as if he played it over in his head again and again, and now we're in bed with each other after sex, and neither of us is bothering to get up.

Almost as if reading my mind, he clears his throat and rises from the bed, sliding his briefs to fit over his hips securely. "See you at class?"

I nod, watching him go, and as soon as the door to my room is shut, I deflate into the pillows and sigh.

The now empty spot beside me in bed shouldn't bring this overwhelming rush of loneliness, but I can't help but feel tempted to go across the hall and crawl right back into bed with Everett for an hour or two more of sleep.

But doing anything more than sex with him is off-limits. He's a dirty secret I have to keep dirty and nothing more, so I climb out of bed to shower and get ready for the day, and then I head downstairs to make breakfast.

Why does sex with him feel so much different than sex with Liam? After all, I was with the former for eight freaking years. But never once during all those times with the lights off did it feel like that. My legs didn't feel like jello. I wasn't breathless. I wasn't craving to go for another round. 

When it boils down to it, maybe Liam and I were just good friends. Maybe we valued our friendship so much that we didn't want to break things off earlier when we should have. As much as I want to know if Liam feels the same way, how could I ask him that? What if he was genuinely in love with me, and I break his heart all over again? I can't do that. I won't do that.

Regardless, there's an empty void in my chest that feels like it's getting sewn up, and it scares the living hell out of me. Since when have I let Everett get to me like this? Since when have I let anyone get to me like this? I've been so good at pushing everyone away that I don't even know what it feels like anymore to let someone in. 

When breakfast is finished, I heave out a sigh and leave Everett's plate of eggs and bacon in the microwave before I plop myself down on the couch to enjoy my free thirty minutes before class.

Everett is getting ready. I hear the shower running, and as I scroll through the different titles on the television, I squint my eyes at the recent purchases menu. Three new titles have been added to the library, each consisting of at least one of my favorite actresses. Bette Davis, Audrey Hepburn, and Marilyn Monroe.

He bought these movies after I told him they were important to my mom and me. The gesture is so thoughtful, so caring, that I...

It shouldn't make my bottom lip tremble. I shouldn't be blinking away tears, but I spent forever thinking Everett hated me. I assumed he was a man who didn't have an emotional bone in his body, but I'm starting to think that maybe, buried beneath a pile of trauma, lies a heart of gold that's just begging to be loved.

Author's Note:

It's not QUITE Friday yet, but an early update doesn't hurt, right?

WHAT DID YOU GUYS THINK?

I know this is a short chapter, so if you guys can get this to 215 votes and 300 comments, I'll release the next chapter IMMEDIATELY :)

Can you do it?

Twitter: believeeexoxo

Instagram: deannafaison_

Tiktok: authordeannafaison