The Ending I Want

Something else to add and check off my list.

Ass sex.

I’m trying to keep my thoughts light. Because Liam is wrapped around me and still inside me, his breath warm against my skin, his heart beating into my back, and my feelings for him are trying to cave in on me.

The urge to tell him what he means to me is so close to the tip of my tongue. I can feel it burning the inside of my mouth.

But I also know the damage saying those things would do.

How no good would come from it.

So, I lock those thoughts and feelings up, and I focus on the thought of the sex we just had. And, in my head, I turn it from the deep and meaningful thing that it was into something primal and hot.

Fucking. Just fucking.

“You okay, Boston?” He presses a soft kiss to the skin beneath my ear.

“Yeah.” I glance back at him and smile. “I’m more than good.”

He smiles, his teeth grazing over his lower lip. “I wish we could just stay like this forever,” he says softly.

Forever.

“My legs might go into serious cramp mode if we do.” I laugh.

I laugh to turn it into a joke. Something less serious.

Liam laughs, but it doesn’t reach his eyes. “I’ll get something to clean you up.” He kisses me on the lips and then slowly pulls out of me.

I feel the trickle down my thighs. I’m not sure what to do, but I figure, if I lie down, gravity might keep most of it in until Liam returns with some to clean me up with so that I make less of a mess on the bed.

I let myself fall onto my front and relax into the softness of the mattress.

I hear Liam’s deep laughter when he reenters the bedroom.

“Comfy?” he asks.

“Very.”

And I lie there while Liam cleans me up with a cloth. I feel a little sting when he cleans around my ass, making me hiss.

“Sore?” he asks.

I can hear regret in his voice.

I lift my head from the bed and look back at him. “Just a little. But it was more than worth it.”

That earns me another snapshot smile.

“I’ll just get rid of this.” He holds the cloth up.

I watch him leave the room, and then I move up the bed. Turning onto my back, I shimmy the duvet down and snuggle beneath it.

Liam smiles when he sees me. Then, he dives onto the bed beside me, making me squeal.

He pulls the duvet out from beneath him and gets under the cover.

We’re both on our backs, staring up at the ceiling.

Liam lets out a breath. “I feel like I should get a badge or certificate or something. I just conquered Taylor Shaw’s arse. A place no man has been before. And, fuck, was it good.” He turns his head on the pillow to look at me. “I think I’m gonna have that put on my headstone when I die.”

I frown at him. “Don’t talk about you dying so flippantly. Someone like you is meant to live forever.” The words are out before I can stop them.

The look on his face…it burns through me.

“And, anyway, with the way you’re going on, I’d think you’d never fucked a woman up the ass before.”

There’s a pause before he answers.

Please let it go. Let’s get back to jokey and light before I screwed it up.

I almost exhale in relief when he says, “I haven’t fucked a woman up the arse before. Well, when I say that, I mean, I haven’t bum-fucked a woman like you before.”

“Oh, yeah? And what’s different about me, compared to those other women you bum-fucked?”

“Well, I didn’t have to pay you.” He grins. “Kidding.”

He holds his hands up when I go to punch him.

“I’ve never paid for sex—normal or bum fun—I promise.”

“Okay.” I lower my hand back down to the bed. “So, what’s different here with me?” I press.

Why I’m pressing, I don’t know.

Well, I do.

It’s because I want to hear him tell me why I’m different. Even though I know no good can come of it. But my foolish heart is insisting on hearing him say whatever those words are.

“Aside from the fact that you’re American?”

“What does that have to do with anything?”

“Nothing.” He laughs. “I just like messing with you.”

He slides an arm under my waist, tugging me closer. “Well, for starters, your arse was virgin, so that officially makes it mine. You never forget your first.” He tilts his head forward, pressing his forehead to mine. He shuts his eyes and exhales. “You’re mine, Boston, in every way that matters,” he whispers. “You’re different and perfect, and you’re mine.” He presses a soft kiss to my lips.

Then, he just gets out of bed. Totally unaware that he’s just punched his fist into my chest, pulled out what was left of my heart, and carried it off with him.

“I’m gonna take a shower, clean up properly, so I’m ready for round two. You wanna join me?”

I force myself to come around, so I can respond to his words.

I sit up, the duvet pooling around my waist. “Round two? We’re not doing ass sex again for at least a few days. I’m a little sore, remember?”

Liam stops by the door. Hand on the frame, he looks back at me. “Of course I remember. I wasn’t talking about ass sex when I said round two. No, I was talking about your tits. They’re my next mountain to climb. I’m going to fuck the hell out of those beauties and then come all over them, so they look like snow-capped mountains.” He grins, and then he slips into the bathroom before I get a chance to respond.