More Than This: A More Novella

by T. T. Kove

  I moved my pelvis against him, needing more, needing movement and stimulation.

  He gave it to me as he set up a steady rhythm.

  When he bent down to kiss me, I ran my hands up his neck and over his hair, loving the feel of him against me.

  I hiked my feet up to hook them around his waist. His hands cupped the back of my thighs, keeping them in that position, as he thrust harder into me.

  I’d always had a hard time orgasming, but that didn’t mean sex couldn’t be good. Amazing, even, like it was now.

  I moaned, eyes falling closed as I lost myself to the pleasure of him moving inside me. It’d been a little tight at first, but now it felt just right. I was wet and he glided in easily, rubbing against me.

  He groaned, and I sucked on his bottom lip.

  His hips stuttered, then thrust even harder before he buried himself deep and froze.

  I clung to his shoulders through his orgasm, running my lips over the thin skin on his neck, tongue lapping at it, sucking.

  “Oh fuck.” He rolled off me to land at my side.

  I slowly stretched my legs out—they were slightly cramped.

  He removed the condom, dropped it into the take-away bag on the floor, then fell back down on the bed again. He turned his head on the pillow to look at me, stretching his arm out.

  I smiled and rolled in close, resting against him, and he folded his arm around my shoulders.

  His chest had a small scattering of hair, darker than the blond hair on his head, and I ran my hand over it, teasing his nipples a little.

  His breath came in heavy puffs, chest rising and falling quickly.

  But so did mine, so we were in the same boat, as it were.

  That was good sex. So much better than it ever was with Magnus.

  “It’s only been three days.” I ran a finger around his nipple, thoughtful.

  “Hmm?”

  “Three days. Since we met.” I tilted my head upwards on his chest so I could look up at his face. “It feels so much longer.”

  “Yeah.” He sighed and closed his eyes. “It does.”

  I scooted up so I could kiss him. I’d planned on just that one kiss, but it led to two, three, and suddenly I was on my back again with him halfway atop me.

  His hand ran over my chest, over the small nubs that were my tits, up to my neck, which he cupped in his palm as he ran his tongue over my bottom lip.

  I opened to it, welcoming it in.

  I didn’t know how long we kissed, I didn’t even know how long we’d had sex. It could’ve been minutes or hours for all knew. And I didn’t care. All I wanted was to lie here in bed with him.

  When he rolled onto his back again I took notice of how he had a hard time keeping his eyes open.

  “Go to sleep, Roar.” I pressed in close to his side. “You need it.”

  “I don’t want to be one of those guys who just rolls over and goes to sleep afterwards.”

  “You’re not,” I assured him, petting his stomach. “But you don’t get much sleep, and I’ve got this whole bed right here.”

  “You don’t want me to leave?”

  “Are you mental? No.” I wanted him to stay right where he was, preferably forever, but tonight would do fine too. “Sleep. Relax. You’re safe here. If you want to sleep until morning, you can. I’ll wake you for school, but other than that I’ll leave you alone.”

  He let out a breath. “You’re pretty great, you know that?” He tilted my head up and bent his down, pressing our lips together in a soft kiss.

  “I try my best.” I grinned. “But you are too, you know. If you hadn’t been there on Saturday, I don’t know what I would’ve done.”

  He stared into my eyes. “I’m glad I was there on Saturday.”

  “So am I.” Now I kissed him, but just a quick, chaste one, before I pushed him away. “Sleep, Roar. I’ll be right here.”

  After another lingering look at me, he did turn over onto his side, with his back to me. I lay down close, wrapping an arm around his waist, and simply listening to him breathe.

  He fell asleep rather quickly, which told me all I needed to know. He did need sleep—and he needed it in a proper bed where no abusive stepfather was around.

  It was too early for me to sleep, so I got up eventually. I dressed, went to the toilet to pee—I did not want a UTI—then wandered downstairs.

  I heard the TV and ventured into the living room to find Ben sprawled on the sofa.

  “Hey. Why’re you up here?” He had a TV in his bedroom, after all.

  He glanced up at me. “You want to watch something?”

  I shook my head, then stared down at him as I stopped next to the sofa. He seemed to be in just as bad a mood as he’d been for a while now. “You all right, Ben?”

  “Yeah,” he murmured, expression anything but.

  I didn’t believe him. I also knew I shouldn’t push him, because it would only make it worse. I didn’t want him to bitch at me.

  So I got a glass of water and headed back up to my room.

  Roar was in the same position I’d left him in, fast asleep, and I smiled to myself.

  Three days in and I was already half-way in love with him. It was unbelievable, incredible, astonishing. It shouldn’t be possible—except it was. We had a connection, an instant one that had been there ever since he first talked to me Saturday night.

  My phone vibrated, and I grabbed it before the sound of it against the bedside table could wake Roar.

  I didn’t just have the one message, but several. Not from Iselin this time, but for Jakob.

  Hedda keeps ringing me.

  I don’t know what to do.

  She wants to get back together.

  But I can’t, so I’m not answering.

  I feel like such a shitty person.

  …

  Maria?

  So Hedda hadn’t taken any of what I’d told her to heart then. It figures.

  I took a seat on my desk chair, leaving my entire bed to Roar so I wouldn’t disturb him, and set to answering Jakob.

  I’m here.

  You’re not a shitty person.

  She needs to take a hint.

  Maybe you should just tell her the truth?

  Jakob: I can’t do that.

  She’s vindictive. She’ll tell everyone.

  Then she’s definitely not worth your time.

  Don’t feel bad about it.

  That she can’t accept your decision is her problem, not yours.

  Jakob was such a nice guy, I could understand why she’d want to keep him. But he’d broken up with her, so he wasn’t hers to keep anymore. Not that he ever had be, as he wasn’t a possession.

  Jakob: Do you want to meet up? BK maybe?

  I can’t. Got a visitor.

  Jakob: Oh. OK.

  Later maybe?

  They’re staying the right.

  Rain-check though?

  Tomorrow, maybe?

  Roar had only said he had Tuesdays off, so I took that to mean he had to work again tomorrow.

  Jakob: Yeah, OK. That sounds good.

  See you at school tomorrow then?

  Yeah, see you!

  I even added on a smiley face to the end of that message, though I wasn’t that good at using them normally. Jakob deserved it though, for being such a good, sweet guy.

  He gave me a thumps up and that was that.

  Iselin next then. She deserved some explanations.

  Hey, babe! Sorry, couldn’t answer, was busy.

  She was active on Facebook, so she saw my message instantly. I stared at the three periods that signalled that she was typing, waiting for the answer.

  Iselin: Busy with Roar?

  Yeah.

  Iselin: Is he with you now?

  Or can I come over?

  He’s here.

  Sleeping.

  He needs some proper sleep.

  Iselin: ???

  He works a lot of nights. Don’t get much sleep.

&nbs
p; So I let him borrow my bed.

  Iselin: YOUR bed?

  Wow.

  Roar?

  Really…

  So what’s the deal? Are you together?

  I lifted my gaze to stare at his bare back. We hadn’t talked about our relationship status yet, but I knew what I wanted.

  I don’t know.

  Maybe.

  Iselin: Have you slept with him?

  I didn’t know what to answer to that. My thumbs hovered over the keyboard on my phone, unsure what to say next. Should I admit it? Deny it? Be vague about it? Be vague about it was the same as admitting it though.

  Iselin: OMG. You have!

  You slag.

  Of all the people in school, why Roar?

  Everyone says he’s dangerous, you know.

  I know, you’ve told me before.

  And it felt right.

  He’s great.

  Iselin: …

  You do know there’s some rumours flying around he’s on drugs?

  I don’t care about rumours.

  They’re hardly ever true.

  Just look and Jakob and me.

  Those rumours weren’t true either.

  Iselin: Are you absolutely sure?

  Yeah. I believe him.

  Iselin: Are you sure someone else didn’t do something to you?

  What do you mean?

  Iselin: You blacked out…

  We only had cider.

  Who gave you something stronger to drink?

  And did they give you something else with the drink?

  Iselin…

  Iselin: I’m afraid you were drugged, Maria.

  It’s not normal to get a blackout from cider!

  You disappeared on me, found something else to drink that gave you a total blackout.

  I’m afraid you were roofied.

  Shit. I hadn’t thought about that. Who had given me something to drink?

  I clicked out of my message with Iselin and pressed Jakob’s name.

  Hey, about that party on Saturday…

  Do you know who gave me drinks?

  I bit down on my lower lip as I watched the three periods, anxiously awaiting the answer. My phone vibrated with a new message from Iselin, but I had to see what Jakob answered before I could check.

  Jakob: Umm, no?

  Sorry.

  I was pretty drunk myself.

  Why?

  No, I was just wondering.

  So it wasn’t you?

  Jakob: No, you were already pissed when I met you.

  Which explained why I didn’t remember meeting him—or snogging him—at all.

  I clicked in to check what Iselin had written.

  Iselin: Maria?

  I didn’t mean to freak you out…

  I just know that when you were with me, you didn’t drink anything but cider.

  Jakob didn’t give me anything.

  I just asked.

  He said I was already drunk by the time we hooked up.

  Iselin: Shit.

  Who was at that party anyway?

  Iselin: I don’t know.

  Lots of people we didn’t know.

  Lots of people from the vocational school, I think.

  But also from ours.

  I think Jasmin was there?

  Jasmin, a friend of Hedda’s… So that was probably where Hedda had heard about Jakob and I.

  Dammit, dammit, dammit.

  I guess I have to talk to her tomorrow then.

  Oh joy.

  14

  Awkward

  I woke up before my alarm, all warm and naked and pressed up against Roar’s back.

  He was still asleep, another testament to just how much he needed his sleep.

  I slid out of bed as quietly as I could so I didn’t wake him, and tip-toed out of the room to take a shower.

  My impending meeting with Jasmin weighed on me—if she was even willing to talk to me. She was Hedda’s best friend, surely she’d think I was just as much a home wrecker as Hedda thought.

  The warm water was good, and I took meticulous care with the shaving. Not that there was much to shave, considering I always took care with it, but I took it extra careful so I didn’t cut myself.

  Sex with Roar…

  It had been amazing.

  I hadn’t had sex since Magnus—but Roar was in another category all together. For one thing he didn’t pester me constantly about it, and he didn’t care only for his own pleasure and comfort.

  Roar had worried about me, if he was too heavy, if it had hurt, and afterwards he’d cuddled me.

  It had been a much better experience with Roar, yes. And I wanted more. Much more.

  I finished my shower, wrapped myself up in a towel, wrapped my hair in a towel. Since I hadn’t brought any clothes with me into the bathroom, I had to go back into my room like this.

  Roar had turned onto his back in my absence, his head turned away from me, but he was clearly still asleep.

  “Roar?” It was about time to get up, if he wanted to take a shower before school too. “Roar?” I put a knee on the bed and reached down to shake his shoulder.

  He tried to roll away.

  “So you’re clearly not a morning person.” I chuckled as I reached out to grip his shoulder again.

  He sat up straight at the same time as his hand locked around my wrist, twisting it.

  I gasped in both surprise and pain. “Roar?”

  He blinked himself into consciousness, slowly turned his head to stare at me, then he dropped his grip on my wrist as if he’d been burned. “Maria, I’m sorry.”

  “It’s okay.” I massaged my wrist and his gaze followed my movements. “Honestly, it’s fine.” It had only hurt when he’d grabbed hold and twisted, but it was fine now. A dull ache, but it slowly subsided.

  He dropped his head into his hands. “What time is it? How long have I been asleep?”

  “It’s morning. We’ve got school in an hour.” I sat down on the bed. “I figured you’d want a shower before we left?”

  He lowered his hands slowly, finally taking in my appearance. “Yeah, I’d like that.”

  “Does your stepfather attack you when you’re sleeping?” I asked, because nothing else could explain his reaction to being shaken awake.

  “It’s been known to happen,” he muttered as he leant over the edge of the bed to search for his clothes.

  No wonder he’d slept so long. He could never relax when he finally got to sleep at home.

  “Go take a shower. The towels are in the cabinet under the sink.”

  I tried not to watch as he threw the duvet away to pull on his boxers, but I couldn’t help but sneak a peak. And really, we’d had sex, there was no harm in seeing him naked the morning after.

  He pulled on his jeans too, but left his upper body bare as he grabbed his bag and slipped out of the room.

  Is it just me or was this slightly awkward?

  I sighed and headed over to my closet, hoping it wouldn’t continue to be awkward between us once he came back.

  I’d only got into panties and a tight vest when he did come back.

  “Well, that was the world’s fastest shower.” I turned to him as I unwrapped my hair from the towel.

  He grinned shyly. “Yeah, well. I figured your uncle’s home now, so I didn’t want to spend too much time.”

  “He wouldn’t mind you taking a long shower.”

  But he didn’t answer, because his gaze had slowly travelled down my body, taking in my lack of clothes. And he liked what he saw.

  “Roar…” I threw my towel on the desk and took a step towards him.

  He finally met my gaze—and the silent communication we had right then only consisted of three words: Need you now.

  I didn’t know which one of us moved first, all I knew was we crashed together, bodies, lips, everywhere, and it was frantic and fantastic.

  “Where’d you put the condoms?” he murmured against my lips once we’d moved to the bed.
My panties were already off and his jeans were undone.

  I fumbled for the bedside table drawer, but came up short.

  He chuckled and leaned over to open it, plucking out one of the two packets left.

  I didn’t see him open it, because he bent down to kiss me. I didn’t see him roll it on either, because that kiss was so good. But then his dick nudged against me and I spread my thighs wider, welcoming him.

  It went a lot faster than our sexual escapade the day before, a lot wilder.

  I grabbed onto the sheets as he thrust into me, right up against that legendary G-spot.

  “Oh fuck!” I clutched at the duvet, the sheets, him, whatever I could get my hands on.

  His lips descended on mine again, and we kissed sloppily through our shared pleasure. One of his hands gripped my thigh, hiking my leg up higher, while the other ran over my chest.

  My nipples were hard pebbles through my thin vest and he pinched them.

  I moaned loudly into his mouth, clutching at his neck now to keep myself right there against him.

  Nice and slow was all well and good—but quick and rough sure weren’t bad either! In fact, this right here and right now was so overwhelming, so over-consuming, that I could feel my orgasm build.

  I’d never orgasmed so quickly before, nor from simply vaginal penetration. It was wonderful.

  I closed my eyes and hugged him tighter through it, then let my arms drop listlessly down on the bed for that post-orgasmic bliss I hadn’t felt in so long.

  He still thrust into me, through his own orgasm, and I was so sensitive— but then he came, and he pulled all the way out, and he collapsed next to me on the bed.

  We lay for a while in silence, simply letting our bodies calm down.