Coalescence

by J. C. Hannigan

  I opened it, my cock hardening at just her words. Before I could reply, she sent another message—a photo of the lower half of her face, below her eyes.

  Her lips and her collarbone being the focal point, with that steampunk bird on her collarbone, her dark hair pushed behind her creamy shoulders. The top curves of her breast filled the bottom portion of the photo, cutting off before her nipples. It wasn’t a nude picture, but it was erotic as hell, and it made my hands twitch with the urge to drive to her place.

  I stood in the foyer, staring at that picture, my desire and my head warring with one another. Tig seemed to know before me—usually, he’d follow me out to the garage and lay down with his head facing the driveway while I worked on various projects. That meant he was at my heels, waiting impatiently to get to the garage, but he’d already settled down on the foyer rug.

  Dumping the remainder of my beer down the bathroom sink, I paused to grab my truck keys before locking up.

  Can I stop for anything? I texted her before I put the key in the ignition and turned it.

  Got it covered. Just hurry. ;)

  I drove ten clicks over the speed limit until I got closer to town, then I forced myself to slow down. I pulled up to the curb in front of her building and parked. Running a hand through my still damp hair, I opened the door.

  Stepping out, I shut the door and hit the lock button on the key fob while walking up the short concrete pathway to the building doors.

  Music pumped from somewhere within the building, same as last night. Like the night before, someone had placed a brick to keep the door from closing fully, and I shoved it aside with my boot after opening the door.

  I took the steps two at a time, and before I could raise my fist to knock on her door, it was swinging open.

  She was dressed in a white tank and a pair of black sleep shorts; no bra, I could easily make out the rose hue of her nipples through the thin material of her top.

  “Points for providing fast service,” she teased, standing aside to let me in.

  “Well, it was a sexy photo,” I replied, unashamed now that I was in front of her. She flushed prettily, her lashes brushing against the lens of her glasses as she dropped her gaze for a moment. I stepped toward her, my hand slipping around her waist, my thumbs brushing over her hipbone before I walked her backwards, pinning her against the door.

  I ground my pelvis into hers, and she let out a moan. I caught it with a kiss, pressing my lips to hers. My tongue swept across her bottom lip, begging for entrance, and her lips parted eagerly.

  Each stroke of her tongue was the kindling, and each pass of her fingers against my skin was the gasoline, the friction of our bodies the only spark required to make us both ignite.

  She let out a tortured gasp, her head dropping back against the door with a dull thud as I sucked on her neck. My hand slipped beneath her tank top, and my fingers brushed against the undersides of her heavy breasts before I grabbed hold of one, squeezing and rolling her nipple between my thumb and index fingers.

  “Alaric,” she moaned, her hands wrestling with the button of my jeans. Finally, I felt the button give. Gwen worked the zipper down and pushed both my jeans and my boxers down enough to free my goods.

  As her fist enclosed around me, my fingers slipped into her sleep shorts, finding her slick with need. My fingers sank into her, and I felt her clenching around me.

  The pad of her finger swirled the pre-cum against my crown, and I let out a low growl, withdrawing my hand and picking her up. I carried her to the nearest piece of furniture—the sofa.

  I set her down and sank to my knees, tugging her shorts off in one fluid movement. I kissed her pelvis, turning my head so that I could get a taste of her as my tongue slipped between her folds.

  Her legs trembled, and my need was exorbitant. I reached for my jeans, pulling a strip of condoms from my back pocket. Gwen tugged her shirt off, her breasts on full display for me.

  She was exceptionally gorgeous and so responsive that not being inside of her was beginning to feel painful. I had to rectify that.

  I ripped open a condom, rolling it on quickly before I picked her up. My pants and boxer briefs were around my hips, but Gwen worked them down with her heels. Finally freed, I toed off my boots and turned, falling back on the couch, bringing her down with me.

  The tip of my cock brushed against her wet core, and then all thoughts flew from my head as she sank down onto me, taking me to the hilt.

  “Fuck, Gwen,” I growled, closing my eyes as her core tightened. I gripped her hips, pulling her against me as I rocked into her. She rode me, and I met her thrust for thrust, eager to fill her, eager to get my fill of her.

  My eyes didn’t leave her face the entire time, as I hungrily watched her pupils dilate with pleasure. My fingers dug into her hips, and she let out a whimper before I felt the rush of her orgasm. “Do you like it rough?” I asked her, pulsing inside of her.

  “I guess I do,” she said, her voice a little shaky and her eyes bewildered like she’d been caught off guard by it.

  Making sure I had a hold of her, I stood carefully, still managing to keep inside of her sweet heat. I kissed her deeply, holding her ass and moving her against me. I walked until we reached the wall, and I paused to look into her gray eyes. “Let me know if it gets to be too much.”

  She gave me a sly grin, arching her pelvis against me. “Bring it.”

  I started to drive into her, fucking her against the wall, supporting her lower back as I pounded into her. She came around me and let out the sexiest of moans. Her breasts pressed against my chest, and the whole thing was sensory overload for me, and I let out a deep groan as I came.

  I’d fucked plenty of women in similar ways, but never had I been as affected by them as I was by her. Being inside her was sheer ecstasy.

  I pulled out and lowered her to the ground, still supporting her as she regained her balance. Once she was able to stand on her own, I went to the bathroom to discard the condom and clean up a little before I rejoined her.

  She’d put her tank top and shorts back on, although she had two glasses of water on the coffee table. She looked up at me from the couch, a satisfied smile on her face. “I really needed that,” she admitted, somewhat dreamily. “You have a magic cock.”

  “Just a magic cock?” I joked, bending to pick up my boxers and jeans.

  “Well, you’ve got magic fingers and magic lips and a magic tongue too…” she amended, frowning thoughtfully. Reaching for one of the cups, she drank from it. The flash of insecurity I saw in her eyes was gone almost as quickly as it appeared.

  “You’re pretty magical yourself,” I told her, pulling my jeans over my hips. I buttoned them before picking up the second glass. Taking a long sip, I sat down beside her on the couch. I needed a moment to catch my breath.

  My gaze slid to hers, and I exhaled deeply when I caught her checking out my chest.

  “So, what’d you do today?”

  “Yard work,” I said. “You?”

  “Nothing, really. Mentally preparing myself to go wedding dress shopping tomorrow.” I tensed a little, and she glanced at me, her lips twitching with amusement. “My sister’s getting married, so we’re going wedding gown shopping.” She explained, bemused. “It’s going to be pure torture. I’d almost rather do yard work.”

  “I thought women liked stuff like that.” I laughed.

  “Most women do, but this woman? No thanks. Especially not with Kelsey’s future mother-in-law present. That woman’s a nightmare.” She shivered. “I would have rather spent tomorrow drinking beer in my underwear and watching Game of Thrones.”

  “You like that show?” I asked, my cock stirring at the mental image of her in her underwear.

  “Obviously,” she said, giving me a pointed look. “If your hair was dark, you could pass as a Dothraki.”

  I laughed deeply, shaking my head a little, my eyes moving across the room to the bookshelves that took up the far wall. She had the complete
Game of Thrones series on one shelf, along with various character bobbleheads and a signed, framed photograph of her with some of the cast.

  “I’ve never seen it,” I admitted, shrugging a little.

  “Wow, really? I don’t know if I can continue being your friend,” she teased, her smile betraying her words. “Honestly, it’s a cool show. You’d probably love it. Swords and gore and tits and ass. There’s something for everybody.”

  She set her glass down and climbed onto my lap again, straddling me. Her hands moved up my chest, around my shoulders to rest at the back of my neck.

  “Maybe I’ll check it out.” I chuckled as she moved closer, pressing her lips to mine.

  Gwen

  Sunday morning, I awoke completely relaxed with high spirits. I listened to music while I showered, dressed, and did my makeup. When Kelsey texted that she was out front of my building, I was already slipping into my most comfortable pair of Vans.

  After Alaric left Friday night, I had the deepest sleep of my life, sedated by all the orgasms. When I woke on Saturday morning, I felt renewed and spent the entire day writing.

  Of course, by writing, I’d worked myself into a horrible state of arousal and had ended up practically begging Alaric to come back.

  But he had, and we had sex twice before he left.

  Whistling cheerfully, I locked my apartment and practically danced down the steps. I climbed into the front seat, flashing a dazzling smile at Kelsey. “Good morning, sister face.”

  “I take it your chat with Alaric went well.”

  “It did. We’ve agreed to try casual.” I shrugged. “But I don’t want a word of this uttered today. Mom doesn’t need to know. We’re just having fun, and she always makes a huge deal of this kind of thing.”

  “You used to, too,” Kelsey noted with some concern.

  “Yeah, but I’ve learned my lesson,” I argued, lifting my chin and ignoring the whispers of my heart. It was hard not to be affected by Alaric; he was the ultimate package, but he was also completely emotionally unavailable, and I needed to remember that.

  “Oh, I get it.” Kelsey nodded, understanding dawning on her expression. She pulled onto the road and started to drive toward our parents’ house to pick up Mom.

  “Get what?”

  “You’re still trying to play it cool. Gwen, I saw how he looked at you. It’s pretty obvious how he feels about you.”

  “He wants me. That’s all.” I shrugged, trying to dismiss her words, feeling uncertain and worse…hopeful. This was precisely why I needed to shut down this topic; I couldn’t afford to have those kinds of seeds planted in my mind. “Like I said, we’re just having fun. So, could you let me have that without making me overanalyze things? Because I have a hard enough time not doing that on my own. I don’t need you adding to it.”

  “Sorry,” she said, sending a concerned glance my way. “Just be careful.”

  I sighed. “Fine, but can we drop it now? Today is about you and finding you the perfect dress for your perfect day,” I said, steering us back to safer waters as our parents’ driveway came into sight.

  “That’s true. Today is about me,” Kelsey said gleefully as she turned down the gravel driveway. As we pulled up to my parents four-bedroom, three-bathroom brick house, Mom walked out the front door, closing it behind her.

  I surrendered the front seat to her and climbed in the back, thankful that we still had another two hours before I’d have to deal with Janice. Speaking of which, I was going to need a coffee—stat. “Hey, could we maybe stop for coffee?”

  “Sure,” Kelsey said, waiting until we were both buckled to put it in reverse and back up. She turned around, driving down the gravel driveway slowly. “We’ll hit up the travel centre.”

  Satisfied, I sat back against my seat and pulled my phone from my purse. I had no new texts. Before the disappointment could set in, I pulled up Renly’s name and sent him a message.

  Me: I’m about to spend the day dress shopping with Kelsey, her future monster-in-law, and my mom. Please send wine.

  I didn’t have to wait long for a response, as Ren’s phone was never far from his hand.

  Ren: I think they serve champagne at bridal boutiques.

  “Oh my God, do they actually serve champagne at bridal stores?” I demanded, looking up from my phone. Mom turned around to frown at me, flabbergast by my interruption. “Sorry, I just, I didn’t know they did that.”

  “As I was saying, Kelsey,” Mom said, turning back to look at my sister. “The Dominican is a beautiful place for a honeymoon.”

  “I like the idea of going to Iceland.” My sister shrugged. “Or Europe.”

  “Paris would be romantic.” Mom nodded with agreement. “Although it would be cold in February.”

  “I don’t mind, and neither does Elliott. I’m sure Paris is just as beautiful in February as it is in the summer.”

  “Oh, it so would be, Kels!” I said eagerly, leaning forward a little bit. “And you could take the train to Amsterdam. Actually, I think you can take the train pretty much anywhere.”

  “That’s the plan,” Kelsey admitted, grinning ruefully. “We kind of want to see as much of it as we can.”

  “That sounds interesting. What does Janice think?” Mom asked.

  I groaned. “Who cares what Janice thinks? It’s their honeymoon, not hers.”

  “She’s paying for it,” my sister pointed out, glancing at me through the rearview mirror. “She said she wanted to send us to the Dominican, but neither Elliott nor I have a burning desire to go there. We’ve always talked about seeing Europe.”

  “So tell her that you want to go to Europe, then.” I frowned, not seeing the dilemma.

  “We’re going to, but Elliott wants to be there so please don’t say anything,” Kelsey replied, catching my eyes in the mirror again and giving me a pointed look.

  “You know I love a good secret.” I arched a brow.

  11

  Free Fall

  Gwen

  I deserved a medal of some kind for putting up with Janice. After spending the last hour with her, I had a newfound appreciation for my mother. She really wasn’t all that bad. Compared to Elliott’s mom, ours was a saint.

  She had a complaint about everything, and I mean everything. Every dress that Kelsey tried on, she’d spew out some kind of ridiculous flaw in it.

  The saleswoman cleared her throat, and Kelsey stepped out in a beautiful Viera lace on tulle dress with a sweetheart neckline. It was decorated with Swarovski crystals and an embroidered lace hemline. Kels’ entire demeanor changed when she looked at herself in the mirror, but then Janice’s displeased tone shattered the moment.

  “No, that’s not it either.” She insisted, dismissing the dress as she had the other six before it.

  “Woah. Hang on. What are you talking about, Janice?” I demanded, pointing at the dress. “Just look at it! It fits her perfectly, and it’s totally her.”

  “It looks dirty,” Janice said, eyeing the dress with disdain. “Try on the ball gown I selected.”

  Kelsey looked at herself a final time in the mirror before pivoting. “It makes sense to try on all the dresses, but so far, this one is my favourite.” She said with confidence, giving her future mother-in-law a polite smile before she followed the sales lady into the change room.

  “I happened to like the silver undertones,” I said to Mom, rolling my eyes.

  “Gwen,” Mom scolded me for my tone, but I could tell she agreed with me. Still, she made polite conversation with Janice while we waited.

  I pulled my phone out, my finger hovering over the Facebook icon before tapping it, opening up my notifications. I nearly dropped my phone with surprise when I read that Alaric had accepted my friend request.

  Wait, what friend request? I thought frantically. Admittedly, I’d pulled up his profile a few times over the last week or so, but I hadn’t requested him. Or at least, I hadn’t meant to.

  Still, he’d accepted the request. Finger
hovering over his name, I hesitated for only a moment before clicking it.

  More of his profile was revealed to me, but it still didn’t really give me any closer of a look at his life. The few photos he’d been tagged in were from years ago, and he didn’t seem very active on it now.

  I lingered on a photograph of him with his arm around the shoulders of a red-haired woman as she held a tiny pink bundle. The grin on his face as he gazed down at the baby made my heart clench.

  The love and adoration in Alaric’s eyes as he gazed admired his newborn daughter took my breath away and made me ache acutely for something more.

  “Gwen?” Startled at the close proximity of my mom, I dropped my phone. I leaned forward and picked it up quickly, my face flushed.

  “Jesus, Mom. Do I need to get you a bell?” I demanded.

  “I said your name seven times.” Mom shook her head, her brow furrowing as she gazed at me with suspicion.

  “Well, you have my attention now.” I sighed, trying to recover from not only being startled but from the distressing realization that I was in way over my head.

  Mom’s frown deepened, and she nodded toward the little stage set up with mirrors where the sales ladies had brides-to-be model the dresses they tried on. Kelsey was wearing a strapless ball gown this time, with scattered lace embellishing the tiered layers of tulle—a lot of tulle.

  My sister gently moved her hands up the lace bodice, her fingers fluttering over the material.

  “See? Aren’t you a vision,” Janice declared, standing up for the first time and smiling with pride. “You’ll steal Elliott’s breath from his very lungs in that.”

  I stood too, taking in the soft scoop neckline. I hated to admit it, but Janice was right—the dress was beautiful, and Kelsey’s expression had changed yet again with it, so she was feeling something.