Page 85 of Rise & Fall

“Mmm, hmm,” she whimpers behind my grip. Her lips quiver and her legs start to shake. I feel the way her pussy tightens around my cock, and I swear to God she better be ready to come because I’m so fucking close.

“Let me show you what it feels like to really let go.” I pump harder into her, squeezing her throat just the same and I swallow her cries with my mouth.

I bite down on her lip before pulling on it and letting it go with a pop, and a lone tear escapes her eyes.

She’s so fucking pretty.

I let go of her neck for a brief second, dragging her ass as close to me as possible and throwing her legs up over my shoulder.

I reach back down to wrap my fingers around the font of neck again and squeeze hard, thrusting all the way inside of her as hard as I fucking can.

“I’m gonna come, Nolan.”

Dakota, pushes as much air as she can through her constricted airway, crying as her orgasm reaches climax for the second time. And this time I come with her.

I throw us over the edge, falling into oblivion. Her moans heighten the way my dick pulses inside of her as I come so fucking hard.

“God, Nolan. Fuck. I—” She lets out another moan. “I love you.”

I let go of her throat, sitting back almost abruptly. My dick slides out of her, and panic crosses her face. Pure panic, and maybe even a trace of embarrassment.

“Dakota.” My eyes bore deep into hers, trying to read what’s going on in her head.

“Shit, that was not supposed to come out.” She sits up, reaching for her throat, caressing the sting of where I held her hostage.

She’s breathing sporadically, trying to catch her breath.

There’s so much heat between us, I’ve never felt a high like that before. But in a matter of three words, the air feels different. And the look of regret spreading across Dakota’s face sets me in unease.

My heart pounds in my chest, trying to replay what she just said, but it’s already distant. Or maybe it’s the echo of it that makes it feel unreal.

“I should get going.” Dakota pulls herself out from under me and rolls off the bed, obviously feeling the rush of needing to escape what just happened.

And I don’t force her to slow down. I won’t force her to talk about it.

The reality of it is, I can’t face that truth. I don’t think I’m ready for that kind of commitment, not again. As much as I crave keeping Dakota around, as much as I know I don’t want to ever let her go or let another man anywhere near her, I hope she didn’t mean it, because if she did…I’m fucked.

twenty-seven

Dakota

“Youdon’thavetogo, Dakota.” Nolan looks at me with some kind of mixed emotion accompanying his downcast gaze.

So many things spin in my head as I recall the last thing that came out of my mouth due to the heat of the moment. That’s what it was…the heat of the moment. Because there’s no way I can say that I love this man. It’s a severe infatuation that I’m feeling. Not love.

Love is not something that you just pick up at a school pick-up line. Love is something that is built over time. Right?

I lean over the side of the bed and pick up the discarded pieces of clothing I can find. I rub my eyes, desperately needing to gain some kind of visual clarity because obviously my mind can’t seem to process a decent, tangible thought. But the effects of being blindfolded still linger as my eyes squint at the light in the room.

“Dakota,” Nolan says my name like I’m some kind of fragile child, which twists my confusion and embarrassment into frustration, and when I look up at him, for just a split fucking second, I start to feel guilt creep underneath my skin.

“Say something.” His tone is cracked, but it’s laced with a sense of rejection. Like if I were to mean the words I said, he would deny them. He’d take his fill and leave behind all of the time we’ve spent and the bonding we’ve built.

Because love is not something that is feasible in the matter of weeks. Not in the real world, maybe in the romance novels that I read, sure. But falling for someone because they look at you like you're not some kind of lost puppy and because they listen to you in a way that touches your soul, isn’t how life actually works.

But my heart does feel something, it’s present in the way my blood heats in admiration when I look at Nolan. Like there’s a sense of familiarity when he’s around. And I can’t ignore how unwavering it is to know that I can be myself around him.

But that’s not love.