Chapter 55

Octavia let out a sound between a sigh and whimper. She was using all her earthly strength to keep her body in contact with the bed.

Her hands clenched the bedcovers underneath her, but that flimsy thing was not rigid enough to keep her held down.

Her hips repeatedly rose upward, and she repeatedly willed them back down. If it wasn’t for Raemon’s strong hands around her hips, she felt as if she would have shot toward the ceiling.

But he gripped her with both hands, gently kneading at the skin around her hips, as his tongue went in and out of her center in the most blissful, torturous rhythm invented.

Each stroke felt like the peak of the highest wave until the next one came along to top it.

“Fucking hell,” Octavia exhaled.

She was drowning in a wild frenzy, an overwhelming sensation that was all his making. One of her hands shot between her legs to Raemon’s head, and she drove him into her.

It seemed to motivate him—the feeling of her hands on his head moving in rhythm with his mouth, pulling on him for each stroke of his tongue that he drove deeper into her.

His grip tightened around her hips. His tongue began to work faster, harder. Everything drove Octavia further and further to the edge.

That was it. She couldn’t hold on any longer. She was a bundle of electrified tremors and waves. She was a system under great pressure. She needed release. But this was not how she was going to get it.

“Raemon,” Octavia said, “get up here.” Another thrill rocked her body, and she stifled a cry. “I need you inside of me. Now.”

Raemon only withdrew his head enough to make eye contact. He made sure Octavia saw the triumph in his eyes. He’d proven his worth to her innermost self.

He’d had her writhe with pleasure in his arms and known that he was the one pulling the strings.

“If you say so,” Raemon said in a low, gravelly voice. He stepped away from her and reached for a drawer on the nearby nightstand, eventually pulling a foil-wrapped square from it.

Octavia spent the next whole five seconds angry at him for taking his touch away from her body.

The man took so long just to put on a condom, Octavia felt. But when he had it on, and he settled himself between Octavia’s legs, and his hands met the skin of her body again, all her anger vanished.

She closed her eyes and basked in the sensation of his lips once more sprinkling her neck with kisses, then sucking hard on her mouth.

~So that’s what I taste like,~ Octavia thought as she felt his hands moving between them, his body being lowered onto hers.

Octavia had already felt so much. There had been fireworks, electricity, tremors, and whatnot going through her body. It was hard to imagine what else there was left to feel. Could there even be more?

Then Raemon entered her. The long, hard fullness of himself slid into her center. Her folds parted as he penetrated. He moved in, paused, and then slid out.

Octavia sank into the infinite delight of his motion. His body thrust against her and inside her, over and over.

He pulled back and pushed in with a meticulous frequency, withdrawing just enough to lull Octavia’s insides into a sense of emptiness, and then thrusting forward to make her remember what it felt like to be full of him.

And full of him she was.

It didn’t take long for her to let go, for every imaginable feeling to possess her shuddering body. The orgasm hit her in waves, and she rode each one in a state of pure bliss.

The sensual tingling sensations erupted in an explosion inside her, a consuming fire that flooded every inch of her body.

She was suspended in a place of nothing but pleasure, a place where she was consumed by a sweet ache in her center.

A fiery longing between her legs that was all at once satisfied by the feeling of Raemon inside her, but hungry for even more of his tantalizing touch.

A small part of her brain was only partly aware of Raemon still thrusting into her, sustaining her euphoria. He was about to finish too, but it was clear he had set that aside for the moment.

Octavia’s pleasure was the number one priority.

Eventually, the feeling died down. The fire dimmed to a flicker. She felt the flames fading and gratefully relinquished their brandishing hotness from her body.

Octavia collapsed into a heap of numb nothingness; her body completely wrung out.

Raemon fell down on top of her, being careful not to crush her with his immense body. With the last of his strength, he rolled over to the side, finally tearing his body away from Octavia’s.

For minutes, the only sounds exchanged were of their heavy breathing.

“That was good,” Octavia remarked when she could finally speak between her labored breaths.

Beside her, Raemon shifted. She felt his hand on her neck, stroking her skin. Like he couldn’t bear to be without the feeling of her.

“That was what I wanted,” he mumbled into Octavia’s ear. His hand dropped to her breast. Clearly, he hadn’t had enough of that either.

“Whew!” Octavia exclaimed. “You’re definitely one of my top ten.”

His hand froze.

“Top ten?”

“Sure. That’s really high.”

“Top ten of what?”

“Sexual experiences, of course.”

“And who else is on this list?”

“Oh god, I can’t remember half of them. But I do remember their dic—”

“What position am I, then?”

“I dunno…seven?”

“Seven?”

“Trust me, that is high. You’re right up there with this guy I met in Bali. He was a yoga instructor, but he also hunted wild game, you know.

“Hell of a combination—meat eater and super flexible. Damn. He knew his stuff.”

“I don’t want to hear any more of this.”

“Oh. I guess that is kind of weird to talk about right now. But I mean, it’s not like we’re dating or anything. I mean…we’re just fuck buddies, right?”

“We’re what?”

“Fuck buddies. You know…people who have sex on a casual basis.”

“Why is it every time you speak I find myself questioning what language you’re speaking?”

“I could say the same about you.”

In response, Raemon pulled her close to him. His fingers played with the braids on her head, the locks that had tumbled out of formation.

Octavia spent the next few seconds of silence staring hard at his chest. Then she asked, “Raemon…this is just casual, right?”

“If that’s what you want, then it is,” Raemon answered.

Octavia propped herself up on one shoulder and looked down at him. “But there’s more than one person involved,” she said.

“A fuck-buddy relationship needs both people to be completely okay with it. Otherwise, it just ends in disaster.”

“The only thing I’m not okay with,” Raemon said, idly touching Octavia’s breast, “is being a number seven.” The motion on his hand slowed. “And betraying your trust.”

Octavia’s brow furrowed. “Huh?”

“I shouldn’t have said anything about us,” Raemon said, “not to Lila or Lucas. I’m…sorry.”

Octavia was silent. She dropped back onto the bed and lay on her back, staring at the ceiling.

Raemon didn’t stop touching her, as if he was in constant need of tangible proof that she existed, that she was next to him.

“Why did you do it?” Octavia asked.

Raemon paused before answering. “I wanted him to know. I’ve always had more than Lucas. I’ve always been more than Lucas. He isn’t a threat to me. But this time, he almost was. And it was because of you.”

Octavia scowled to the ceiling. “Why does it have to be my fault?”

Raemon planted a soft kiss on her shoulder. “It’s not. It’s him, it’s always him. That’s just who he is. He’s always wanted what’s mine.”

She snorted. “Okay, seriously, you don’t own me.”

“That’s how Lucas sees it.”

“What a douche.”

“Something we both agree on.”

Octavia turned her head to look at him. “I accept your apology. I honestly didn’t think you knew what those were.”

Raemon returned her teasing grin with a smirk. He wrapped his arms around Octavia’s body.

“You’re the only one who’ll ever hear it,” Raemon said. “You should feel honored.”

“I do,” Octavia said, grinning. “And you’re number seven on the list. You should feel honored.”

“Just how many people are on this list?”

“You think I could remember that if I can’t even remember the top ten?”

“Give me an estimate.”

“Well…let’s see. You could say I started…um, collecting data…as a college freshman. And long-term relationships weren’t really my thing, so if we maybe just say it was a different guy every week, then—”

“Every week?!”

“Every two weeks, maybe? I’m just giving estimates here.”

“Didn’t anyone actually study at this school of yours?”

“Of course, we did. What did you think we did on our study breaks?”

“Excuse me?”

“I’m kidding, I’m kidding.”

“About the list?”

“Oh no, that’s definitely a long one. I’ve never seen any reason to deny one’s sexuality. We’re living creatures. It’s kinda what we do.”

“Very scientific of you.”

“Not scientific. Practical. I like sex. Most everyone likes sex. It’s a likable thing. It’s whole lot easier if people start off with that basic, fundamental truth.”

“I still can’t believe the ‘every week’ part.”

“Oh yeah? Well, how many women have you been with?”

“That’s…not up for discussion.”

“Ha!”

Raemon kissed her, stopping whatever taunt she was on the verge of delivering. He withdrew his lips from her mouth and began traveling down her middle in a very familiar way.

“Again?” Octavia asked.

“And again, and again, and again,” Raemon said. “You’re not leaving this room till I’m at number one.”

Octavia grinned. “Fine by me.”