Better or Worse {11...Simplified?}
For everyone who can't see the original post! Here is chapter 11 of Better or Worse...
I hate late flights but it was all Nesta and I could book last minute. Iām already tired, due to lack of sleep, now that Iām back on the couch. After getting cockblocked by Eris last week, and seeing that intimacy isnāt as important to my wife as it apparently is to me, I decided that sleeping on the couch would be best.
She hasnāt seemed to mind.
Not once has she asked me to come back to bed. Although, she has stayed true to her word and has been working nonstop since we decided weād be going on vacation. I havenāt been ignoring her completely. When weāre in the same room, weāve indulged in that same small talk that we indulged in weeks ago. Then, things started to change and get better.
Now I donāt know what to think. Iām not sure where we are now.
I debated on calling our little getaway off, but being on the beach right now sounds good, therapeutic, so here we are. Even though thereās a wall back between us, weāre taking Gwynās advice and going to paradise for a few days.Ā
Once we make it past security and to our gate, Nestaās already pulling out her laptop. I mumble that Iām going to find coffee and leave her there to work. I feel a little better, a little less grumpy, once I get caffeine in me. I even feel nice enough to bring Nesta a latte.Ā
The flight is three hours long, and I sleep for most of it. Surprisingly, the plane seat is just as comfortable as the couch.
Maybe we should get a new couch.Ā
I only wake up when we land, as the plane jolts once it makes contact with the tarmac. Nestaās laptop is put away, although I think itās because they ask you to when landing, not because she chose to. Either way, she gives me a little smile and nods out the window. āWe made it.ā
Itās hard to see anything because itās already dark, but I know the airport is close to the ocean. I can see city lights through the window, but Iām too tired to try and brace myself for the nightlife of Adriata tonight.Ā
I yawn as we pull up to our gate and the seatbelt signs are turned off. āI think our hotel is pretty close to here.āĀ
It wasnāt what she was expecting me to respond with. Her smile falters, but she nods. āThatās good.āĀ
Iām not in the mood for the small talk right now. I donāt have patience for it. Swiping my phone out of my pocket, I see that itās nearly midnight. I turn it off of airplane mode and a barrage of texts and emails come through. I ignore the texts from my employees until tomorrow and skim over my email, deciding the contents of it can wait until the sun rises, too.
I open the group chat between my brothers and I, sending off a short text letting them know weād landed. Azriel replies almost immediately, telling us to have fun, while Rhys is all radio silence. Seeing as itās almost two in the morning in Velaris, Iām not surprised.
Itās taking forever for the people ahead of us to disembark, so I open my text thread with just Az, not wanting to wake up a likely sleeping Rhys or worse ā Feyre.
Youāre up late, I text. Everything okay?
Again, his reply is almost instantaneous. Itās all good. Elain woke up from a dream craving butter crunch ice cream. Iām at my third grocery store looking for it.
Chuckling, I respond, You know sheāll be fast asleep by the time you get home.
Yeah, but her smile in the morning will make it worth it.
I hate the jealousy that shoots through me reading my brotherās words.
Gwyn is still the only person weāve told about Nestaās miscarriages. They have no idea how badly I want what they both have.
Still, I reply, Take care of your woman. Iāll talk to you tomorrow.
I hit send as soon as we finally get moving, then weāre making our way to baggage claim. Half an hour later, with my bag tossed over my shoulder and wheeling Nestaās suitcase behind me, weāre finding a cab to take us down to the beach, where our hotel is.
Nesta booked the flight, but I chose the hotel. With a weight room bigger than the one at my gym and walking distance to the shore, I didnāt even have to think twice about spending the ridiculous amount of money to book us a suite.Ā
Nesta doesnāt seem to mind either as we make our way into the lobby and she looks around, impressed. The thought occurs to me then that maybe I shouldāve picked a shitty hotel. If she likes it too much, it will be that much more tempting to stay in our room and work as she overlooks the endless blue waters beyond our balcony.
Nonetheless, I check in and we make our way up to the ninth floor where our suite lies at the end of the hall.Ā
The room is big, clean, with a giant bathroom that has a jacuzzi and a little living room with a mini kitchen.
Ā The only issue is that the couch in the living room is nothing more than a loveseat, which means that it will be me and Nesta in the same bed, yet again.
At least itās a king size.Ā
Apparently Iām staring disappointedly at the bed because Nesta asks, āSomething wrong?ā
Surely she knows. One look at her and I can tell she does. āNope.ā
I toss our bags on the loveseat and open mine up, finding my toothbrush and all my other toiletries before making my way to the bathroom and closing the door behind me.
I take longer in the bathroom than I usually would, but I also admit that Iām being a bit of a coward. Iām hoping that when I come out, Nesta will be in bed, already asleep, and I can curl up on the uncomfortable loveseat for what I can only imagine will be one of the worst nightās sleep of my life. I want to skip the fight that I feel is inevitable. Iām too tired to fight, too tired to explain to her why I canāt sleep in the bed with her.
But what I want doesnāt matter, because when I exit the bathroom, Nesta isnāt in bed. She isnāt even in the room.
The sliding door leading the balcony is open, sheer, white curtains fluttering in the warm breeze and I know thatās where Iāll find her.
She doesnāt notice me immediately, her eyes closed as she takes in the ocean air. Her hair hangs long and loose down her back, freed from the braid she usually wears it in, and sheās changed out of her leggings and t-shirt. I donāt recognize the pale, lace night gown sheās wearing.
But she looks absolutely ethereal standing in the moonlight.
Even when Iām pissed, frustrated with this woman, she has the power to take my breath away.
Which is why Iām still here, why I didnāt leave for good. I need that reminder as I step onto the balcony.Ā
Her eyes open as I lean against the railing next to her but she doesnāt look at me. For a moment, neither of us say a word, but then she says, āYou canāt sleep on that couch.ā
The sound of the waves crashing against the shore relax me. āI know.ā
āDoes that mean youāre okay sleeping with me tonight?ā she asks, and her voice is quiet which is strange for Nesta. Itās strange to hear fear lacing her tone, even if itās subtle.Ā
āI did debate on creating a pillow blockade between us,ā I say, and I say it as a joke even though itās something I considered while getting ready for bed.Ā
Nesta huffs a laugh but thereās hardly any humor in it. āI wouldnāt blame you if you did. Cassianāā
āItās late,ā I say, and finally look at her. Sheās still looking at the water, but her body is relaxed as if sheās come to terms with the conversation weāre about to have. āWe can do this tomorrowāā
āNo, we canāt.ā She turns toward me then and looks up. Her eyes are pleading. āI donāt want this vacation to start off on the wrong foot. This is supposed to be good for us and it canāt be good for us if weāre not communicating. Youāre pissed.ā I open my mouth, but she shakes her head before I can say anything. āAnd donāt say youāre not. Iām not stupid, Cassian. I messed up, and Iāve been pretending like I didnāt do anything wrong but I did. I know I did, and I feel foolish. The other nightā¦ Iāve been wanting you to touch me like that for so long. It wasnāt that I wanted you to stop, because I didnāt, but when I saw Eris was calling me, my stubborn, workaholic nature took over and I had to answer. If I hadnāt answered, it would have been all I was thinking about, instead of what we were doing. And thatās not an excuse, because I know I hurt you when I answered the damn phone, and youāre right. I shouldnāt have.ā
Youāre right. Those are not words that leave my wifeās mouth often.Ā
āBut I meant what I said, what I promised you. This weekend is about us. Iām going to wake up every morning, respond to emails, mark a couple of little things off my checklist, and thatās it. And if you feel like Iām taking too long, then tell me. But I got a lot done in the last week, just so I can spend this time with you, uninterrupted. I want you to know that Iām all in, with you. Youāre more important than my job, and if youāre feeling like youāre not, I need you to be vocal about it so I can be more aware.ā
Last time I was vocal about it, she answered the phone anyways, but I donāt tell her that now. Sheās trying. Sheās communicating. Sheās being honest. So, I nod. āItās late,ā I repeat, although more gentle than before. āLetās get to bed so we can have a good day tomorrow.ā
The fear in her eyes fades and she looks relieved as she takes my hand. I let her pull me inside, toward the bed, where we lay down together beneath the blankets.Ā
Nothing more is said as we drift off to sleep, but she lays her head against my chest and I hold on to her through the night.
I havenāt had such a good nightās sleep since the last time I had Cass in bed with me, and the only reason I wake up now is because the newly awoken sun is streaming through the thin curtains and my husbandās cock is burying itself painfully into my backside.Ā
All night, he never let me go. My back is pressed up against his front, his arm slung lazily across my waist as he breathes steadily into the silence. I can feel his chest rise and fall against my back. It calms me.
I know that heās sleeping better now than he has in days, too, and I donāt want to wake him so I stay perfectly still, even though Iām tempted, even if all I can think about is the feel of him up against me.Ā
All Iāve been able to think of since that night is how I could be so stupid. Weāve been making so much progress. Weāve both opened up and talked about things we didnāt want to. Iāve acknowledged that I work too much and that itās not only one of my character flaws but the main reason I nearly lost my husband.
And the first opportunity I have to prove that he means more to me than any job ever will? I fuck it up.
For a moment, I let myself consider how that night could have ended if I didnāt answer the phone.
Likely with me bent over the kitchen counter, one of my knees propped up on one of the bar stools, as Cassian gripped my hips, pounding into meā
Cassianās arm tightened around my waist as he shifted in his sleep and I tensed, not sure if he was awake. He murmured something, a sure sign that he was still dreaming, and settled into his pillows, not loosening his grip on me.
His thick erection, nestled into the cleft of my ass, was all I could think about. It made the throbbing between my legs all the more insistent and for a second I thought about touching myself.
What a hell of a way to wake my husband up on the first morning of our vacation.
But then I had a better idea.
I listened closely to the sound of his breathing, ensuring he was still well and truly asleep and then carefully turned over in his arms. It was a slow process, considering the hold he had on me, but after a minute, I found myself gazing into his sleeping face.
Even fast asleep, heās ridiculously handsome, although that cocky tilt of his lips is gone when heās out like this. I lay there for a minute, admiring his beauty, and then he stirs and I freeze. The hand thatās slung around me moves lower, his hand cupping my ass with a content sigh before he starts snoring, softly.
I force myself not to laugh, even if itās adorable, until he shifts again and I can feel every inch of him perfectly against the thin fabric of my nightgown. Mother damn me, I want him inside of me. It takes everything within me not to grind against him, not to take control and give myself pleasure, but this wouldnāt be about me.
I reach up and brush his hair back with teasingly soft fingertips. His lips, in perfect calm, form the softest of smiles.
With my hands still tucked in close to me, I press my lips to the center of his chest. It's a soft kiss, my mouth meeting his warm, toned skin, but I let it linger. I let my tongue brush over his skin, and then I move my lips to a new spot and do the same. As I pepper his chest with lingering kisses, I run a hand up his abdomen. His body jumps a little beneath my touch, almost like it tickles, and his hand on my ass tightens. My leg is drawn up over him, and now that I can feel his erection against my throbbing clit, I canāt stop myself from rocking my hips against him, just to ease the torturous feeling, if only a little. Cassian groans quietly, and I know that heās now awake, even though his eyes are still closed, when his hips rock back into me.
I used to wake him up like this all the time, and he would do the same to me. Waking one another with little, teasing kisses until it escalated into something far more. I miss waking up like this, with him, starting off my day in pure bliss, with a euphoric high.Ā
He breathes my name, and the second it falls from his tongue, I canāt control myself any longer. My mouth trails up the side of his neck until it finds that spot he loves, just beneath his jaw, just below his ear and sucks vigorously as my hand slides back down his hard abdomen. My fingers tease the waistband of his sweatpants, but heās not having it.Ā
āNesta,ā he pleads, yet again, and I nip at his skin, causing him to moan quietly above his deep, heavy breaths. His hips canāt stay still, as if his cock has a mind of its own. But he shouldnāt have to chase it, shouldnāt have to be the one to guide pleasure. My hand slips into his sweats and I take him into my hand.
The second my fingers wrap around his length, he curses.Ā
I lean back, and his eyes are open, his lips parted. The look full of lust and love and need that he gives me makes me want to mount him right here and now, but this morning is about him. Instead, I pump him a few times, slowly, before pulling my hand out of his pants and just when heās about to protest, I straddle his thighs and yank his sweats down until heās free.
Everything about my husband is magnificent. His face, his hair, his body. And most definitely is cock.
Beautiful, and hard, and absolutely enormous. My mouth is watering as I look at him, at his body Iāve scarcely seen over the past year, at his cock, staring and already dripping precum and practically begging for me to touch it.
Gripping him at the base, I lean in, ready to swirl my tongue around the swollen head, just how I know drives him wild, andā
His hands grab my shoulders, stopping me. āNesta, you donāt have toāā
āNo, I donāt have to,ā I agree, rubbing the head of his cock over my lips. āBut I want to.ā
He makes a choking sound, but doesnāt try to stop me any further.
After almost ten years together, I know his body as well as my own. I know what makes him go crazy and what will unleash him. I know every spot that tickles, what to do that will make him moan and groan and lose control. This morning, Iām pretending I donāt. I take my time exploring him, slowly dragging fingers up and down his length, over the ridge of the swollen head, teasing a vein that runs along the side.
Gazing up at him, I grip him tightly at the base and flick my tongue over the head once. As soon as my tongue glides over his skin, his hand is in my hair and he curses violently.
Our eyes are locked as I do it again, and his jaw ticks as he swallows harshly. The fingers in my hair tighten which makes me moan, a sound that drives my husband wild. I slowly work him, my mouth and hand working in tandem. It isnāt until his head is back on the pillow, his eyes closed, his breathing quick that I take the entirety of him into my mouth.Ā
That foul language of his greets me once more, and his filthy mouth does things to me that I have no control of. I keep still for a moment, my tongue running wild before I release him and repeat the motion, again and again, taking him into my mouth, a little quicker each time. His fingers are still tangled into my hair, gripping each strand hard enough to bring on a pleasant tinge of pain. I relish in it, in that pain, in this moment. I donāt even realize Iām touching myself until Iām moaning, the sound muffled as I take him in, as I cup his balls with my free hand and give them a squeeze.Ā
Unable to keep still any longer, Cassianās hips began to writhe beneath me. With one quick buck, I have him fully in my mouth yet again, and I grab his ass to encourage him to repeat the motion.
His other hand joins the one in my hair, but this one smooths it back off my face, making sure he can see everything Iām doing. Gazing up at him, I can tell the second he notices my hand moving frantically, my own orgasm building quicker than I expected it. His eyes grow impossibly darker, fingers massaging my scalp before pulling on the strands of my hair again. āAre you close?ā
I nod, loving the gravely tone of his voice, rough with sleep and lust. My mouth is too full to answer directly, so I bob my head in time with the fingers plunging in and out of my center.
Cassian tugs my hair, once again. āLet me watch you come.ā
My entire body feels like itās on fire as my toes curl, that sensation that I havenāt felt in so long starting to flow its way through my body. My mouth, my movements, become less fluid and Cassian tugs at my hair again, this time pulling my mouth free of his cock.
Dragging me up his body, his lips crash against mine as his fingers replace mine. I gasp at the feeling of his fingers sliding through my folds, unable to stop the moan as he circles my clit.
Reaching between us, I grip his cock, still slick and wet from my mouth and squeeze as I stroke him from base to tip.
āYouāre so wet,ā he groans, pumping his hips into my hand, fucking it like he had my mouth moments before. Iām just as desperate for release as he is. Iām grinding into his hand as he expertly works me, thumb circling my clit in time with the finger he has plunged inside me, knowing itāll have me on the edge in a matter of seconds. He bites down on my neck and I moan. āSo wet and so needy.ā
And then he lowers his head to my breasts.
The blunt edge of his teeth on my nipple sends me falling into utter bliss. I cry out as my entire body tenses, my pussy clenching around his fingers.
Cassian groans low and then I can feel a warm wetness on my lower belly and my hand. Still lost in the orgasm crashing through me, I barely notice as Cassian curses softly, his voice laced with ecstasy.
Then his mouth is on mine again and heās kissing me like Iām the air he needs to breathe, like a man whoās been starving being presented a feast.
My mind canāt form a single thought. All I can focus on are his hands around my waist, his mouth on mine, the hunger and desperate need radiating off of him, even though weāve both found our releases. Thereās something far deeper that just happened between us than helping one another orgasm and feel good. A wall has broken down, a barrier has crumbled that has been up for far too long. I feel lighter as he kisses me, as his tongue brushes mine, like a weight has been lifted off my shoulders.
And when I break our kiss to meet his gaze, I know, without a doubt, that he feels it, too.