the intensity of it and redoubled his frenzied ramming into me, even though he was already done and his come dripping out of me now. He kept going, kept going, softening but still filling me, driving the orgasm to an agonizing roar of rapturous delight through me, until I was sobbing and limp, my folds sore from his passion, throbbing with pulsating pleasure.
He picked me up in his arms, and easily lifted me to the bed, gathered me against him, suddenly as tender as he had been savage a moment ago. Our breathing matched, quick, heaving gasps, as we lay together sweat-slick and spent.
When I could breathe, I said, "Oh my good Lord, Tre...I have never in my life been fucked that hard."
"I didn't hurt you did I?" Tre said, apprehensive now.
"It's a good hurt, baby," I said. "I loved it. I love making you lose control on me. You'd never hurt me on purpose, I know that."
"I did hurt you, though." It wasn't a question.
"I'll be a bit tender for a few minutes, yes. You were very...passionate."
He looked at me across the pillow, his eyes sorrowful and apologetic. "I'm so sorry, Shea, I shouldn't have...I don't know what came over me, I just...something about that position, I felt you and I just...I lost it. I didn't mean to hurt you, I'm so, so sorry."
I rolled over on top of him, took his face in my hands. His tenderness and abject pain at the thought of having hurt me was too much, too deep. It pierced my heart, pulled down more of the walls I'd been trying to put up between my inner soul and the feelings that were developing for Tre.
"Listen to me, baby," I said, letting the affectionate name drop with intentional emphasis. "You didn't hurt me, okay? Not like you're thinking. I'm completely fine. You were wonderful, so, so wonderful. I would have stopped you if you were actually hurting me. I promise. I loved it. Do you hear me? I wanted you to lose control. I wanted it hard. Did you hear me telling you to give it to me? I was saying that because it felt good, so, so good."
Tre searched my eyes, looking for the lie, for the covering up of his feelings, or the hint that would tell him I was just trying to pacify him. I held his rough cheeks in my hands and let him look, tried to put everything into my gaze. I let the conflict, the burgeoning love...yes, love...the fear, all of it.
At length he lay back down, satisfied with what he saw.
"Baby?" he asked, between the spaces of our synchronized heart beats.
I nodded. "Baby. Honey. Sweetie." I tilted my head to look up at him across his chest. "I can think of others."
"Baby. No one has ever called me that."
"You were wonderful, baby. Thank you" I said it as tenderly as I could.
His chest swelled with a long breath, and imagined the inbreath was the swelling of my love expanding into him. I was terrified of loving him, terrified more still that he would love me back. I knew he did, which is why it scared me. We were in uncharted waters for both of us. I didn't know how to love any more than he did. I had never loved Dan, nor been loved by him.
"I still don't know what came over me, why I went crazy like that."
"I do."
He cocked an eyebrow at me. "You do?"
"Well, it was two things. One, the adrenaline from last night, the rush of testosterone and all that. You went warrior on that guy, protecting your lady—which was hot, by the way. Seeing you fight to protect me, it was scary then, but thinking about it now gets me wet for you all over again. And number two, I think you just really like taking me from behind."
"It did feel incredible," he said.
"Good," I said. "I'll give it to you like that whenever you want. I like it too."
More silence, and then his voice, tense: "I really messed that guy up."
I thought for a moment, trying to formulate the best response. "You were protecting me, and yourself. He would have killed one or both of us. You did what you had to." I rubbed my hands on his chest as I spoke. "The police didn't seem to think you were at fault