After (The After Series)

He can’t be serious. “Hardin . . .” I plea and try to move faster, but he stops
me.
“Okay . . . Okay . . . just please,” I beg and he smirks. I want to slap him for
doing this right now. He is using my most vulnerable time against me but I can’t
find my anger through my need for him. I am all too aware of his bare skin
against mine, only my thin panties between us.
“Please,” I repeat and he nods.
“Good girl,” he says in my ear and guides my hips to move again as his
fingers pump in and out.
I feel myself inching closer and closer to the edge in no time at all. Hardin
whispers filthy things in my ear, the foreign words urging me on in a way that I
can’t describe. They are completely filthy but welcome, and I grip on to his arms
to keep myself from falling off the bed as I come undone under his touch.
“Open your eyes. I want to watch what only I can do to you,” he instructs and
I do my best to keep them open as my orgasm overtakes me.
Afterward, my head falls onto his chest and my arms wrap under his arms,
hugging him tight as I try to catch my breath.
“I can’t believe you tried to . . .” I begin to scold him, but he silences me by
running his tongue along my bottom lip. My breath comes out in spurts as I am
still recovering from my high. I reach my hand down in between us and grab
hold of him. He winces and pulls my lip between his, sucking lightly. I decide to
take a page from the Hardin Scott sex handbook and grip him harder.
“Apologize, and I will give you what you want,” I say as seductively as I
possibly can into his ear.
“What?” His face is priceless.
“You heard me.” I keep my face neutral and pump him in one hand and slide
my fingers over my soaking panties with the other.
He whimpers as I rub him against me.
“I’m sorry,” he blurts, his cheeks a deep shade of red. “Just let me fuck
you . . . please,” he begs and I laugh. My laughter is cut short by him reaching
over to the nightstand and pulling out a small packet. He wastes no time putting
the condom on and kissing me again.
“I don’t know if you are ready to do it this way, with you above me. If it’s too
intense, tell me. Okay, baby?” And like that he’s back to the sweet and gentle
Hardin.
“Okay,” I answer.
He lifts me up slightly and I feel the condom brush against me and then
fullness as he lowers me onto him.
“Oh my,” I say and close my eyes.

---

“Is it okay?”
“Yeah . . . just . . . d-different,” I stammer.
It hurts, not nearly as much as before, but the feeling is still unpleasant and
foreign. I keep my eyes closed and move my hips a little, trying to decrease the
pressure.
“Good, different, or bad?” His voice is strained and the vein in his forehead is
showing.
“Shh . . . stop talking,” I say and move again.
He moans and apologizes, promising to give me a minute to adjust. I have no
idea how much time passes before I move my hips again. The discomfort eases
dramatically the more I move, and at some point Hardin wraps his arms around
my back, hugging me close to him as he moves to meet my hips. This way is
much better, him holding me as we move together. One of my hands rests on his
chest, holding my weight as my legs start to tire. I ignore the burn of my muscles
and continue to ride his body this way. I keep my eyes open to watch Hardin as a
bead of sweat rolls down his forehead. Watching him like this, with his lower lip
pulled between his teeth, his eyes so focused on my face that I swear I can feel
the burn from them on my skin, is overwhelming in the best way.
“You are everything to me. I can’t lose you,” he says as my lips move over his
neck and shoulder. His skin is salty and damp and perfect. “I’m close, baby, so
fucking close. You’re doing so good, baby.” He groans and moves his hands up
and down my back as I try to pick up speed. He laces his fingers through mine
and the intimacy of the gesture makes me weak. I love his encouragement and I
love him.
I feel my stomach tightening as Hardin grips the back of my neck with one
hand. He continues to whisper how much I mean to him as his body grows tense.
I stare, completely consumed by his words and the way his thumb is brushing
over my clit, bringing me to a quick and powerful release. Our moans intertwine
along with our bodies as we finish. He practically falls back, lying on the bed,
and takes me with him. I barely notice him discarding the condom as I come
back to reality.
“I’m glad you followed me down the stairs,” I finally say after a long but
pleasant silence. With my head lying on his bare chest, I can hear his rapid
heartbeat slowing.
“Me, too. I wasn’t going to, but I had to. I am sorry for telling you to leave. I
can be an asshole sometimes,” he says.
I lift my head up and look at him. “Sometimes?” I smile.
He lifts one of his hands off my back and pokes me on the nose with his index
finger, making me giggle. “You weren’t complaining five minutes ago,” he

---

points out.
I shake my head and lay it back down onto his clammy skin. My fingers trace
the simple heart-shaped tattoo near his shoulder and I notice the goose bumps
raise on his skin. It isn’t lost on me that the heart is colored in with solid black
ink.
“That’s because you’re better at that stuff than you are at dating,” I tease.
“I won’t argue there.” He chuckles and moves my hair from my face. One of
my favorite things that he does is when he caresses my cheek. His fingertips are
rough, but they somehow feel like silk against my skin.
“What happened between you and Dan? I mean before tonight?” I ask. I
probably shouldn’t, but I have to know.
“What? Who told you there was a problem between Dan and me?” He lifts my
chin to look at him.
“Jace. He didn’t say what it was, though; he just said it was ‘coming for a
while.’ What did he mean by that?”
“Just some bullshit thing that happened last year. It’s nothing for you to worry
about. I promise,” he says, and smiles a smile that doesn’t extend to his eyes but
I don’t feel like pushing it.
I’m just happy that we worked through our problem for once and that we are
getting better at communicating with one another.
“You’re going to meet me after you leave Vance tomorrow, right? I don’t want
anyone to take that apartment before us,” he says.
“We don’t have any furniture,” I remind him.
“It comes furnished. But we can add things or change whatever we want after
we move in.”
“How much is it?” I ask. I know I don’t want to hear the answer to that. I can
only imagine how expensive it is if it comes already furnished.
“Don’t worry about that; all you need to worry about is how much the cable
will be.” He smiles and kisses my forehead. “So what do you say? You’re still in,
right?”
“And groceries,” I point out and he frowns. “But yes, I am still in.”
“Are you going to tell your mother?”
“I don’t know. I will eventually, but I already know what she’s going to say.
Maybe I should let her get used to the fact that we’re together first. We are so
young and already moving in together, I don’t want to send her into a mental
ward.” I let out a laugh despite the slight pain in my chest. I wish things could be
simple with my mother and she could be happy for me, but I know that isn’t
plausible.
“I am sorry that this is happening between the two of you. I know it’s my

---

fault, but I’m far too selfish to remove myself from the situation.”
“It’s not your fault. She is just . . . well, she is the way she is,” I say and kiss
his chest.
“You need to get to sleep, baby; you have to be up in the morning and it’s
almost midnight,” he says.
“Midnight? I thought it was much later,” I say and roll off him and lie in front
of him.
“Well, if you weren’t so tight, I would have lasted longer,” he says into my
ear.
“Good night!” I groan in embarrassment.
He laughs and kisses the back of my neck before turning the light off.

---

chapter eighty-six
T
he next morning, bright and early, I scramble around Hardin’s room, gathering
my things to take a shower.
“I’m coming with you,” he groans, but I laugh.
“No, you’re not. You know it’s only six a.m., right? What happened to your
seven-thirty rule?” I tease and grab my bag.
“I am going to walk you there.” I love his raspy morning voice.
“Walk me where? To the bathroom?” I scoff as he rolls out of bed. “I’m a big
girl. I can walk myself down the hall.”
“You’re doing an amazing job at listening to me so far.” He rolls his eyes, but
I see the amusement in them.
“Fine, Daddy, walk me to the bathroom,” I whine playfully. I have no
intention of listening to him, but I decide to humor him for the moment.
Hardin raises his eyebrow and smirks. “Don’t call me that again, or I’ll have
to take you back to bed.” He winks and I hurry out of the room before I am too
tempted to stay.
He follows behind me and sits on the toilet while I shower. “You’re going to
have to take my car,” he says, which utterly surprises me. “I’ll get a ride to
campus to grab yours so I can go over to the apartment.”
I didn’t think about any of this last night, which further shocks me, since I
usually plan everything out so well. “You’re going to let me drive your car?” I
gape.
“Yeah. However, if you wreck it don’t bother coming back,” he says.

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