“What if… what if we decide to do it anyway?”

Cas’ eyes widened and stared deep into mine.

“Do what?” he asked, his voice breathy.

“This. Date, be together, whatever this is.”

His tongue flicked out to wet his lips.

“But… Taury said it was wrong.”

“I don’t care anymore! I’ve known I love you for so long, Cas. That isn’t going to change any time soon. It won’t change how I act.”

He let out an unsteady breath, his eyes scanning my face carefully.

My heart sunk when he didn’t respond and my hands loosened from his shirt.

“We don’t have to,” I said, starting to untangle myself. “If you don’t want to.”

“No, no! It’s not that! I just… I never thought this would happen,” he whispered.

“It doesn’t have to,” I replied, disappointment coursing through me.

I was so annoyed at myself. I loved Cas and what we had. I couldn’t believe I’d thrown it away so impulsively. I wanted to be with him, of course, but I couldn’t bear the thought of things being awkward between us.

His face split into a grin and his hand tangled in my hair as his lips brushed mine. I kissed him back, my hands tightening against his shirt, pulling him closer. His lips were soft under mine and yielded to me. I flicked my tongue out, lightly grazing his lower lip. With a soft moan, he opened his mouth, his tongue meeting mine.

“Wait,” I said, reluctantly pulling back. “I need to know how you feel about this. About us.”

I waited for him to reply, my chest rising and falling quickly as I fought for control over myself. It would crush me if he said he didn’t want to be with me.

He let out a disbelieving laugh.

“Aries, I’ve been in love with you basically since I met you. Of course I want to be with you,” he said.

My heart skipped a beat.

“Really? Even though Taury said it was a bad idea?” I asked, needing to know.

“I don’t care about that. I trust you, the whole crew does.”

Tears burnt in my eyes and I blinked quickly to stop them from falling.

“Are you sure?” I whispered.

Cas placed a gentle, tender kiss on my lips.

“You’re the one thing I’ve always been sure of,” he replied, his voice low and thick with emotion. “Aries, I love you.”

I crashed into him, my lips blindly seeing his.

In between kisses, I whispered, “I love you too. So much.”

His body was burningly hot against mine but still, I needed to be closer to him. I kicked the duvet aside, not even breaking the kiss to see where I was kicking it. His hand slipped from the back of my head to help move it away before coming back to my waist. I hissed into his mouth as his hand found my skin again and I pulled on his shirt, needing to feel him against me.

He pushed himself up onto his elbow and I rolled with him, falling onto my back, the kiss breaking for just a second so I could gasp in air. His lips found my neck, kissing and sucking, leaving me even more breathless. His body was deliciously heavy on top of me but I wanted more.

My hands tucked at his shirt, pulling it up and he dragged himself away from me for just long enough to throw it aside before descending on me again. His talented lips and confident hands drew a moan from me and I swear I felt him grin against my neck. I pushed him back, my lips needing to feel his on them again, before lifting to meet him again. Our tongues teased each other, flitting gently, exploring and begging for more.

My hands skimmed his body, feeling the ropey muscles clenching under his skin. I trailed my fingers over his back, drawing shapes with my nails which made him release my mouth to let out an unsteady breath. I pounced on his neck, copying his earlier movement, running my tongue along it before peppering it with kisses. A cheeky smile came over my face as I leant in once more, place a gentle kiss low down on his neck, almost at his shoulder, before opening my mouth and sucking hard, my teeth dipping in just a little.

A lusty moan came from him and his hand tightened on my hip as he ground his body against mine. His skin was hot and just a little salty in my mouth but I didn’t want to let go. When I finally did, he pulled back and looked at me so intensely that I longed to pull him back in for another kiss.

My eyes found his neck where, in the low light of the room, a red mark could just be seen.

“Did you just give me a hickey?” he asked with mock outrage in his voice but his pupils were huge with desire.

I dragged my teeth over my lower lip slowly, seeing him watch the movement.

“Maybe,” I answered coyly.

A sexy grin appeared on his face as he dove towards my neck once more, his lips pulling my skin into his mouth.

“Fuck!” I breathed, unprepared for how good it felt.

My hands scrabbled against his arms, scratching and pulling him closer as lust tore through me. My stomach tensed and I wanted even more, I wanted him closer. I wanted him.

He pulled back too soon, admiring the throbbing mark on my neck before raising a hand to gently touch it.

“I love you,” he whispered, a blissful smile on his face.

“Fuck, I love you,” I moaned.

I dragged him closer to me again, wanting to feel his skin against mine. I could feel him through my top but it wasn’t enough. I pushed him back, my hands racing to pull my top off. He helped, his hands stroking my exposed skin and doing nothing to help the warm bundle of lust that was building in my stomach.

His fingers teased the bottom of my bra, brushing the sensitive skin there and making me arch my chest, begging for me.

“Cas,” I whimpered.

He growled in response, his hands becoming bolder and moving higher. Another moan slipped out of my mouth and my head slumped back as Cas’ finger explored my breast. It moved in agonisingly slow circles around the peak. I rolled towards him, my hands fumbling behind him for my bra.

“I got it,” he whispered, the desire in his voice sending waves of longing through me.

A high pitched ringing noise sounded through the room and Cas pulled back, his hand grabbing blindly at the screen on the bed beside me.

“Gem,” he muttered, dropping it back down.

I groaned in frustration, rolling over to answer the call and circling my hips slowly against his. His fingers shot to my waist, holding me tightly and thrusting lightly. I shot him a smile over my shoulder before pulling away slightly and answering Gem.

“Hey, what’s up?” I said, wincing slightly at how breathless I sounded.

I was grateful Gem hadn’t started a video call because I knew I looked a flustered mess.

“Sorry to interrupt but Aquila’s called a meeting,” Gem said regretfully.

“Urgh,” I said, checking the screen to see one missed message from her and one from Andy. “We just need to get dressed, see you soon?”

“The meeting isn’t for another twenty minutes, you can… get dressed slowly if you want?” she said, her intentions obvious.

I bit my lip, leaning back slightly to press myself against Cas again.

“Meet you outside in fifteen?” I said, leaving the option open.

“See you then,” she replied.

I could hear the smile in her voice but I didn’t mind it.

I dropped the screen back down and leant back so my back was pressed against Cas.

“What do you want to do?” I asked reluctantly.

“Miss the meeting,” he replied, kissing my neck gently.

I closed my eyes, enjoying the sensation as Cas’ hands lightly teased my stomach.

“Me too,” I admitted with a moan.

“I wish we could.”

I pried myself away from him and rolled over to look at him.

“I mean… we have fifteen minutes…” I trailed off raising my eyebrow suggestively.

He let out a low chuckle before placing a kiss on my lips.

“You and I both know that’s not enough time. I don’t want to rush things with you, I want us both to be able to enjoy it.”

Desire flooded my stomach again at his words and, despite everything, I really wanted him.

“It would still be good, even if we rush it,” I said.

His lips twitched up into a smile.

“It would but it would be better if we had more time. We have hours of free time after class tonight…” he trailed off seductively.

“Okay,” I breathed out. “I can’t wait.”

“Me either,” he smiled, pulling me closer and holding me tightly.

I wrapped my arm around him, closing my eyes and enjoying the embrace as my heart slowly returned to a normal speed.

“I should shower,” he said reluctantly after some time.

My arm tightened instinctively around him making him laugh.

“I’ll come back, wait right there.”

I pouted as he climbed out of bed, my eyes scanning his body. The urge to join him in the shower shot through me but I forced it down. I could wait until tonight if I had to.

He turned back towards me, seeing my stare and leaning back down to kiss me.

“I’ll be quick,” he promised.

“You better,” I muttered rolling onto my back and stretching out.

His eyes slowly trawled my body before he swallowed and turned away, rushing towards the bathroom. A smile grew on my face as my screen lit up once more with a private message from Gem. I clicked on it, reading it quickly.

So? she’d written.

You’re a genius, I typed. Tell you more later?

Can’t wait.