The texts came in quick succession.
9:38 PM I heard you were looking for me.
9:38 PM I ran into both of your "boyfriends".
9:39 PM If you hurry
9:39 PM You can still say goodbye.
My blood ran cold at the text, my eyes slowly sliding up to meet Jessica's. Hers were wide and terrified as she stared back at me.
"Does he mean Luke?" she asked me.
"And he means…Matt," I said, my mouth going dry.
Without another word we both flew from our chairs, racing out of Trish's room and down the hospital hallway. My stomach was doing flips when I exited the building, my hand flying up and flagging down the first taxi I saw. Jessica was just down the street doing the same thing. She sent me a quick nod before hurrying into the car that had stopped for her; I roughly pulled open the door to the taxi that had just stopped in front of me and quickly slid into the backseat.
"Where to miss?" the driver asked, leaning over the back of his seat towards me.
My brain fumbled for a moment–where would Matt be? It was just before ten at night, surely too late to be at his office and too early to be scouring rooftops, right?
Home. He's at home.
I quickly rattled off my apartment building's address and began frantically gnawing on my nails as I dialed Matt's number. I held my phone to my ear, feeling the churning of the terrible hospital coffee I'd drunk a couple of hours ago threatening to come back up.
His phone just kept ringing and ringing until it hit his voicemail; his warm and charming voice pre-recorded hitting my ears. Panic flared again. Pulling the phone from my ear I quickly jammed my finger on his name on the contact list and tried again. It rang six times before it hit his voicemail again.
He knows he knows he knows he knows
I tried to steady my breathing as I pulled up our brief text conversation. I didn't need to spiral into a panic attack, not when Matt needed me.
9:56 PM Matt are you OK?
9:56 PM Call me please
I stared at my almost dead phone, praying Matt would send a text to at least let me know he was still alive. The silence on his end only filled me with dread.
When the taxi finally reached my apartment, I flung cash at the driver before throwing myself out of the door, not even taking the time to shut it behind me. I sprinted into the building and took the stairs, flying up them two at a time; I didn't have time to wait for the elevator. My heart was in my throat by the time I reached the sixth floor and shoved my way through the stairwell door.
I raced down the hallway to Matt's door; it was partially ajar. My breath caught in my throat as I threw it open and sharply turned, bolting down the entryway hall. All of his lights were on which I figured was abnormal, considering the place was empty and he'd told me he never turns them on.
"Matt?" I called out. "Matt!"
I was frantically racing from room to room; he wasn't in the living room or kitchen, his bed was still a mess but empty, his bathroom was unoccupied. And then my eyes darted to the stairs. The door to the roof was partially open.
"No," I whispered.
I darted up the stairs two at a time, pushing through the door when I reached the top. I froze when I saw Matt standing on the ledge of the building's roof facing towards me.
"Matt, get off of there," I said slowly, taking a careful step forward.
"He said I had to wait until you showed," he told me, his voice tight.
"What?"
A pained expression crossed his face as his body went rigid. "I'm so sorry, Olivia," he whispered.
And then he was falling backwards off of the side of the building. Time felt like it was moving in slow motion; Matt's eyes almost met mine as a tortured look crossed his face and then he was disappearing over the edge.
"Matt!" I shrieked, running forward after him.
It was an instantaneous transition; my entire body felt like it was wracked with vibrations slowly increasing in intensity under every inch of my skin and pulsing outwards from my body. A focused calm slid over my mind as I reached the ledge and my right hand darted forward over the side, reaching towards Matt's falling form before it closed into a tight fist. He stopped falling halfway down with an abrupt jerk that left him suspended in midair. The jarring stop pulled a surprised gasp from him.
With everything I had inside of my body I stretched my mind to its limit. I could feel that tight strain like a rubber band about to snap in my mind–I pushed past even that–pulling Matt's body back up towards the roof. I ignored the blood that began immediately pouring down my face in spurts. A scream tore through me as I hauled him up another floor closer, my right fist shaking violently at the strain. There was a tight pressure building behind my eyes as if they were going to pop and my vision was quickly blurring; I grit my teeth and mentally heaved his suspended body up further, bringing him closer to me. The muscles in my neck were pulled taut from the exertion and a cry came from me as I dragged him up a little more again.
"Olivia? What is going on?" Matt's panicked voice called up to me.
"Just…hold…on," I ground out between my teeth, blood seeping into my mouth as I spoke.
Another scream of pain flew from me as I pulled him up even further, my left hand gripping tight against the cement of the ledge I was leaning over. Breathing heavily, I closed my eyes and pulled with everything I had inside of me until Matt's hands were grabbing onto the ledge and he was pulling himself back up onto the rooftop. I was gasping and choking for air as I pulled him all the way back up onto the roof. I threw myself at him, clinging tight and walking us backwards away from the ledge.
"Are you okay?" I asked quickly, pulling my head back so I could inspect his face. "Is that all he told you to do? To jump off the roof?"
"He…I…" Matt began, his face contorting into a look of confusion. "He said to stand on the ledge and wait for you to show up. To make sure you saw me fall."
A strangled cry crawled its way up my throat before my legs gave out, both of us falling to the rooftop wrapped in each other's arms. I was sobbing as I took his face in my hands, inspecting him from top down for any injuries. My hands were brushing across his forehead, his cheeks, his neck, his chest and then down to his legs frantically making sure there were no wounds or hidden explosives or guns or knives–nothing more that Kilgrave could have done or could make him do to hurt himself.
"I have to be sure," I mumbled as my hands darted around his body in a panic.
"Olivia, I'm okay," he assured me. "It's okay. You–you saved me." His face twisted as he asked, " How did you save me? I was falling and then…you pulled me back up?"
"I don't know," I whispered, still searching him over for injuries as tears continued to stream down my face. "I have no idea what that was. Fuck , this is all my fault. How the fuck did he find out about us?"
Matt's eyes squinted in thought for a moment as his eyes dropped down to the roof. He shrugged briefly, shaking his head. "I don't know."
"What the hell happened?" I questioned him. "What do you remember?"
"He showed up to my door, told me to open it," he recounted slowly. His eyes tightened as he tried to recall but he shook his head. "I just remember him telling me to come up here and wait for you. To make sure you saw me fall."
"And you're sure there is nothing else he told you to do?" I asked him fervently.
He nodded in response.
"And those were his exact words? Come to the rooftop, stand on the ledge, wait for me to show up and make sure I saw you fall?" I pushed, eyes still wide and panicked. The calm focus I'd felt moments ago was gone but the buzzing beneath my skin was still going.
"Yeah," he answered. "That's what he told me."
I ran a hand through my hair anxiously, my heart still racing. He'd almost killed Matt. Worse–he now knew that he and I were together. If he discovered that Matt didn't die, he would just come back and do it again.
"You're bleeding," Matt pointed out, his finger lightly brushing my arm.
I winced and pulled my arm back. "I don't care about that right now," I told him. "I want to make sure you're okay. I can't believe I was so stupid to think this could work. This is all my fucking fault," I said, throwing my head in my hands, uncaring of the amount of blood I was surely smearing on them.
"Olivia, it's not your fault," he said gently, lightly resting a hand on my shoulder.
"You almost died!" I shouted at Matt, my head rising back up as I stared up at him. "If he hadn't told you to wait for me–if I hadn't been able to do that –" I snapped, my hand uselessly gesturing towards the edge of the roof. "You'd be dead right now! I'd have come back and found you splattered on the goddamn sidewalk or heard about it after the fact!"
Tears were freely falling down my face harder now and my chest was heaving with each panicked breath. Matt frowned deeply, quietly watching me as his hand on my shoulder squeezed tight.
"He knows about us and when he finds out you're still alive, he's not going to give me a chance to stop you from killing yourself next time!" I cried out. "Don't you get it?"
"So what," he asked, his tone heavy and flat, "you just want to end this?" His free hand briefly gestured in the space between us.
"No," I told him, the word coming out like a sharp exhale. "No, I don't. He already knows, even if we ended things he'd kill you just because you had something with me. He'd never let you live." I ran a hand down my face in exhaustion, probably smearing more of the blood on my face but I didn't care. "I'm the only one who can keep you safe now anyway. But I can't…" my voice trailed off as I rubbed the heels of my hands against my tired, tear-stained eyes.
"Can't what?" he asked softly.
"I can't be with you twenty-four seven, Matt," I whined. "I can't always be around to make sure you're safe. And he's difficult for me to fight."
Matt very slowly pulled me into his chest, wrapping his arms around me tentatively as if he was afraid I'd throw him off. I felt guilty for making him feel that way.
"I should…probably tell you something," he said quietly.
Immediately I tensed in his arms, my head darting up so I could look at him. I searched his face yet again, eyes narrowed and suspicious. " What ?" I pressed him.
"He's compelled me two times before this now," he answered carefully, as if he was nervous to tell me what he was about to say. "And the first time I couldn't really fight it, it was like something just took over and I wasn't in control."
My eyes were glued to him and I sat still in his arms, barely breathing.
"The second time, when he showed up at my apartment? I felt like I could almost fight it," he admitted. His teeth grit down for a moment, a fierce look on his face. "I thought maybe I could be strong enough–fight him off. I felt like I almost did."
"Why didn't you tell me that?" I breathed out.
His unseeing eyes fell on my face, just at my right cheekbone. His expression softened as he stared down at me. "I was afraid you'd push me away," he whispered. "I didn't think you'd want me around if you thought I was going to try and fight him."
"Is that what happened here?" I asked roughly, sitting up straight in his arms.
"No!" he answered quickly. "No, he did just show up tonight."
I eyed him for a moment, searching his face for the answer. "Then why are you telling me this now?"
"Because this time was different," he said carefully. "This time it was like he was…stronger."
"Stronger?" I asked him, brows furrowing. "Why would he suddenly be stronger? He's not–"
I stopped short as a thought struck me. We had been searching for Albert at the morgues and coming up empty handed each time. He killed Louise quick enough but he still had Albert. And now Matt was saying he was stronger?
"Shit," I breathed out slowly. "His dad. Albert. He's not going to show up in any morgue right now because Kilgrave's using him to make himself stronger."
I fumbled in my pockets and found my phone, pulling it out and rifling swiftly through my contacts.
"What're you doing?" Matt asked curiously.
"I need to call Jess," I answered quickly, holding the phone to my ear and hearing it ring. "Kilgrave, he went after this guy Jessica likes. He's different, too. Impenetrable skin or something."
Matt's eyes narrowed as his mouth opened slightly in surprise. "He's…like you? And Jessica?"
"Something like that," I answered him distractedly.
My nerves rose the longer the phone rang. My fingers were tapping anxiously against my thigh as Matt readjusted his hold on me, lowering his head to rest atop my left shoulder.
"Hey," Jessica finally answered, sounding breathless.
"What happened? Is Luke okay?" I asked immediately.
"Yeah, he uh…thankfully Kilgrave wasn't aware of his special ability," Jessica responded. "He made him blow up the bar he worked at with him inside. Made him wait until I was there to see it. Got lucky fire doesn't hurt him…"
"Thank fuck," I breathed a sigh of relief, my body relaxing into Matt.
"I take it things worked out for you?" she asked.
"Yeah he made Matt jump off the roof of our building," I told her, my voice shaking at the memory of watching him fall over the edge. Matt must have felt the change in my body because he held me tighter. "I was fortunate that I sort of caught him before he fell–telekinetically, of course. I managed to pull him up."
"I'm going to kill that son of a bitch," she growled venomously.
Matt tensed under me at her words. I glanced at him out of the corner of my eye but didn't respond to that.
"Jess, we may have another problem," I told her hesitantly. "Matt's been compelled by him two times before this and he said that this time it was different. It felt different. Like he was stronger."
She exhaled a deep sigh. "You think it's Albert? He's making him inject him with that virus again? Mutating it to be stronger or something?"
"I don't know, but it sounds like it," I told her.
"Fucking wonderful," she snapped. "Alright, I'll look around, see if I can find anything weird that sounds like him that's been going on around the city. You just…rest. Like spa day retreat rest. Cause I'm going to need you at full strength when I find his ass."
"Jess, I want to help," I cut in.
" Rest ," she growled. "If he's stronger you might be the only one who can stop him now. If we're lucky. I can't have you tired and weakened."
My jaw tightened at the word; I felt useless having to sit back and take it easy while she was doing the leg work. "Fine," I grudgingly agreed. "But if you find anything you better tell me immediately."
"Fine. Go rest," Jessica said before hanging up.
With a sigh I slid my phone back into my pants pocket. When I looked up at Matt, I noticed he looked distracted. His brows were furrowed together and I could see the muscles working in his jaw, his eyes focused off into the distance.
"What's with that look?" I asked him.
"You said you weren't going to kill him," he answered quietly. "You said you'd heal him."
My eyes darted down to my blood soaked shirt, the chill of the night air on the rooftop finally reaching me now that my adrenaline and my powers had both worn off. I felt extremely exhausted and all I wanted was to clean myself up and lay down, preferably cuddled in Matt's arms. If Kilgrave already knew I was with him there was no point pretending we weren't together anymore.
"I don't want to kill him," I told him flatly. "I certainly won't mourn over his death, but I have no intention of killing him. The goal–the hope –is that I can heal him. But even then…he walks free, powerless but wealthy. Probably able to force someone else to do his parents' work on him again with all that money." I shrugged lightly. "Possible he just gets the powers again. I'd have to…find some way to legally nail him for a crime he committed otherwise. And if he is powerless, how the hell do I even prove he committed the crime in the first place?" I sighed, running my hand through my hair in frustration. "He needs to be stopped though, Matt. You can't deny that. He won't stop killing otherwise. I just…don't know how to permanently stop him otherwise. With the way he is no cop will be able to arrest him. No judge or jury will ever convict him. He's literally untouchable by the law."
"There has to be another way," Matt pushed.
I shook my head roughly. "I can't see one. He won't change, not on his own. Short of me spending my life by his side," I continued, noting the way he shuddered and held me tighter, "killing him might be the last option. Otherwise…he will keep killing. And every body that drops will land at my feet, Matt. I can't live with that guilt."
"Maybe now is not the time to talk about this," he whispered. "You're covered in blood and I can hear there's a cut through your arm. Smells like gunpowder."
I briefly glanced down at my left arm where Simpson had shot me. I'd been so focused on getting Trish help initially, and then worn out when she'd gotten settled and taken care of at the hospital, that I'd forgotten all about it.
"Simpson shot me earlier," I told him off-handedly. "Kinda forgot about it."
Matt was suddenly scooping me up in his arms and carrying me across the rooftop to the door back into his apartment. My right arm wrapped around his neck, steadying myself.
"You got shot hours ago," Matt snapped, "and just now say something? You might need stitches, Liv. Why didn't you take care of this?"
"Been a little busy and tired," I grumbled back.
He closed the door to the roof behind him, his apartment now freezing because of the door having been open for some time. Carefully he carried me down the stairs to his living room before he set me gingerly on his couch. I fell back into the comfortable leather cushions as he headed off down the hall. My eyes closed as I heard him grabbing things in his bathroom, the exhaustion from the day wearing on me. A few moments later there was a weight beside me on the couch; I turned my head opening my eyes. Matt was sitting there adjusting a few medical supplies and a washcloth on his coffee table before he turned towards me.
"Let's get your shirt off," he said, reaching out and gently pulling the fabric up. "I'll clean the cut and see if it needs stitches." He made a noise of dismay when he'd tossed my blood soaked shirt to the floor. "After that you should probably take a quick shower. You're covered in blood, sweetheart," he said softly. "You can borrow my clothes for tonight. Sleep here."
"You're not going out tonight?" I asked hopefully.
He began washing the cut and I winced at the slight pain, focusing instead on the way his warm hand held my arm. My eyes strayed to his face, watching as his unseeing eyes darted around my arm as he worked, his lips drawn into a tight line.
"No, not tonight," he answered simply. He pulled the bloodied rag back from my arm and I watched as he inspected the wound. "You need a couple of stitches," he muttered. His eyes flew up towards my face as he asked, "Unless you can heal that?"
I shook my head slowly before letting it drop to the cushion behind me. "I'm not…I don't like to use my abilities," I admitted quietly. "Not on myself."
From where my head was leaning back against the couch, I saw Matt's eyes narrow curiously, one brow rising up onto his forehead in an unasked question.
"The pain keeps me grounded," I explained in a whisper. "Reminds me I'm…still human– normal . Not something… else that can heal themselves."
He nodded slowly before getting to work on the stitches. I did my best to ignore the pain as he sewed up my arm, my eyes focusing on the bright billboard directly across from his window. Dark blues and purples flooded the room around us, coating his living room in a myriad of soft colors.
"That's how you afford this place?" I asked him after a while. "The billboard?"
A small smile played on his lips as he continued to stitch me. "I've been told it's an eyesore but it doesn't bother me."
I huffed a laugh in response, raising a hand from the armrest of the couch. Greens and yellows danced across my skin for a moment before the ad changed again; warm red mixed with yellow now.
"It's sort of pretty," I mused, flexing my fingers and turning my wrist back and forth, watching the colors change and shift against my skin.
It was a minute before I realized Matt had finished. My focus had lingered on the changing lights of the billboard while Matt's head tilted to the side, a soft smile on his face as he 'watched' me. My hand lowered back to the couch as I turned my attention to him.
"Thank you," I murmured.
He rose to his feet, leaning down and placing a light kiss on the top of my head. My eyes fluttered shut, focusing on the feel of his warm lips and the smell of cedar and clove. A sharp pang hit me hard in the chest when I remembered how close I'd just come to losing him for good.
"Let's get you cleaned up," he said, his hand reaching down and searching for mine.
Eyes fluttering open, I slipped my hand into his searching one. He squeezed it lightly before pulling me up onto my feet. I stumbled a moment, swaying as I stood. Matt's free hand was suddenly at my waist; a gentle hand brushing the bare skin he found there. When I was steady, he led me down the hallway to his bathroom, flipping the light on for my benefit when we reached it. I leaned against the bathroom counter, one that looked so much like the one in my apartment, as Matt headed for the shower and flipped it on, warming up the water. He turned and came back towards me, bending down and opening the cabinet before pulling out a dark blue towel that looked ungodly soft and placing it on the counter.
"I'll have something for you to wear when you're done," he mumbled, stepping into the hallway.
As he reached to close the door behind him, my hand shot out and grabbed his wrist. He paused, his head tilting to the side towards me as one of his brows raised. I bit my lip as I watched him for a minute, steam slowly rolling out of the shower now. And then ever so gently I tugged on his wrist, pulling him towards me. He took two steps back into the bathroom, the unsure expression still on his face.
"Stay?" I asked quietly.
He nodded lightly, stepping fully into the bathroom and closing the door behind him. I released his wrist and watched as he slipped his shirt over his head. My eyes lingered on his bare chest as my hands slowly undid the button and zipper on my pants. I distractedly pulled my clothing off of my lower half, watching as Matt did the same. He was standing naked before me as I reached up, trying to unclasp my bra. I hissed as the movement pulled the stitches he'd just put into my arm tight. Immediately Matt closed the space between us, his warm body just inches from me as his hands deftly reached back and unclasped the bra. His hands slid up to my shoulders, gently running them down my arms as he removed the straps and tossed the bra aside on the floor. Goosebumps rose along my skin, his touch leaving a burning trail in their wake. He grabbed one of my hands and slowly led me towards the shower, pausing to let me step inside past the open glass doors.
My eyes closed immediately when the warm spray hit my aching muscles and a sigh left my lips. My shoulders relaxed as I became aware that Matt was beside me; I heard the sound of the glass door shutting lightly. I turned my face up into the spray, letting the water cascade over me. Matt's hands were suddenly on my shoulders, carefully turning me to face him. A moment later they were on my face, my eyes still closed as he gently pushed the wet strands of my hair out of the way before running them along my cheeks, my nose, my lips, my chin. They scrubbed lightly as they moved, freeing my skin of the blood I'd lost trying to save him. I leaned in to his warm touch, enjoying the feel of it as his calloused fingers worked to clean me.
At one point I felt his hands working in my hair and I realized he was washing it for me with his own shampoo–it had just the faintest scent of something clean. My head dropped forward as his hands massaged my scalp, a soft moan escaping. I felt him shift in front of me and then one of his hands paused, guiding my head to rest against his chest as he worked.
"You have a lot of blood in your hair," he murmured.
A light grunt in response was all my tired body could manage. My hands rose, slowly finding their way to Matt's waist to steady myself. He shifted his body, moving me further under the spray of the showerhead so it could rinse the soap from my hair. My head tilted back just a bit, my chin resting against Matt's firm pectoral as the water ran down me. Slowly, my fingers began to brush along his hips, feeling the slick of the water on his skin. After a moment I felt his skin dotting with goosebumps and my eyes opened, glancing up from his chest towards his face.
His hands were still helping to rinse out my hair, but his eyes were partially closed and his face was tilted down towards mine. His lips were slightly parted and I heard a quiet moan fall from him as my fingers continued rubbing against his wet skin. An ache deep inside me hit me hard and I bit my lip, roughly gripping his hips and pulling them into mine. He exhaled softly in surprise at the gesture before his hands left my hair and slid downwards; one hand rested low on my back, the other cupped my jaw, his fingers gently brushing the damp skin.
"I can see you better like this," he whispered.
My eyes caught his and I stared up at him curiously. His eyes were holding my gaze perfectly and a shiver ran down my spine.
"What do you mean?" I asked him just as quietly.
He took just a slight step backwards, his eyes slowly working their way around my face and then lowering. For a minute I stood under his gaze, watching as his eyes scanned my body. I could feel my heart beginning to beat faster in my chest, my breath coming in quicker.
"The water," he eventually answered, his eyes finding their way back up to mine. "The way it hits causes vibrations in the air making it so I can see almost everything." His fingers trailed along my jaw, his eyes scanning along my face. "I already knew you were beautiful," he mumbled, his thumb grazing my bottom lip, running along the length of it, "but I can see you now, almost as if I wasn't blind."
I swallowed hard, my heart hammering into my ribcage. "And?" I breathed the word out.
His eyes rose from where they'd been staring at my mouth, his thumb pausing just against the center of my bottom lip. He held my gaze for what felt like a long stretch of time, the warm spray of the shower hitting me.
"You're perfect," he whispered. "I wish I could see you like this always."
My heart skipped, a shuddering breath catching in my throat. My hands flew up to his face, capturing him between my hands and roughly pulling him down to me. I crushed our lips together, kissing him hungrily. Water continued to run down us as my arms slid around his neck, pulling him flush against the front of me. I could feel him slowly hardening, his cock pressing onto the top of my thigh.
His tongue dragged along my lower lip and I eagerly opened my mouth, reveling in the feel of it slipping inside. Slowly, with our lips still attached, Matt walked me backwards a step until my back hit the tiled wall. The front of me was still partially in the warm spray still pouring down as the hand Matt had on my jaw slowly traveled down my neck and then further down, stopping when he reached my left breast. His hand cupped it from underneath, his mouth breaking from mine when I moaned, arching my back against the wall and offering myself further to him.
When my eyes opened, I saw he was staring down at me, his tongue darting along his lower lip as his partially lidded eyes watched me writhe along the tile in anticipation. His hair was soaked and I watched as droplets of water fell from the edges of it and trailed down his face. The hand on my breast began to knead it, gentle but firm. I bit my lip, my hips bucking up towards him.
His head dipped forward as he rested his left hand on the wall beside me, his mouth lowering to my right breast. Very lightly his tongue slid out, chasing a droplet of water up the length of it. He repeated the motion again with another droplet and my head fell back against the wall behind me, a soft whimper leaving me. His mouth placed a few kisses along my collarbone before his tongue returned lower, lapping soft circles around my nipple. I could feel the wetness dripping down between my legs and I reached a hand up, grabbing a fistful of his hair along the back of his head. The rumble from his chest at the gesture had my thighs pressing together, sliding slightly to find friction for the growing tension that was building between them. Instead they just slipped uselessly against each other, slick from my arousal and the water. I whimpered faintly in frustration as his mouth focused now on my left nipple, his tongue licking agonizingly slow circles around the hardened peak.
"Matt," I whined his name.
His teeth lightly bit at the soft pink flesh, his eyes turning up towards me. And then I felt one of his hands between my thighs, gently pushing them apart. Gratefully I obliged, quickly rewarded with the feel of his fingers running softly between my folds before two fingers slipped inside. I gasped, my hips arching into his hand eagerly as my eyes closed. My bottom lip was caught between my teeth as I bit back a moan. When I opened my eyes, glancing down, I watched as he continued his focus on my breast, his fingers now pleasantly fucking me with an earnest, slow rhythm. My hips began to move in tandem with his fingers, aching for more.
His mouth released my nipple right before his thumb pressed tenderly against my clit. He began rubbing circles as his fingers continued pumping inside me. He straightened out, towering above me as he stared down. His tongue slid out of his mouth again, dragging slowly over his lips as he watched me panting hard and bucking into his hand. The thought that he could see me so well right now only fueled the fire in me.
"I need more," I gasped out. "I need you."
His fingers continued their slow thrusts as he stepped closer, his hard cock pressing against my thigh again.
"You sure you're up for it now?" he asked quietly. "You're not too injured?"
"I don't even care right now," I whispered, my hands grabbing at his chest. "I almost lost you tonight."
His mouth came crashing back down onto mine and I welcomed its return eagerly. His fingers disappeared from inside of me before his hands both reached down, gripping just under my ass. In one swift movement, he hoisted me up and my legs and arms immediately wrapped around him. He took a moment to adjust me, my back pressing into the tile wall as he held himself up with one hand on the wall beside us. His other hand reached down, grabbing his cock and rubbing it past my slickened cunt before he lined himself up. Instantly I sunk down onto him, enjoying the sound he made as I did.
He remained with one hand splayed against the shower wall beside me, the other tightly gripping my ass as one of my arms remained wrapped around his neck, the other cupping his cheek. I was just slightly above him in this position, both of us working our hips in tandem with each other. Breathing heavily, I rested my damp forehead against his, our eyes both locked on each other as he stared up towards me. The gaze felt impossibly intimate as I continued to work myself up and down along the length of him, my hips pumping vigorously. Occasionally our lips would meet in a passionate kiss, but mostly we remained sharing a breath, our panting mouths just brushing lightly together with each thrust.
"Matt," I whispered his name, an overwhelming feeling suddenly gripping my heart.
"Yes, sweetheart?" he mumbled back, his mouth briefly catching mine in a kiss.
My eyes slowly slid shut, feeling closer and closer to reaching my climax. His cock felt so good as it hit deep inside of me, the rasp of his stubble under my hand. The hand I had behind his neck gripped a fistful of his hair as my hips bounced faster against him.
A warm feeling slid its way through my veins, something that felt safe and good and unfamiliar all at once. My eyes squeezed together tighter, reveling in the new feeling as I clung to Matt, listening to his soft grunts and pleasure-filled pants as his breath blew repeatedly across my neck.
"I'm so close," I whispered, mind and body both focused on that feeling I couldn't name that felt just out of reach.
"Look at me," he commanded, slightly breathless.
My eyes shot open, catching his instantly and drawing me back to the moment. His hand flew from off of the shower wall and wound its way up along my back to the back of my neck, holding my head still. He licked his lips, returning my forehead back against his as he moaned, a long, deep sound that had my inner walls clenching around his cock.
"I want you to look at me when you cum," he whispered, his voice strained with how close he must have been to his own release. "I want to watch you. See you."
As if he knew, it only took a few more thrusts before I felt my body tense; my head pulled back slightly from his, a soft cry flying out of my throat as I felt the pleasant release. I watched as the look on his face shifted, his brows coming together a bit as his eyes partially closed. A low groan came from within him as I felt him releasing inside of me. His hips ground into mine slowly a couple of times before they stopped. I leant down, pulling his mouth to mine for a soft, languorous kiss. When I pulled back, he was smiling up at me and I couldn't resist returning the smile. One of his hands reached up, affectionately stroking my cheek as his eyes took in every detail he could of my face.
"Beautiful," he whispered. "How'd I ever get so lucky?"
I bit my lip shyly, feeling a blush rise to my cheeks. "Think it's the other way around," I muttered.
Matt chuckled softly, lifting me gently to remove his softening cock before he very gingerly lowered me to the shower floor. My hands rested lightly against his bare chest, taking a moment to steady myself.
We briefly cleaned ourselves up before Matt turned off the shower. He got out, handing me the clean towel before drying off with his own. When I was finishing drying out my hair, he slipped out of the room for a moment before returning with one of his gray tee-shirts and holding it out for me.
"I can grab you sweatpants but I doubt they'd fit," he told me.
I slipped the shirt over my head, smoothing it down and smiling at the softness of it. It was large enough to just cover my ass.
"This is fine," I told him. I grabbed the collar, inhaling it slightly and closing my eyes.
"Did you just smell my shirt?" he asked, amused.
"It smells like you," I shot back. "It's…comforting."
He stepped over towards me, only a pair of sweatpants currently covering him. His hands slid up underneath the shirt, calloused fingers resting against my bare skin. He lowered his head to my neck, his nose grazing the skin there. My forehead dropped to his bare shoulder, my hands holding on to his hips.
"You smell like me," he whispered. "Your scent, it's mixed with mine right now." His lips gently kissed my neck and my eyes closed.
I swallowed hard, enjoying the feel of his warm skin on my forehead. "Yeah?" I breathed out.
"Mmm, I like it," he mumbled.
Too quickly he pulled away, stepping back from me. I frowned at the sudden distance.
"You should sleep though, your body lost a lot of blood," he told me. "And I can hear some bruising internally. You need rest. I shouldn't have–"
"So help me, Matthew, if you say you shouldn't have fucked me like that," I scolded him.
A small smile spread across his lips, a glint shining in his eyes. "Alright," he conceded. "But now you should sleep. You can stay with me tonight, if you want?"
"You're not leaving my side after what just happened," I told him.
"I'll wait for you in bed," he replied before ducking out of the bathroom.
I finished getting ready for bed, stealing his brush to comb out my hair quickly before using the bathroom and slipping my underwear back on. I could've crossed the hall, but I didn't want to risk leaving him, not after what had just happened was so fresh in my mind.
I made my way down the hall to his room, smiling softly when I saw him sitting on the left side of the bed, his back against the wall and his eyes closed as he waited for me. I paused, leaning against the doorframe just watching the rise and fall of his chest. He was alive; Kilgrave hadn't succeeded. I tried to push down the nervousness in my gut at the thought of him knowing about Matt now. For now at least Matt was safe with me.
"You coming to bed?"
I snapped back to the present, noticing Matt looking at me from my place by the door. One of his brows was raised questioningly, his head cocked to the side as he studied me.
"Yeah," I said, pushing off of the wall and flipping off the light. "Just wanted to appreciate the view for a moment," I teased him as I slid the bedroom door shut.
I heard his light chuckle as I made my way towards the bed; the light of the billboard partially slipping in past his curtains offered plenty of light to see by. When I reached the empty side of the bed, I slid the covers back and momentarily paused.
"You weren't kidding about the silk sheets," I mused. "Must have been hell sleeping at my place."
He wound his arms around my waist once I had gotten into the bed, pulling my back in tight to him. One of his hands reached out, lightly gripping my chin and tilting my head back towards him. He leaned down, kissing me tenderly. He smiled when he pulled back, shooting me a wink.
"Naw," he answered. "I was more focused on the feel of the beautiful woman beside me," he said, settling down behind me as he ran his hand up my exposed arm. "Not the sheets."
I laughed lightly, allowing one of Matt's legs to slip between mine as I got comfortable. My eyes drifted closed and I absently reached out, grabbing the hand he had tossed over my waist and entwining our fingers.
"Yeah," I whispered, suddenly being hit with exhaustion, "I'm pretty sure your super power is still flirting."
Matt's bright laugh rang out behind me and I smiled at the sound–full of life and warmth. I gripped his hand tighter in mine instinctively.