All Over Again - Chapter 43: Chapter 43

Raffo ended up staying until first light at the trio of cousins' apartment.
Ruth had made sure to lock her bedroom door to prevent the girls from bargaining in, though it was pointless seeing as they stayed at a friends house anyway, before crawling back into the warm arms of Raffo Leflore, who was perfectly content with watching the moon and the early sun dance across her features. They were both utterly exhausted, but refused to fall asleep as they stared at one another with something that could only be described in movies.
His forefinger had danced across the intimate features of her warm, sepia skin. They feathered over the light freckles under her eyes and over the bridge of her nose, tracing the outer lines of her full lips, the mountains in her cheekbones. She had done the same thing, treating his face like a beautifully painted canvas. She marveled over his airbrushed lashes, the sketch of his cupid's bow lips, and the splashes of dark watercolor that had sprouted over the past week along his once clean shaven jaw.
Dark tendrils of silken hair brushed over his sharp cheekbone after he turned his head to kiss her palm, and she used her fingertips to bush the strands away from his face.
"Pisa achukma," she whispered to him.
The corner of Raffo's lip quirked up.
"Aiukli," he whispered back, tugging at one of her ringlet curls that had fallen over her cheek. He had moved so he was hovering over her, enjoying being completely enraptured by the view.
Ruth smiled softly at him and glanced down at the dark bruise along his side. Carefully, she stroked the tender skin there, wishing she could just whisk it away. His pain was her pain; his markings her markings. A hit to Raffo was a hit to Ruth.
"I never told you," Raffo said, drawing her attention back, as her gaze flickered back up to his. A playful smirk tugged at his lips, eyelid dropping in a wink. "It was pretty sexy seeing you drop Roger on his ass Friday."
Ruth laughed out loud at that one. "Sexy? You're such a dog, Leflore."
Raffo's chuckle heated Ruth's chest, temporarily dissolving her worry. His eyes full of pride made her heart do a skillful backflip. "I didn't know you could do that."
"I told you I knew Jiu-Jitsu."
"You did," he agreed. "But still—"
Ruth wrapped a naked thigh around Raffo's waist and pushed him over onto his back, easily catching him off guard as she sat above him, legs straddling his hips. He stared up at her, dazed and definitely turned on, just as he'd been last night.
"Fuck," he breathed, his tongue swiping hungrily across his bottom lip.
"Again?" she teased, pushing her uncovered lower half against him until he inhaled sharply and gripped her waist in his large hands. Not at all caring that she was completely naked above him with her newfound confidence, she sighed out with a roll of her hips, wanting him inside her again.
"And here I was, thinking you couldn't get any fucking sexier," Raffo said. His voice was hoarse and needy with a hunger that only Ruth could quench.
Before she could move her hips and push him back inside her herself, Raffo moved her body back and held her right above his erect shaft. Ruth whimpered at the feel of him hovering below her slick entrance that only grew wetter the longer he held her above him. It was his turn to tease her now, as he drifted her over the tip of him, both of their wet fleshes grazing against each other in what could only be described as a torturous agony for both of them.
"Raff," Ruth whimpered, trying and failing to push her body down his length. She rolled her neck until her head was pushed back and her curls covered her back. "P—please!"
"Don't like it when I tease you back do you, baby?" Raffo grinned darkly, his eyes full of overwhelming lust as they raked over her soft body.
She succeeded in pushing her hips down just a little, despite his tight grip, and gathered a good inch of him. He jostled beneath her warmth with a hiss as she moaned, her hands falling back onto his legs with her body arching forward.
"More," Ruth panted eagerly, her vision swimming with unfiltered want.
Raffo's fingers were surely going to bruise after that one.
"Beg for me, baby. Use that pretty voice and beg," He hissed, pulling himself out of her to rub her against him like he'd done before. Her center clenched below her, even without him inside of her as she whimpered.
"Fuck me, Raff. Please," Ruth begged, tears of frustration building beneath the rim of her eyes. Thoughts of how well he filled her the previous night nearly made her mouth water, especially when he got this way. There was something about a dominant partner that just . . . did something to her.
"Let me see if you're ready first," Raffo cooed, drawing his hand between her spread legs. As soon as his fingers dove and pried open Ruth's wet lips, she thought she was going to pass out. She jostled at the coolness of his thick fingers, hissing as she adapted to the stretch of her tightness clenching around them, and almost came from the slow pumping of his middle finger.
"Fuck," he cursed as Ruth's grip tightened considerably on his thighs and she cried out his name. He watched the space between her legs as if mesmerized by the way he slid in and out of her with his longest finger hitting the perfect spot for making her cry out. His wicked brown gaze flew up to meet her tear filled ones and he smirked deliciously. "Looks like I'll be making you cum twice."
Ruth whimpered, the ball in the pit of her stomach building the longer he played with her more than willing body. Her breath increased with the steady pace his fingers found a fast rhythm to. And when he leaned forward to capture a puckered nipple between his tugging teeth, she nearly passed out right there. It wasn't long until she started bouncing on his fingers and his thumb found the bundle of nerves that would bring her to ecstasy.
"Come to me, baby," he whispered against her skin.
Ruth's entire body shook. Behind her closed eyelids, she could already see the stars as the building rush below her finally released itself, coating Raffo's fingers. Her center throbbed around him as she sagged forward, sighing out in relief. Raffo's lips found her temple, clearly enjoying her whimper with a smile as he pulled his fingers out of her.
"I'm not—" Ruth tried to breathe faintly against his chest. "I—"
"You're not what?" Raffo whispered into her skin.
Before she could catch her breath all the way, she rolled her body onto him, connecting him to her once again. Their groans were messy and low, their hands latching onto one another's bodies desperately.
"Finished," Ruth breathed out, trying to adjust to his length with a soft gasp despite the soreness between her legs.
"Then finish us," he growled, drawing her body up and then slamming her down on him until she shuddered.
Ruth wrapped her arms securely around Raffo's neck, gripped his silky hair between her fingers, and dragged her body against his. Raffo gritted his teeth but watched her use his body to draw herself to her own orgasm by bouncing herself on his lap and smacking her clit against his pelvis while doing it. It wasn't long until his lips latched onto her nipple and he yanked until she was crying for more.
Not long after, they both came nearly together once again. Though his hands were rough, he gently took him off of her and finished off in a napkin like he'd done last night. Ruth's soft groan came from the soreness between her thighs and the wetness that garnered below her. She'd need to go wipe herself off after Raffo was finished, but for just a second, she needed to catch her breath
While Raffo wiped himself off on a napkin and went to wash his hands in her bathroom, Ruth heard her phone's notification sound go off. Tiredly glancing over to her nightstand and taking sight of the lit up screen, she dove for her iPhone and unlocked the screen. Furrowing her eyebrows at the Gmail notification link, and blinking to adjust to the brightness of her screen, she ran her fingertip along the app and clicked on the bold, unread email sitting at the top of the page. Nibbling at the corner of her lip, she skimmed over the message with curious eyes.
Every sensible thought shattered, her heart nearly falling with her phone as she fumbled with it.
Ruth Semple,
Congratulations on being awarded first place in our novella 20,000 word contest. We are proud to award you a $10,000 scholarship for however you see fit. The check will be mailed out to you by the end of the week after you sign the papers attached to this email.
We were pleased by your submission, and found the incorporation of your culture profound and moving. Your novella will be published in the city's paper for next month's issue and hope you find this news well. Congratulations once again, and we look forward to hearing from you soon. There are a few documents we will need you to sign as soon as possible in order to move forward with the publication.
Sincerely,
EOL Scholarship Program
"Oh my gosh," she whispered under her breath, her eyes locked on her cell phone's screen.
Her fingers shook, her vision blurring in and out of focus as she read the header of the email and quickly skimmed over the rest of the message. She distantly heard Raffo asking what was going on in the background, but her tongue refused to move and formulate a coherent sentence. She allowed him to gently pry the phone from her stiff fingers so he could scan over the screen.
"I did it . . . I—I won," Ruth finally uttered, her eyes growing rounder and rounder as she voiced out the impossible. Never in her wildest dreams would she have thought that she, of all people, would win something as big as that.
And it was all because of the man grinning wildly in front of her.
"I KNEW IT!" he whooped, gripping her bare body in a solid hug as he whooped around her. "I KNEW YOU COULD DO IT."
Ruth's frozen state was broken by a loud, relieved laugh. She wrapped her fingers into his hair and held her to him, tucking her face into his neck. He draped proud kisses across every inch of her he could reach, constantly telling her he knew she could do it the entire time. He told her how amazing she was and that she could do anything she put her mind to. It was all so beautiful and overwhelming that she blurted softly into his ear the sweetest promise.
Raffo froze beneath her.
When Ruth pulled back to look up at him, his eyes were wide. He opened and closed his mouth a few times, trying to gather his thoughts, but seemed stumped to do it. What stopped the panic from rising up from the pit of Ruth's throat was the tender way he pushed her hair behind her ear, his thumb lingering on her cheekbone.
"Say it again," he whispered, eyeing her lips to catch the formation of them. His jaw was set in concentration and he refused to remove the stray waves of strands from his gaze. He was handsome and intense and wonderful and she just—she had to say it again.
Raffo was her soul.
"Chi hullo li," she said, her smile soft. She wrapped her hand around his and held it tightly to her cheek. "I love you, Raff."
Raffo shoved his lips roughly against hers, his grip on her face secure and warm. Their kiss was passionate and full of so much heat and spark that Ruth's poor chest almost collapsed. When he pushed her body back down, she knew she was in for another long few hours that would be even better than before.
"Chi hullo li," he promised, moving back just to stare deeply into her smiling eyes. He pressed his forehead against hers and breathed every part of her into him until they were drunk with one another. "There's never been anyone like you who's fought for me, defended me, and has made my life a thousand times fucking better. And I know there never will be."
That morning, Raffo whisked Ruth away to a city passed Cloud 9, through the haze of the afterglow, and into a world that only existed for the two of them.