by Mia Carson
“Your eyes are beautiful when you lose control,” he whispered against her lips. “All fire and passion.”
She grinned wickedly as her body calmed enough for her to feel her limbs again. “Is that right?”
Wrapping her arms tightly around him, Johanna glanced once at the thick, fur rug on the floor in front of the couch and, with a smirk, pulled him off with her. They rolled, and she straddled him as he stared at her, his mouth agape until he burst out laughing. She joined him for a minute before each of their gazes held the other’s and a heavy silence fell between them—not filled with trepidation, but with a sudden understanding of what they were about to become to one another. Johanna moved her hips slightly, lifting herself up to feel him hot and hard between her legs, pressing against her wet lips.
Reider’s hands held her hips and slowly, without breaking eye contact, she lowered herself onto him. His tip entered her, and she pulled back before taking more of him in. Bit by bit, he filled her, stretching her as she had never been before. Melody had told her once that her first time hurt like hell, but it’d been worth it once the pinch was over.
But as Johanna’s gaze stayed locked on Reider’s, she felt nothing but the sensation of him filling her in more ways than physical. Her face scrunched when there was a twinge of discomfort, but she lifted her hips and slid all the way down, taking him in fully with a moan. Reider groaned, his body shaking beneath hers as his fingers dug into her hips, and slowly, she moved against him. The building friction between them rubbed her in all the right places, but Reider wanted more, so he sat up, and pulled her close against him as he thrust within her.
Johanna’s breath was ragged as Reider’s mouth slanted over hers, their bodies moving naturally as if they had always been together. She needed him deep within her, to fill her as much as he could, and never wanted to let him go. When the edge rushed to meet her and the fire threatened to consume her, Reider whispered in her ear.
“Let go, Johanna. Let go,” he whispered hoarsely, and she cried out as every fiber of her being erupted in pleasure, her inner muscles clenching hard around him. “Jesus, Johanna,” he growled, and his hoarse curse echoed around the open space.
He groaned, and his whole body stiffened, holding himself deep within her as his release shivered through his body. His arms tightened around her as he fell back to the rug with her on his chest. He sucked in a few deep breaths, still buried deep within her, and Johanna never wanted him to leave. When she raised her head, he grinned at her and she kissed him sweetly.
“That was incredible,” he mused, keeping her wrapped in his arms. “Damn.”
“Is it always like that?” she asked, resting her chin on his chest, and watched his eyes widen then narrow as he leaned up to stare at her. “What?”
“This… this was your first time? Oh my God! Why didn’t you tell me? Did I hurt you?” He scrambled to pull out and made them both shiver. Johanna told him to calm down, but he shook his head. “No, you nearly made me lose control. I could’ve hurt you.”
“But you didn’t,” she promised and held his face in her hands. “I’ve never felt better.”
“You’re sure I didn’t hurt you?”
“Yes, I’m sure,” she said and kissed him, straddling his lap. “But I am curious now.”
“About what?” he asked with a frown.
She leaned against him, pressing her breasts against his chest, and watched his eyes darken. “You said you nearly lost control. What does it take to make you lose control?” She nipped at his lip, and his hands pressed hard against her back as he grunted. “Because, you know, I’m just getting started here.”
He raised one brow and shifted his hips, his erection growing between them again and pressed against her. “Is that right?”
“Reider,” she whispered, “I never want this weekend to end, but it will, so until then, I want you to love me for as long as you can.” She held him closely. His face turned serious as he held onto her and stood, wrapping her legs around his waist.
The weight of their lives threatened to crash down on them, but when his lips found hers, nothing else mattered. He carried her to the steps leading to what was once the hayloft and the bed there, situated perfectly beneath a skylight where Johanna could see the stars and the sliver of moon. Reider laid her back and crawled into bed with her, covering her body with his. Gently, he pushed the curls from her face.
“I’ll always love you, Johanna. No one can change that,” he swore and kissed her deeply.
Johanna believed him. She trusted him, and as he spread her legs with his knee and thrust home, she moved with him, lifting her legs to wrap around him as he moved deep within her, deliberately slow as if he was trying to feel every bit of her inside as he did her outside. His fingers massaged her thigh and up to her hip as his mouth ravaged hers in a stern promise this would never end. He would make it work, and Johanna showed him as much as she could through her touch and her kisses that she would do the same.
Reider laughed as he stumbled back up the steps, a bottle of wine in hand, and grinned at Johanna lying on the bed, naked, watching him with a light in her eyes he wanted to see every day of his life.
“Damn it, I forgot glasses,” he said as he fell down on the bed beside her.
“We don’t need glasses,” she said through her giggles and grabbed the bottle, twisted the cap off, and took a large swig. “I’ve never been a proper society lady.”
Reider took the bottle when she offered it, and after a swig of his own, he rested it on the bed and leaned down to kiss her lips, sweet from the red wine, as their tongues danced hypnotically together.
“I knew it was all an act,” he muttered, and she shoved playfully at his arm. “You were always too serious. No one could ever be that content with their life.”
“Especially when your brothers are trying to marry you off,” she grumbled and rolled over onto her back, glaring up at the stars. Reider’s hand clenched into a fist on the sheet. “Don’t worry, it’s not going to happen.”
He wanted to trust her, but everyone knew the twins had a reputation for being ruthless when it came to their family, doing what was necessary to keep them ahead of the competition. If that meant they would promise Johanna to another man, they would do it without a second thought. Reider knew Johanna didn’t want it, but if it ever came to that point, they would have to tell the truth about their relationship to the families. And probably leave the city—hell, leave the state.
Johanna leaned her head back, bunching the sheet, and frowned at him. “You’re thinking too hard. Stop it.”
He smirked and kissed her forehead. “Can’t help it. Worried.”
“No, you’re not allowed to worry, not until we both have a reason to worry. I don’t want this weekend ruined by overthinking every last thing that could go wrong.” She blew out a breath, puffing her cheeks out, and Reider laughed, caressing her cheek softly. “Tell me about your tattoo,” she said quietly and rolled over onto her stomach.
He swallowed hard, his eyes darting to the soft mounds of flesh pressed against the bed, wanting them pressed against him instead. “Only if you tell me about yours,” he managed to grate out.
She tugged at a strand of hair and nodded slowly. “I had a rebellious streak.”
“It’s a broken heart, though,” he said, hoping jealousy was nowhere in his words, but from the way her lips screwed up in a crooked grin, he failed. “What? I’m curious.”
“I didn’t get it because of an ex. I got it because… because I never thought I would have the future I wanted. Freedom to live and find real love, not the false crap my parents have,” she muttered bitterly. “They make everyone else believe their lives, believe they’re so happy together, but it’s fake. All of it.”
The sadness in her words hit Reider hard, and he stretched out his body so they were shoulder to shoulder. He passed her the wine, and she took it, gulping before handing it back. “Funny how the world thinks everything in our lives is pe
rfect,” he said with a dark smile. “If they only knew.”
“So many lies and so much damn back-stabbing. I’m tired of it all. This is what I want,” she said and nudged his shoulder with hers. “Weekends like this with someone who gets me.”
He nudged her back. “My parents pushed so many different women on me from this family or that, and all of them were so fake it killed me to spend time with them. Then I get stuck with you as a partner and look what happened.”
“Not my fault. You shouldn’t be so freaking charming all the time,” she said and leaned into him.
Reider’s chest swelled with warmth and contentedness when she rested her head against his shoulder and the rest of her followed, moving as close as she could.
“So, what about your tattoo? Barbed wire’s pretty edgy,” she teased.
“I did it to make a statement to my dad about what I really wanted to do. He hates tattoos. So does Mom. They threw a fit when I got it. I tried to tell him then what I wanted, but he didn’t listen,” he said and took a drink of the wine. “They never do.”
He set the bottle on the floor and rolled onto his side so he could let his fingers run down Johanna’s back, watching her eyes slide closed and a sleepy smile slip across her face.
“Reider?” she asked, her voice barely a whisper.
“Yeah?” he replied, moving his hand up to her hair, playing with the wild curls he never wanted to stop touching. “Jo?”
“No matter what happens, I want you to know I’m really glad we got stuck in that class together,” she told him as her breathing steadied. “Changed my life.”
A moment later, she was asleep, and Reider kissed her forehead. Her lips twitched in a grin, but her eyes remained closed. “Me too, Jo,” he said. “Me too.”
When Ashford had forced them to partner together, Reider thought he’d been sentenced to a semester of hell. Working with a Chadwick was something his family claimed was impossible. And there he was, falling more in love with one every second he spent by her side. As she slept soundly beside him, Reider realized this was a glimpse of what his life could be, just as he saw it the other day out in the fields.
He no longer cared what his family wanted, not anymore. He wanted Johanna, and after tonight, as she gave herself to him and he did the same with her, he knew they were meant to be together. Their names didn’t matter, not anymore. He sure as hell couldn’t see the future, but they would find a way to make this work, despite what their families had to say on the matter. He’d run away with her before he saw Johanna’s brothers marry her off to some jackass who didn’t deserve her.
“I swear we’ll stay together,” he whispered in her ear. “I’ll never let you go.”
Reider stayed by her side through the night and didn’t wake until he heard a commotion downstairs. His eyes shot open and he glanced around wildly, but Johanna wasn’t in the bed. She cursed from below, and he let out a breath of relief. For a second, he thought they’d been found out, and he watched the potential of their relationship disappear in a puff of smoke.
“What the hell are you doing down there?” he called out as he glanced around for clothes and remembered they were downstairs. He took the sheet and wrapped it around his waist as he walked down the steps.
“Trying to make breakfast,” she grumbled and turned to face him.
He laughed loudly at the flour covering her cheeks and nose. “Trying seems to be a fitting word.”
She wore nothing but his t-shirt, and when her toes scratched slowly at her opposite calf, he groaned and dragged her up against his body, capturing her mouth. She tasted of pancakes and coffee, and he loved it, kissing her deeper, and backed her against the counter.
“Pancakes are going to burn,” she whispered raggedly.
“That would be a shame,” he replied against her lips and reached behind her to turn off the griddle. “There. Now, they won’t.”
“Reider,” she tried to protest, but he was already tugging up the t-shirt, revealing her perfect breasts he wanted to hold again. Her hands moved to the sheet at his waist, and with barely a yank, it fell away, but he wasn’t going to let her have him that easily.
He turned her around so her back pressed against his chest as he kissed her neck down to her shoulder, and one arm wrapped around her waist. Leisurely, his hand crept lower to her hip, barely touching her skin and loving how it made her squirm against him. She tried again to reach back for him, but he moved them deliberately to the wall and lifted her arms up over her head with one hand, holding her wrists gently while his other hand continued its unhurried exploration of her body.
When he reached her swollen lips, he growled at her wetness and ready for his touch, but he didn’t thrust his fingers within her, not yet. He trailed them along the edges, teasing her clit until she moaned and whispered his name before his hand moved again.
As he moved closer, he made sure his burning length pressed against her, moving between her legs. With his knee, he spread them and let her thighs hold him. That one touch nearly sent him to his knees. Every nerve in his body wanted to take her, but he held back and his hand massaged her hip on its way back up to her breasts. As if he was carving her features on her skin, he let his hand move around the mound of her breast, teasing the nipple briefly as he kissed her neck again, pressing himself harder between her legs. He dragged himself back and forth, growling at how wet she grew for him, ready to take him as she had last night.
“Reider,” she whispered, her back arching against his chest. “I’m going to lose it if you keep doing that.”
“That’s the idea,” he muttered. When she moaned and her thighs clenched around him, he turned her around and lifted her up as his mouth claimed hers and her legs wrapped around his waist.
She was so wet, he slid right inside, deep within her, and they both gasped, clinging to each other in the small kitchenette as if the rest of the world was not waiting outside the doors to ruin what they’d found in each other’s arms. With each breath, her chest pressed against his, her nipples hard on his skin, and he shifted his hips, moving deep within her. Reider tried to hold back, remembering this was her second time to have sex, but she dug her nails into his back and whispered for him to let go, to lose control, she could take it. And God, did he want to.
Staying buried within her, Reider moved away from the wall and carried her to the couch, his mouth never leaving hers until he sat down, bringing her with him. She rocked against him, but he gripped her hips hard to hold her in place and drove into her. Her head fell back on a moan, and he thrust even harder. His release grew closer, but he wanted to hear her scream his name first. Slowing down his movements, he took her nipple into his mouth and sucked hard, tugging and teasing with his tongue and teeth until her inner muscles clenched him hard, quivering with the pleasure consuming her body. She cried out his name, and his hips faltered as he grunted beneath her, unable to keep going as he spilled into her.
Johanna collapsed against his chest, and he felt her grin against his shoulder as his hands moved up her back. “That… that was better than pancakes,” she mused with a quiet laugh.
“Maybe, but now, I’m famished,” he growled and nuzzled her neck until she shrieked with laughter. He tackled her to the couch and tickled her until she cried uncle, laughing so hard tears shone in her eyes. He kissed her forehead, her nose, her cheeks, and ended with those delicious lips he had dreamt about. “So, pancakes?” he asked as he wiped some of the leftover flour off her cheek.
She nodded and leaned up to kiss him back. “Pancakes.”
10
On Sunday morning, Johanna groaned when her cell went off with a message from Izzy saying their parents called and would be home by noon. She cursed loudly and nudged Reider awake. She needed to scoop her things together and head back, but he rolled over and kissed her as his hand explored her warm lips, and a moment later, they breathed heavily against each other, desperately holding on as their weekend came to a close.
This lov
emaking wasn’t for passion. She knew he felt the same as she did. If they loved each other fiercely enough, intensely enough, everything would turn out alright. Leaving Reider’s side was the last thing she wanted to do, but there was no other option. Reider groaned as she cried out, holding him as close to her body as she could.
As their breathing returned to normal, their bodies reeling from an orgasm even crazier than what she’d experienced all weekend, Reider smoothed her hair back from her face and kissed her. “We’ll figure this out,” he swore. “Remember that.”
“I know,” she said, holding her hands over his. “We’ll get through it together.”
The overwhelming love etched on his body filled Johanna’s heart, and though she had to leave him for the rest of the day, she knew that every hour, he would think of her, and every night, she would fill his dreams. This was no ordinary love between them; it was a raging inferno she knew there was no hope of trying to contain.
The whole way home, with his teak-wood scent clinging to her body, she thought of ways to escape her current life, how to tell her parents the truth so she and Reider could be happy. For years, she’d been stashing money away in her room on the off chance she ever got up the nerve to take off for a while and leave. But if she left, she would never come back. Not to a family more concerned with fueling a decades’ old fight instead of moving on and learning to tolerate each other.
Johanna parked her car in the driveway at 11:15, and after grabbing her things, hurried inside the house to shower. Izzy grinned from the living room but didn’t say anything. She didn’t have to. Johanna was pretty sure it was all over her face that the weekend had been perfect.