by Nashoda Rose
He wasn’t smiling, but I wasn’t sure if it was because there was no lazy slow sex tonight, because I couldn’t walk in a straight line, or because well, it was Ream.
He slammed my door shut with the heel of his foot then walked to the bed and tossed me on it. I bounced twice then settled and got up on my elbows as I watched Ream undress. It was methodical and concise and the whole time he kept his eyes locked on me.
He folded his clothes and placed them on the top of the dresser, and by then my anticipation was shot so high that I was afraid the second he touched me I’d come, but I wanted him inside me when I did. I wanted to clench around his cock and have his finger in my ass.
“Ream?” I was breathing so hard just thinking about it that by the time he was naked, his body straddling me, I was hyperaware of everything. Nothing was foggy or desensitized. Having a man like Ream on top of you brought sober to a whole new level.
He waited for me to talk, his finger hooked in my black yoga pants.
“I’m going to remember.”
He still didn’t grin. Instead, he gave a subtle nod. “Good. But I’ll say it again in the morning anyway.”
“Okay. Now stop fucking around and take my pants off.”
That got a twitch of a grin, and then he yanked them down taking my panties with them. And there was no folding of my clothes. No, Ream threw them on the floor and then he kissed me.
Emily was right, drunk sex was hot.
***
I woke to the velvet touch of his tongue circling my nipple and arched my back, moaning. Ream’s teeth grazed the sensitive spot. Then he swirled his tongue around it again before he took it in his mouth and suckled long and hard.
“Oh God.” I was fully awake now, and Ream hovered over me. All I could see was the top of his head. I curled my fingers in his hair as he moved to the other nipple and sucked that one too then surprised me when he bit down. I cried out in pain then moaned when he soothed it with his heated tongue again. “Slow, lazy, sex?”
“Yeah, baby,” he murmured with my nipple still in his mouth, and the vibration of his voice sent shivers across the surface of my skin.
He trailed kisses between my breasts then down farther to my piercing where his tongue fiddled with the silver. “This is hot. I love this.” He lingered there a long while then moved where I had my tattoo. “And this is hot.” He kissed the ink and moved down farther. “And this …” He looked up at me and I held my breath because he was hovering so close and yet not touching where I needed him to. He watched me as his finger slid from the base of my ribs to my belly button, hesitating, then glided into the wetness. I sharply inhaled. “This …” The pad of his thumb pressed on my clit and I squirmed. “Stay still.” His voice was demanding and raspy, and I immediately stopped moving, my desire heightening. “Good girl.”
Jesus. I was burning up and ready to come just from his words. The pressure on my clit remained steady, and I wanted him to move his finger back and forth. I was aching for him to do it, but he didn’t. He kept pressure there while two fingers circled my opening. “This … is beautiful. It belongs to me now. It won’t ever feel another.”
His thumb made a slight movement and a jolt of pleasure hit me. I needed more. I had to have more. It was too slow. I didn’t like it. I was impatient and I wanted his cock inside me now. “Ream.”
He pushed two fingers inside and I stiffened and arched toward him, gasping. He stayed completely still, and when I opened my eyes again, I saw his face and it was magnetic. He stared at me and it was like he was wide open. Nothing hidden behind those dark eyes, no frown, no grin, just pure, raw honesty in his expression.
I ran my finger across his relaxed jaw, and despite the raging yearning that pulsated through me, I wanted this moment to last forever. “I belong with you. I belong to you. And I love you.” The words easily slipped from my mouth, and I saw the flicker of disbelief on his face; then it was all confident and self-assured again.
“No matter what.” He was demanding, as if he needed the confirmation that no matter what I’d always love him. I didn’t believe love could be stopped. You could run from it, hide, and cover it up with other emotions, but love didn’t give you a choice.
He pulled his fingers out and pushed them back inside. “No matter what, Kat.”
I smiled. Then I did what he always did to me and cupped his jaw in my hand. “Yeah, Ream. That’s what love is. Unconditional.”
The look that washed over him was relief, and he suddenly looked so vulnerable. I’d never seen it before. He was always strong and self-assured, knowing what he wanted and taking it. But it was there, hidden behind his dark eyes, an exposed Ream that trusted me to give him the words I just spoke.
I traced his lips with the tip of my finger. “Ream. Love doesn’t come with strings attached. It just is.” His fingers were still inside me, connected to me. “We’re going to collide. We’ll fight and argue and then we’ll have great make-up sex.” That managed a raise of his brows. But he was so serious and I didn’t get why. It was like he was afraid that now that he had me I was suddenly going to disappear. “That’s us. And I love us. You push me and make me face what I hide from. I trust you to give me that because it’s what I need. Baby, I love you for you. And I love who I am with you.”
He stared at me for several seconds then bent down and kissed my abdomen. “I don’t deserve you.” His words were quiet as he continued to sprinkle tiny kisses across my skin. “But I’m too selfish to let you go.”
I whispered, “Then don’t.”
There were no more words as his thumb started moving back and forth and I couldn’t speak even if I wanted to. He kissed and suckled and his satin tongue tasted every inch of me while I remained on the cusp, Ream not allowing me to break. Building me up then slowly bringing me back down again.
By the time he slid the condom on, I was panting heavily and so turned on that I was afraid I’d come the second he entered me.
But he took his time, his mouth against mine, lazy and sweet, while I caught my breath and came back down again. He sucked on my tongue at the same time he entered my body and I gasped beneath him, stiffening at the feel of the sudden fullness. His hips jerked forward and he sank deeper while he groaned against my mouth.
His hand locked my wrists together above our heads while his other flicked and pinched my nipple, then slow and soft on top only to pinch it again and send a shooting pleasure-pain from my nipple straight to where he moved inside me, slow and deep.
He kissed me, made love to me, kept me needing more, until we both couldn’t last any longer. Then he held my thigh around his waist as he pumped into me.
His back arched and his fingers dug into my leg while my hands, now free, were able to touch the hard hills and valleys of his body.
“No touching,” he growled.
“But—”
“Please.”
I saw the torment in his eyes and I wanted to take it away, so I put my arms above my head again and his eyes closed. He pushed into me, harder and harder. I moaned, the pillow clenched in my hands as I felt the pleasure swirl and then dive over the edge into a pool of heat.
Ream groaned, his body stiffening and then he thrust twice more into me.
His eyes flashed open and our gazes locked. Just like we were. Us. There was no longer a separation; we belonged and whatever happened, there was no key. Our lock was broken, just like we were. The thing was, I still didn’t know why he was broken.
It took us half the day to get out of bed. When we finally did it was to shower, and we did it together making love against the wet tiled wall. Then Ream carried me back to bed where he tasted me all over again. I noticed he fell into that glazed look a couple of times, and once when I touched his ass, he shoved my hand away so violently that I was shocked.
I asked him about it, but he evaded the question again and quickly had me thinking about other things. It bothered me that whatever it was, he didn’t trust me enough to talk about it.
It was Logan who forced us out of our bedroom. “Ream. I’m not telling you again.” It had been the fourth time he’d knocked on the door and told Ream to get up. Now he pounded on the door and his booming voice had me throwing the covers over my head and trying to smother my laughter. Pissed off Logan hearing me laugh at him was not a good idea, even if I did have Ream here to protect me. And I had no doubt Ream would. He’d never let anyone hurt me, and I think that was why I saw that moment of vulnerability in him. Because he knew that he’d never be able to protect me from my disease. It was something out of his control and no matter what angle he tried to look at it … there was no cure.
“Get your ass out here, Ream. We’re leaving for the studio in five.” Logan’s voice was hard and unrelenting, but then I heard him chuckle and Emily squeal. Okay, he wasn’t that mad.
Crisis shouted in the background. “Aren’t you satisfied by now, buddy? Jesus, I heard you all night long. Didn’t hear her though. Guess you’re not that good after all.”
That got a reaction out of Ream and he was off the bed and out the door, unconcerned about his nudity as he went after Crisis. I heard a fuck and a door slamming then Logan laughed.
Ream came back in the room and shut the door in Logan’s face. His body language was all tension and angry, but the corner of his lips curved up and his eyes danced with playfulness.
He walked straight for the bed, grabbed me around the waist, and yanked me to the edge so my legs were on either side of him. He cupped the nape of my neck, tilted my head, and then he kissed me and there was nothing lazy and sweet about it. It was one of those epic kisses that I never wanted to end.
“Got to go, baby.” He let me go and I fell back onto the bed, the sheet swirling around me, caught between my thighs. I pulled the material up farther so there was tension on my sex.
Then I started moaning—loud.
I wasn’t sure what Ream was doing because my eyes were closed, but I rolled around on the bed, the sheet between my legs as I moaned louder and louder. “Oh God, Ream.” I screamed as loud as I could while still sounding breathless. “Yes. Oh God. Yes. That’s it.”
I did a long drawn out moan-scream then stopped, propping up on my elbow and smiling.
He shook his head, grinning, his jeans in his hand. I winked and he threw his jeans aside and dove onto the bed.
Within minutes I was screaming for real.
During the day, Ream recorded with the band while I helped Hank with the horses and painted. In the evenings Ream would come with me to the barn and we’d groom Clifford. Well, I’d groom and Ream would watch … from a distance. I had to give him credit though. He did try feeding him carrots, and after a week he got close enough to stroke Clifford’s neck.
The sweetest moment was yesterday evening because it was so unexpected and beautiful. Ream didn’t even know I was watching him since I had gone into the tack room to put the brushes away. I realized I’d forgotten the curry on the hay bale, and when I came back out and saw Ream, I stopped and stared.
He was talking softly to Clifford, his hand resting on his thick neck and Clifford was arching around with his head tilted as if he was listening to him.
It was so unusual for Clifford to not nip and play and nudge. He just curled around Ream with his neck, head low, lips lazy, and ears flopping out to the side listening. I knew it was a moment I wanted to capture in a painting. I’d hang it across from my bed so I could wake up to it every morning. My two men.
Ream took me out for dinner nearly every night, and he admitted it was selfish because he wanted me all to himself. He came with me to my nutritionist appointment Matt had set up. Ream did most of the talking, adamant that the diet was doing more detriment than good by the way I was eating. He went on about needing more proteins and different ways to get more weight on me without compromising the specific diet of very little fats. I sat back silently listening because really it was amusing and I was getting a kick out of it.
I was thankful the woman wasn’t a push over under Ream’s badgering, and she smiled at me kindly before she put him in his place and told him he’d be uninvited to the next appointment if he refused to tone down his attitude and be quiet.
I laughed, which made Ream scowl and had the nutritionist looking at both of us like we were crazy. Then Ream listened while the nutritionist and I figured out a plan where I would hopefully stop losing weight, but still keep the fat content to a minimum.
Finally, it was the night of my gallery showing and I was excited, nervous, and a little apprehensive at seeing Lance again with Ream there. Okay, very apprehensive. I’d spoken to Lance a few times, although always when Ream was at the recording studio, and he was cool about everything and nothing was awkward between us. Although when I asked him about why he called Ream when we were at the cottage, all he said was that he was looking for me to discuss a sale. The thing was, the sale never came through. Lance said the guy changed his mind.
I finished putting on my lip gloss then stood up straight. The reflection staring back at me was the same, except for the two scars that were fading but still visible even with cover-up. But it wasn’t that which made me look different, it was the lightness in my eyes. I felt it. Telling Emily had lifted a huge heaviness off me, even more so when nothing changed between us. And Ream … Ream was sweet, but most of the time he was bossy and possessive. I thought I’d get annoyed at all his texts, but when I heard my phone beep, I smiled and couldn’t wait to see what he wrote.
“Jesus.”
I spun around in my six inch red heels and black low backed dress. Ream stopped in the doorway to our washroom and stared. It made me feel beautiful; shit, he made me feel that way.
“Baby, you look fuckin’ hot.” He strode over to me, his hands on my hips as he yanked me into him so we both faced the mirror. He bent his head and kissed the naked spot just between my neckline and my shoulder. “God, I love you.”
Tingles sprinkled my skin at his raspy whisper. His hands ran up my sides to my ribs and back down again to settle on my hips. He nibbled my ear, taking the pearl earring into his mouth. “I can’t wait to strip you out of this tonight. Keep on the heels though, hot stuff. I want to fuck you wearing those.”
I clamped my legs together because I wasn’t wearing panties and I so didn’t want to have to get changed after hearing what he wanted to do to me. The no panties was a surprise for later.
His hand reached down lower and I could feel the edge of my dress inching up. I grabbed his hand before he discovered the no panties and had me up on the counter and forgetting that I had a show to get to before the guests arrived.
“I have to go. I need to make sure everything is set up.” I turned around in his arms and he groaned with frustration before he kissed me. His mouth fused over mine, tongue pushing past my teeth and tasting of toothpaste and apple. I sagged against him for a few moments, melting in his arms, feeling like I could just stay here forever and be kissed by him. When his hand went down between my legs again, I smacked him on the chest, pulling away.
He chuckled and I loved the sound of it. It made me giddy that I could do that to him because Ream was too serious most of the time. I loved that we could play and laugh, and I suspected I was the only one who really got to witness that as often as I did.
“I’d love nothing more than for you to go down on me and have me screaming your name …” He chuckled again because we both knew it wouldn’t be that. It would be him inside me and taking me on the counter against the mirror. “But I’m meeting the caterers in a half hour.”
“Lance going to be there?” His body went stiff and the playful look vanished. “I don’t like the idea of you being alone with that fuckhead.”
“No, he’s coming later. But he knows I’m with you. He was cool at the hospital. And I talked to him the other—”
His eyes narrowed. “You saw him at the hospital?” Ream’s lips tightened.
I sighed, running my fingers through his hair. “Baby, h
e just wanted to make sure I was okay. It was no big deal.” Ream’s face relaxed as I continued to stroke his hair and the back of his neck. “You have nothing to worry about. I’m with you.”
“Who helped him get into your room?”
Gah … this was where we collided. Ream was protective and I got that. He lost his twin sister—the only family he had—to really bad shit. He wanted to keep any bad shit away from me, and he saw Lance as bad shit. I wondered if whatever that phone call was about was way more than Ream admitted.
“It doesn’t matter. He just wanted to make sure I was okay. It was like five minutes. I need to go. I’ll see you there.” I tried to slip out of his arms but he held tight.
“I don’t like him, Kat.” Shit, it was Kat, not Kitkat or babe or beautiful. “I’ll come with you. Give me ten minutes.”
I linked our hands before he had a chance to go change. “Ream, you have to trust me.” I squeezed his hand. “You need to meet your manager. Logan will have a fit if you bail.” I curled my hand around his neck and pulled his head lower so I could reach his lips. My mouth moved over his trying to get a response and after a few seconds with my tongue in his mouth and my hands on his ass, he complied and kissed me back.
“I’m moving my art from his gallery after the show.”
I felt the stiffness instantly ease from his muscles as he whispered in my ear, “Thank you, baby.”
“I have to go. Love you.”
He reluctantly let me go. “You going to be okay in those heels?”
And he was still concerned about my legs. It was sweet, adorable, and I got that despite being controlling and over the top possessive Ream did it because he cared.
I ran a finger down his cheek then across to his mouth where he grabbed it with his teeth and sucked it inside the warmth of his velvet mouth. Heat swirled between my legs, and I quickly pulled away as desire flooded between my thighs.