by Kat Bastion
Her body grew limp, little whimpers sounding out with every exhale.
When we’d both gone breathless, I pulled back to take a good look at her.
Her eyes glittered with lust. Kiss-roughened lips were plump and parted.
I gave her a gentle push, and she fell backward, landing on the bed with a slight bounce. Creamy skin taunted me. Dark wild hair framed a beautiful face that smiled up at me.
My chest grew heavy, warm. With…
Gratitude.
Then something snapped inside. Raw need rippled through me and a low growl rumbled from my throat. “I get to rip those pretty ribbons off you.”
Kiki…
Darren looked fiercely beautiful as he towered over the foot of my bed. His entire demeanor tensed with determination: dark brows lowered, defined jaw clenched, lean muscles of his sculpted body twitched.
And a provocative dusky line of hair, low in the center of it all, led downward. My gaze drifted along that path of temptation, drawn to the impressive thick erection pointing my way.
The weight of it bobbed as he shifted and crawled onto the bed. His intense gaze held mine for a beat longer, then his attention trailed down my body, pausing at my chest before landing at the juncture of my thighs.
I blew out a nervous breath. Even so, no fear remained about us moving forward. I wanted this—wanted him.
Knees planted on the bed, he leaned his weight back, resting on his heels between my parted legs, then swallowed hard. After a deep breath, he hooked his thumbs under my thong straps on either hip and tugged, gradually dragging the lace down over my thighs. When he’d pulled the material as far as our closeness would allow, instead of moving, he yanked the fabric up and my legs with it. His hands caught under my calves, spread over the muscles, then pressed forward until my legs straightened in front of his chest.
Once the scrap of lace cleared my ankles, he tossed it over his shoulder. But his gaze never strayed from that private space between my legs. My chest heaved up on a breath, excitement thrilling though me as I lay before him, vulnerable, wholly exposed.
“Fucking gorgeous.” The words growled out from his throat, guttural.
A smile curled my lips. “You are.”
And he was.
It wasn’t just the wild beauty of his face, the lustrous dark hair that framed it, and his primed athletic body. His mind challenged me. His heart captivated me. The soul of a man dedicated to helping others before himself riveted me.
Everything Darren was…had become all I’d ever wanted.
With gentle movements, he leaned forward and lowered his body over mine. Dipping his head down, he planted a soft kiss above my navel. Another landed between my breasts. His face turned to the side, his lips running over the transparent lace of my bra. When his mouth reached the peak, he exhaled warm breath over my nipple.
Ache pinged there then snapped through me in a split second, firing into a sharper twinge between my legs. I gasped at the erotic sensation.
Another low growl rumbled from him right before his mouth captured it between his lips.
My awareness shattered as pleasure sparked through my whole body. On a ragged groan, I arched off the bed, but he shifted his upper body weight, pressing me back down. Small tugs as he suckled became harder nips. Each one wired directly to the sizzling pulse that throbbed between my legs.
With a loud pop, he released the captive nipple. Then he nuzzled my other breast while his hands reached behind my back; deft fingers unfastened my bra with a single twist. He eased backward, pulling the lace free with both hands to expose my breasts. He stared at them, transfixed with a held breath, before tossing the bra behind him too.
Then his gaze clashed with mine. “Perfect.”
Warmth bloomed in my chest—that he thought so with a meaning that reached far beyond skin deep.
He lowered back down and seized my lips. My breath caught at the intensity of the kiss, different than before—tender and deliberate. Every gentle sip and slow suck held the weight of heavy emotion.
When he pulled back, I brushed a thumb over his cheekbone. The flameless candle on my nightstand flickered, making his skin sparkle.
I almost laughed. “You have body glitter on your face.”
“I’m about to have body glitter all over me.”
Without another word or any warning, he lunged backward until he dropped between my thighs, his wide shoulders spreading them. I watched the top of his head for a brief second, until delicious heat licked a broad path over my center. Then my head fell back on a strangled cry when harder sucking pressure speared hot ache through me.
My breaths reduced to shallow pants. Blood rushed through my ears as the ache intensified. When the sensations became too great, my body arched bowstring tight off the bed. I hung there, on a precipice of pain and pleasure. My hands flew to his shoulders, nails digging in as I gasped for breath.
He slowed his movements, easing the pressure—toying with me.
The edge of my orgasm hovered just out of reach.
“Pleeease…” The graveled plea rasped from my throat.
Warm air fogged over the sensitive skin as he pulled back, denying me.
My clit throbbed.
One heartbeat. Another.
I groaned as the exquisite pressure grew to be nearly unbearable.
Then all at once, hot and fast, he covered me with his mouth, lashing me with his tongue.
I gasped, then burst into sizzling sparks of pleasure on a scream. Hard pulses ravaged my body as he continued to lick and suck with renewed force. Wave after wave crashed through me, over and over, as I became lost to the demands of his talented mouth.
Then he relaxed his movements, his tongue licking in slow, reverent strokes.
My body fell limp, every muscle boneless.
His head fell to the side, his soft hair and the warmth of his cheek resting on my inner thigh.
After long seconds, when he didn’t move, I glanced down. He stared intently at me, pride in his eyes. A smirk tilted one corner of his mouth up.
Lost in a dreamy haze, my lips curved into a lazy smile. “Well done.” The only words that came to mind. Of his performance. Of my sated state.
“Just getting started,” he growled.
His expression grew wild as stark need painted his features. But in the intensity of his gaze, behind those dark eyes, I saw more than sexual hunger. Raw emotion fired brightly there.
I sucked in a slow breath, briefly stunned by the depth of his passion. Then warmth spread through my chest. Because I felt it too, the incredible pull, our solid connection strengthening with not only our physical act…but by finally letting go.
Gaze locked to mine, he turned his head, then pressed a soft kiss to my inner thigh. He shifted his position, arms suddenly bracketing outside my legs, and placed another kiss along the seam where thigh met hip. The scruff of his face scratched a little as he brushed his chin over my hipbone; but his slow exhalation cooled the skin seconds before warm lips caressed the dip below it.
Up he wandered, dotting kisses in a random path to mark the exploration of my body. The brush of his nose under the curve of my breast. The slow lick of his tongue under the other. In the valley between them, he peppered tiny kisses while he inhaled; his eyes rolled back as they drifted closed, as if he drew in our intoxicating scent. The next long, hot exhale worked its magic over my collarbone, then fogged up the side of my neck.
My entire body shuddered. Renewed sensual warmth spread outward to my fingers, my toes. Every nerve ending awakened again, alive and zinging.
His hips settled between my thighs, pushing my legs up and out to make room for him.
The rigid length of his erection pressed against sparking nerves. I sighed as he settled over me, pressing down, arching his pelvis against mine—right where I throbbed the most.
He stared into my eyes, searching.
I smiled up at him.
“Hi.” He let out a shaky breath.
“Hi.”
“Ready?” His gentle questioning tone surprised me.
I almost gave a cute quip in reply.
But then it hit me: Our coming together was as immense for him as it was for me. He’d never allowed anyone into his world—anywhere near his heart–until now.
And I’d not let anyone in either: no one real, no man worth my heart. Until him.
“Yes.” I ran my hands around his waist, up his back. “I want you. All of you.”
Nothing less would do.
After all. He now had all of me.
Joy shone in his eyes seconds before he dipped down and brushed his lips over mine. With a sigh, I melted into him. Grateful for so much, for him, for our finally taking what we’d been denying ourselves—a chance at happiness.
He pressed forward.
I pulled him closer, wrapping my arms and legs around him, holding on tight.
Solid pressure nudged at my entrance.
I pressed a kiss to his neck on a slow exhale, relaxing my body, letting him in.
And in he came. One slow powerful stroke stretched me wide, took me completely. I gasped at the overwhelming feeling, nerve endings sizzling to life once again.
We were one. As he flexed his hips, forward, then back, retreating then surging, I met him in the middle, thrust for thrust, holding on for the ride. Every move he made, I made, together—harmonious.
Pressure mounted with each passing second. Ache intensified with every stimulating undulation. Our bodies instinctively curved and arched, hitting all the right spots, causing pleasure to spark, then grow hotter. A low moan escaped my throat as erotic fire sizzled deep inside me. He groaned, swelling harder, driving deeper.
I gasped, hanging on the edge of pleasurable pain.
He paused, his entire body going rigid in my hold.
Then he plunged deep on an animalistic growl.
I screamed as a second powerful orgasm whipped through me.
Time warped as every tiny thing claimed its split second of awareness. Another powerful spasm of pleasure. The warm solidness of him deep inside me. Our hearts pressed together, beating a frantic rhythm, mine with his. Our labored breaths, mine at the base of his throat, his ruffling the hair above my ear. Everything chaotic had fallen into perfect balance.
As our racing hearts began to slow and our ragged breaths grew more even, he leaned to one side, but tugged me with him. He wrapped a leg over my hip, secured an arm around my back, and pressed a kiss to the top of my head with a long sigh.
Imprisoned in his embrace, I smiled, then burrowed deeper into his hold, seeking all he had to offer. In that rare, blissful, utterly complete moment of happiness with him, no part of me wanted anything else.
At some point in the dark early-morning hours, after a headboard-banging round three, he curled onto his left side with a satisfied sigh and I spooned behind him, sliding my hand under his arm and across his chest. He clasped my hand, then pressed a kiss over my knuckles. His lips lingered there, brushing across my fingers while my attention strayed to the thick curving lines of ink on his skin.
“Tell me about your tattoos.”
His mouth left my hand, then he pressed my palm to the center of his chest and held it there, over his heart.
“One tattoo. They’re my family,” he rasped out, voice just above a whisper. “Mine is the larger crescent. Mom’s is the one that wraps around my back. Lo’s tucks under my arm.”
“All connected.” Like family.
He gave a slow nod. “And protecting…watching over…each other.”
“When did you get it?” The question felt personal, yet too important not to know. I wanted to understand him.
He gripped my hand tighter before pressing down on it again over his rapidly beating heart. “When Mom died.”
Silence followed, him holding my hand to his chest, me curled behind him, tucked against his body.
And in that space of honesty and vulnerability, I traced my lips along parts of the dark lines: his downward, his mom’s, his sister’s. In the center where they all met, I pressed a tender kiss.
He let out a heavy sigh before his breathing fell into a deep rhythm.
I settled my head on the pillow, tightening my grip over his heart.
Nothing on earth would take his pain away entirely, but I planned to do my best to ease it.
I blinked my eyes open to bright light, then instantly pinched them shut to block out all things way too-early morning. But when I tugged the covers to pull them over my head, they didn’t budge. When I turned, a solid, warm wall met my face.
“Mmm…” With a sudden flash, recognition hit me. Then I pressed a small kiss on Darren’s ribs and snuggled closer to his warmth, resting my cheek in the indentation just below his collarbone.
I inhaled his scent as hazy memories drifted in. His smile and raw laughter. The intense expression on his face when we’d connected deeper, in every way. How the emotion glittering in his eyes matched the unnamed feeling I’d been harboring but hadn’t fully admitted to myself, until then.
I’d fallen for him. Or at least, had begun to, as much as my protective armor had allowed.
The large hand that cradled my hip drifted higher, rubbing lazily up my back, then down. His other arm moved under my shoulders, until they locked together and squeezed, holding me with near-crushing force.
A low growl rumbled above my ear, rustling my hair. “Let’s stay here forever.” The deep timbre of his voice soothed me, but the words themselves prickled worry up my spine.
They reminded me of time—something I didn’t have.
My ticking bomb of an envelope, rigged to blow, didn’t allow us a forever. Not here, anyway.
I draped my leg over his hip and drew circles over his pecs with my finger as I let out a sigh. “Do you have the power to make that happen?”
Maybe he did. What if other forces in the universe, the ones that had pushed us together in the first place, had a hand in my fate?
What if Darren could work a miracle with just one wish?
He pulled back, searching my eyes, studying me. Then something sparked in his and one corner of his mouth twitched up. “Watch me.”
With a low growl, he grabbed my waist and flipped me to his other side, in the center of the bed. My squeal rang out, echoing around us.
His smug grin was the last image in my mind before he kissed me senseless. Then he worshiped my body with methodical precision and absolute reverence.
Anxiety about the future? Banished.
Darren…
I drifted in and out of consciousness. Lazy. Happy.
Kiki’s soft body stretched, then pressed up tighter against me. She let out a satisfied hum as she planted a kiss below my collarbone.
My stomach answered with a grumbling roar.
Her muffled laughter vibrated into my skin.
“Feed me.” I tightened my arm around her, briefly squeezing.
She stretched out an arm, her flattened hand rubbing in a slow circle before it landed on my hip. “Thought you wanted to stay here forever.”
“I do.” I grunted, pulling myself upright. “Food first. Need energy.”
She wearily collapsed into the dent I’d abandoned. I bent down and kissed the nearest patch of forehead under her messed-up hair.
Then I stared at her for a minute. Her creamy skin glowed a healthy pink. Her normally wild hair had that well-fucked look.
Gorgeous.
Unusual happiness swelled in my chest. That I was lucky enough to have her. That she trusted me enough to take a chance with her heart, to rely on me to guard it—protect her.
I didn’t kid myself, though. She wasn’t the only one I needed to safeguard. The forever I wanted wasn’t possible. Not yet. But maybe moments with her here and there could add up to a forever for us someday.
When I stepped into the bathroom and lifted the seat, a thought hit me. I finished, washed my hands, then popped my head back out. She’d abandoned the bed
.
I wandered into the kitchen. Then my mind totally blanked. The counters were already covered with bowls and spice jars…and she hadn’t yet put any clothes on.
Best woman ever.
“What are we making?”
“Apple pancakes with bacon.”
“Aw, damn. I just drooled.” And not only because of the food.
“Good. Peel.” She handed me a slab of bacon strips, then pointed to a tin-foiled baking sheet. She began adding ingredients to a bowl filled with flour.
“Naked baking.” Yep. Master of the obvious.
She giggled. “First time for me.”
“Me too.”
She plopped a spoonful of coconut oil into two large frying pans, then clicked on the burners beneath each. “Pretty sure I’m never baking any other way again.”
That made two of us. She looked incredible. And a unique energy buzzed from her.
As directed, I peeled off thick strips and lined them up side by side onto the foiled baking sheet. “You doing anything tomorrow night?”
Her brow crinkled as she scooped a fourth dark spice into a measuring spoon, then dumped it into the bowl. “Monday…” She shook her head. “Nope.”
“Wanna come watch me play?” Finished with the bacon, I washed my hands.
She paused in the middle of dry-whisking her ingredients. “Your and Logan’s garage band?”
“No. With my new boss. Even though he signed me as a studio musician, he plays live a few times a month. It’s a jazz ensemble. Dino, his guy on sax, and me.”
A wide smile brightened her face as she glanced up while pouring almond milk from a measuring cup into a green bowl. “I would love to come.”
“I have to show up early, so I can’t pick you up, but I’ll text you the address.”
“Sounds great.” A timer beeped, then she turned it off. “Can you man the fort for a few?” She pointed at the bacon-covered baking sheet. “That goes in the oven for thirty. Mix the dry ingredients into the liquid batter, then pour into each pan. I’m taking a quick shower, but should be back in time to flip them.”
“Sure.” I grabbed the large spoon she held, wrapping my hand partially over hers, and gave her a soft kiss. When we broke contact, she stared at my lips, breaths accelerating, before her lust-filled gaze met mine.