Reverse (Bittersweet Symphony Duet #2)

TWENTY-TWO “Wicked Game”

TWENTY-TWO

“Wicked Game”

Johnnyswim

Natalie

I gasp into Easton’s mouth as he thrusts an eager tongue between my lips with a hunger I could only dream of.

Instantly I cling to him, my kiss just as greedy, my thrust just as desperate as our tongues intermingle at a frenzied pace. It’s as if he has waited the entirety of the time I was listening to unleash on me. I feel every bit of that truth and see it on his face when Easton pulls away just long enough to gauge my reaction. In his search, he seeks and finds permission before his lips again capture mine in another soul-searing kiss. This one deeper than the last, as his hands cup my face and he surrounds me.

In the next breath, I’m wrapped around him, licking along his neck, inhaling his scent until our mouths again collide. My entire being lights on fire as our lips and tongues desperately move against the other as wetness floods my core.

His kiss gives me new life as I’m tossed further into orbit, feeling the vibration of his groans which coax me as I open myself for him.

“Easton,” I rasp out between kisses as his eyes burn through me with a searing heat. Seeing his reaction to us, I free myself completely, letting the need I’ve been suppressing take over entirely. Just this once, I’ll allow myself to have him. Just this once, I’ll give him all of me, without restraint or thoughts of another living soul.

In this universe, only we exist.

The music continues to pierce the deepest parts of me as I grip his face and still him. It’s then I realize we are in the middle of the room, and I’m wound around him. For several seconds we simply stare at each other. One beat passes, and then another before our mouths collide again. Body vibrating with a need for more—to get closer—he walks us over to the couch and lays me down gently, nestling between my legs. The thrust of his tongue into my mouth matches the drive of his hips as I gasp at the feel of his hard length against my core. Crazed with lust, I grip his thick hair in my fingers as he trails his kiss down my neck, laving every inch of bare skin with his lips and tongue.

He trails his carnal kisses between my mouth and neck before sinking his teeth into my shoulder and thrusting against me with more pressure. I cry out, gripping his shoulders as he does it again and again, bringing me close to the brink.

“Easton—” I plea, body coiling as sensation threatens to overtake me. He stops, reading my ask. I don’t want to go anywhere without him.

“Fuck,” he breathes as he stares down at me with a hooded gaze. The sight of Easton Crowne aroused is by far the sexiest fucking thing I’ve ever seen in my life.

“More,” I demand as he braces his muscular arms above me and rears back. The next drive of his hips has me seeing stars as he hits me perfectly. And with the next, my entire body shudders.

“Tell me what you want . . .” he urges. I reply by ripping at his buckle, the clank of it damn near bringing me to orgasm by sound alone as I dip into his navy boxer briefs and grip his cock in my hand. Cursing, he keeps himself hovering above me with his arms locked as my gaze dips, and I stare down at the glossy drop of arousal seeping from the fat head of his perfect, thick dick before sweeping my thumb over it.

“Goddamn,” he swears as I look up to see him react to the feel of me, us .

“Now, please, now,” I order, unable to take another second. He fists off his shirt before helping to free me of my own. Gazing down at me, he thrusts again, keeping me primed and wanton. I spread my legs further just before he backs away, pulling off my UGGs and tossing them over his shoulder. Staring down at me with nothing but fire in his eyes, he unbuttons my jeans and peels them away along with my panties.

Lifting my upper half, he unclasps my bra and dives for the spoils, pulling the whole of my breast into his mouth as he lowers his jeans and boxers to mid-thigh before driving against me, his bare cock gliding against my soaked center. We both call out as the lust overtakes us, and he grips the back of the couch before driving into me in one claiming thrust.

Our blue flame turns blinding white as his hooded eyes lock on mine, and I gasp at the stretch and invasion. I gaze up at him, my mouth parted, my vision blurring. Nothing has ever felt so good.

“Fuck, Natalie,” he hisses, his voice full of restraint. “Are you okay?”

“Please, please move,” I whimper as he stares down at me with lust and wonder.

“Condom,” he blows out a harsh breath. I lock my legs around him.

“I’m covered, please, Easton, please just fucking move,” I grit out on the verge of orgasm as my thrumming clit pulses against the edge of his buried cock. In the next breath, he rears back and thrusts in harder, burrowing further into me.

That’s all it takes for me to detonate, and I tighten around him, my body pulsating from head to toe as my orgasm rips through me.

“Fuck . . . Christ,” Easton rasps, eyes closing before he begins furiously pumping in and out of me. Expression coated with desire, he grips my hips and grinds me onto his cock with each deep thrust sending me over the edge a second time. He captures my cries with his mouth, seeming to feed off them before stopping suddenly.

“Hold on, baby,” he murmurs, gently pulling out of me and standing abruptly, toeing his shoes off before shoving his jeans down and kicking them away.

I gaze up at him, fully bared, lips and legs parted, chest heaving as he stares down at me in a way that makes me feel perfect. The sight of him naked, cock hard and glistening with my orgasm, has me reaching for him, wanting every part of him touching every part of me. Planting his knees on the couch, he lifts my right leg, kissing his way from my ankle to my calf before trailing his tongue up my thigh and capturing the whole of my clit between his lips, sucking with fervor. Back arching from the sinful workings of his mouth, he kisses his way along my stomach, flicking my nipple with his tongue, briefly surrounding it with his lips before trailing his kiss up my throat and thrusting his tongue into my parted mouth. We moan in sync as he nestles himself between my thighs and slowly, so slowly, presses back into me. His shoulders tense beneath my palms as he pauses and stares down at me. “You’re so fucking perfect,” he whispers hoarsely, “so incredibly beautiful,” he murmurs as he rolls his hips gently, thrusting harder and deeper as he continues to keep his pace.

Endless waves of pleasure roll through me as he draws it out, watching me come undone for him. He presses his forehead to mine. With every sure thrust, I lose myself further to him as we pant against each other’s mouths.

“Look at me,” he implores, cradling my face in his hands. Our eyes collide as he gazes down at me, mouth parted as he picks up his pace. I murmur praises until all words fall away, heart lurching toward his. With the next drive and skilled shift of his hips, I tip and fall, tightening around him and gasping into his mouth. My orgasm sets him off, and he unleashes, frantically fucking me as I lose my voice with the cry of his name. Gathering my hair in his fist, he pulls it back so I’m focused on his face as his expression twists in an exquisite mix of pleasure and relief. He releases a long, breath-stunted groan, as he slows his hips and pulses inside me. Visibly spent, he dips and captures my mouth, kissing me for lengthy seconds as our bodies quake in the aftermath.

He murmurs my name with reverence as he pulls away, his biceps shaking as he hovers, placing worshipful kisses along my face before drawing me back into another life-altering kiss. His tongue glides against mine as I run my hands along the perfection of his slick, muscular back in exploration, careful not to touch the healing ink along his side. Still between my parted thighs, Easton eases more weight on top of me as I stroke his skin, gathering as much as I can of him to me.

We lay there for wordless seconds as the music stops and silence fills the room. The only sound left is our mingling breaths. I live in the moment, knowing the instant we separate, all thoughts of existing in the place we’ve just created will be over, and so will we.

Sometime, in the immediate future, I’m going to have to fight hard to rip myself away. But I do the opposite now in this precious time we have left, which is rapidly ticking out.

Clutching him tightly to me, I bask in the feel of him, of how perfect we fit, of how beautiful he made me feel.

“Natalie,” he scratches out, withdrawing slightly from my touch and staring down at me.

“Not yet,” I whisper hoarsely. “Please. Not yet .”

He nods, his features shadowing with the same knowledge—that we both just stole something we were never supposed to have. We both made the decision to exist in this moment, and we both have to live with it. He pushes himself further into me as if to refute it as we allow ourselves to briefly rest in our connection, chasing the last of the sand together.

The thought occurs to me that if I leave now, I may be able to outlive this.

His lips begin to caress my skin as his cock starts to harden inside me, and I softly say his name. Lifting to hover, muscular arms braced above me, he sees my decision as I gently push at his chest. He curses softly as he slowly pulls out of me.

Flushed and covered in a sheen of sweat, I start to dress, increasing my speed and frantically pulling on my clothes in an attempt to start the long, seemingly impossible trek back to reality. Guilt swarms me as my reckless decision to give into my attraction for him begins to catch up with me. “I’ll take the morning after pill, just in case.”

“Natalie,” he rasps softly as I pull up my jeans and fasten them.

“You have nothing to worry about, okay? I’ve been very careful. I haven’t had sex in a long time. I’m clean, I swear to you. Jesus, I’m so sorry I did that.”

“I’m not,” he snaps, this time with a bite. He’s already refuting my attempt to play off what just happened between us as nothing more than sex, seemingly ready on the other side of the battle line I’m drawing.

“Natalie. Look at me.” I hear his zipper and the clank of his belt buckle, and instantly, I want more. I’d give literally anything to replay the minutes before this one and escape the cold reality I’m thrusting myself back into.

I hate so much that Easton Crowne is the most beautiful secret I’ll ever have and will forever be the one I’m forced to keep.

“Natalie—”

“I can’t look at you, okay?” I admit honestly. “I have to go home, right now . I have to go.” I fasten my bra and yank on my shirt in haste as the weight of his jacket hits my shoulders when he covers me with it. I sink where I stand, ache taking over. “That’s yours.”

“Not anymore,” he forces my arm into one sleeve before I hesitantly take the other. Once I’m cloaked in the soft fabric, he snakes his arms around my waist and pulls me back firmly against him, my back to his chest.

“Please, let me go,” I whisper.

“I don’t think I can,” though quietly delivered, his reply is a direct hit.

He turns me to face him, and I inevitably lift my eyes as the searing pain of loss starts to unfurl in my chest. Trapped in his depths, it’s all I can do to get my breathing under control. As I pull myself fully back to earth, it strikes me. If this is the last time I’ll see him, the last time we speak, what just happened between us—though earth-shattering—can’t be the sum of our time together and everything we’ve trusted the other with. He’s given me so much in such a short time. It’s only fair I reciprocate with honesty. Brutal honesty, which is no less than he deserves. “Easton, please listen to me, just for a second.”

He dips his chin before cradling the back of my neck with his hands, his thumbs resting on my jaw, eyes searching.

How am I going to move on from the way this feels?

Eyes stinging, I press on, because I’m desperate for him to hear me.

“It’s not going to matter,” I utter, my voice shaking. “It’s not going to matter if Reid had a hand in helping to produce it. That’s not the Sergeants’ sound. It’s yours. What it is . . . is undeniably . . . I-I-I. I felt everything , Easton. You have every reason to be protective of it, but I swear to God, that’s some of the most amazing music I’ve ever heard in my life.”

My lips tremble as I grip the hands cradling my face, peeling them away and kissing the tips of his fingers before I release them. “Please, please, don’t allow your fear to win and deny the world your gift. You have absolutely nothing to worry about. You are about to exceed every imaginable expectation, and I’ll be cheering you on from the sidelines.”

Reeling, I turn and open the door before glancing back to see him fisting his hands at his sides. His expression darkens as I close my eyes and force myself out of the door, the burn in my throat and chest intensifying unbearably.

I reach the door to the studio and open it, a ray of sunlight beaming into the room and disappearing as Easton slaps it closed with a palm.

“Don’t go. Don’t fucking leave like this.”

“Easton, this has to stay here and remain here between the two of us.”

“Fuck that, I—”

“In the history of all bad ideas,” I warn in a grave tone, “this would top both our lists. You have to trust me on this. If our parents ever found out, this could be detrimental to all of us . It will do so much fucking damage.”

He presses his forehead against my back as an unparalleled crack of awareness runs through me. I turn to look up at him, able to make out his profile in the dark as the look in his eyes begins to shred me. He seems just as bewildered as I am. It’s as if we’re being pulled by a tractor beam toward the other. It’s undeniable. Stupidly, I try to deny it anyway.

“It’s attraction. Probably because of the situation. It will pass.”

“Don’t fucking lie to us both,” he bites out, batting my words away.

“Easton, even if we could act on this, we live worlds apart.”

“Not anymore,” he declares vehemently.

The truth of his statement hits hard. He believes what he’s saying, and I can’t, at all, afford to.

Get the fuck out of here, Natalie!

“We have to be sensible—”

“Being sensible isn’t what got you here,” he murmurs.

“I wasn’t expecting—”

“Me neither,” he fires back, “but I refuse to fucking deny whatever is happening here. You know I won’t.”

Closing my eyes, I let his words set me on fire because I deserve it. It rages inside me as I draw every bit of strength I have remaining to douse the flames.

“ I can’t, ” I say in clear resignation.

“Fuck,” he slaps the door behind me, making me jump. “Stay, one more day. I’ll fly you home.”

“Let me go,” I order sharply. “Right now. ”

He releases me immediately and steps back. Turning, I open the door and slip out, flinching when it smacks closed behind me in finality. Easton’s curse rings out behind it as Joel leaps from his driver’s seat, his smile fading as he takes in my expression and concern morphs his features. Without hesitation, he opens the back door for me, and I crack, managing to slip inside just as the first tear falls.

Joel closes my passenger door just as I lift Easton’s jacket to shield my face when another tear joins the first. The second Joel presses the gas, the burn becomes too much, and it’s all I can do to muffle my sobs.

In an act of mercy, Joel turns on the radio, and I keep myself shielded in the jacket, drowning in unexpected grief. Easton’s scent surrounds me as I replay every second of our time together.

It’s only when I hear my name being softly repeated that I come to. Eyes puffy, vision cloudy, I lower Easton’s jacket to see Joel standing at the back door of the SUV, the entrance of the airport, and the bustling traffic of people behind him.

“I’m sorry, sweetheart. I drove around as long as I could, but if you don’t check in now, you’ll miss your flight.”

Wiping my face and knowing it’s useless to try and sort myself out, I step out into the sunlight, realizing he must have driven me around for well over an hour. “Joel, I’m so—”

“Please don’t apologize,” he assures, his features twisted with the same concern. With my suitcase already in one hand, he ushers me out gently with his other.

“Thank you.” I go to take my bag, and he jerks his chin before handing it off to the skycap approaching us. “Ticket?”

I pull out my phone and present my barcode. He scans it as I stand in a fog, all activity around me a blur. The skycap and Joel exchange words and Joel tips him before turning back to me.

“Jesus, I’m embarrassed,” I wipe my face.

“You have no reason to be,” he assures me.

“Well, you better get used to it,” I sniff, “because you have so many jilted women in your future.” I suck in much-needed air and miraculously manage a smile. “Joel, he’s going to be . . .” I curse the fresh tears threatening, “I mean, you know how incredible he is, but brace yourself.”

Joel nods, his eyes softening further as the skycap calls out to the two of us. “All set. Best get to your gate. You board in ten.”

“Okay,” I nod and turn to Joel. “Thank you.” He steps up to me and pulls me into him, hugging me tightly. I manage to keep it together long enough to hug him back and pull away, my hands resting on his shoulders. “Take care of him, and please don’t tell him I was in this state when I left, okay?”

“Natalie—”

“Please, Joel, it won’t do a bit of good,” I swallow. “He’s got so much to look forward to. The next few months are going to be the best of his life. Trust me on this. Keep this one thing between us. Please .”

I release him when he nods reluctantly.

“You’re too fucking cool. He’s so lucky to have you, and I’m so happy to have met you. Take care of yourself for me, too.” Lifting, I kiss his cheek before turning and hauling ass into the airport.

Standing in line to board, I hear Easton’s plea as clearly as if he’s still standing behind me, whispering in my ear. Shielding my mouth, I do my best to avoid the mix of odd looks I feel scanning my profile as I choke back a sob. Once free of the line, I charge down the jetway and onto the plane, eagerly searching for and finding my seat to take refuge. Curling myself toward the window, I will the plane to move as I sit in a haze of the aftermath. As the plane slowly taxis down the runway, I burrow into Easton’s jacket.

He’s everywhere—my skin drenched in his scent; my panties soaked with remnants of the most intense lovemaking of my life while my lips still faintly tingle from his kiss.

Plastered to the window, I slip my hand inside his pocket and run my fingers over the lighter, the condoms, and the earbuds he tucked into the jacket last night. Pulling them out, I quickly plug my ears and connect them to my Bluetooth, frantically opening my music app and searching for the song he played for me as we kissed. The opening of “Dive Deep (Hushed)” unleashes a fresh round of hurt.

The lyrics envelop me as the land begins to blur beside me, and I cover my mouth as more hot tears wet my fingers. As the wheels go up, I set the song to repeat and pull up a blank document on my phone to compose.

Heart raw, music fueling me as Easton assured me it would, I begin furiously typing while grieving what might have been as the miles between us increase, and our worlds start to separate. Even as I try to reason with myself that it’s impossible to feel so much for anyone so quickly, my heart defies that logic as it roars in protest. As the space increases between us, I frantically type in vain to close it, the music pulling me further into my every emotion as the blurry truth I type becomes bolder with every mile. By the time I land in Austin, the truth I laid out in black and white is crystal clear. In Easton Crowne, I got a glimpse of exactly what I was searching for when I left Texas, and now I have to live with it.