36. CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
I vy
Brody glances around us. “Not here. Come with me.”
Okaaay .
“Keys.” He holds out a hand.
He carpooled with the guys and Sera coming here, but this time, he gets behind the wheel of Sera’s small car and drives us back to the resort.
I can’t keep my eyes off him. He’s tense, squeezing the life out of the poor steering wheel. His behavior is making me nervous, too. What could he have to tell me that could have him in such a state? It’s not like he can get pregnant for me.
The thought brings a smile to my lips. That’s when he turns to me with a line between his brows. Before I can catch his eyes, though, he’s back to tearing down the tarmac. I’d ask him to slow down if I wasn’t so eager to hear what he has to say.
Soon, the resort’s buildings come into view. He parks the car and takes my hand, leading us to our room. His hurried footsteps have nerves prickling down my back. Did something terrible happen? If it did, the guys and Sera showed no indication.
This is all Brody.
He lets us into the room. I turn around immediately, folding my arms across my chest and squaring off my shoulders, bracing for what he has to say. It can’t be good, given the way he’s acting.
He turns from locking the door and meets my eyes. Almost taken aback to see me standing there, waiting for him.
“Sit.” He points to the sofa.
Now I’m too nervous to sit. “Brody.” I look him over, trying to get a clue. “What’s happening?”
He runs shaky hands through his hair and looks away from my eyes. “I don’t know.”
What? “You don’t know?”
He spins around. “Well, I do know. I just don’t know how to get it out.”
He isn’t going to get away so easily. He’s worked me up and must tell me. “You can start by using your ABCs and 123s.”
For some reason, the hard edges of his face soften, and his shoulders relax. “I will. First, you sit.”
I narrow my eyes at him. If he thinks he’d walk out of this one, I wouldn’t let him. I walk backward to keep him in my line of sight, and when my calves hit the legs of the chair, I plop into it.
He stares at me. “Ivy...”
Oh, it’s coming. My breath catches in my throat. “Yes?”
His mouth shuts on the sentence that doesn’t get out. He shakes his head. “I can’t do this from across the room.” He closes the space between us and gets on one knee before me.
Gray eyes pore into mine. Fear, worry, and anxiety hit me all at once.
“Brody, I’m so worried.” My fingers bite into my palms. “What is going on?”
He cups my cheek and thumbs away the stray hairs around my face. “It’s a... feeling.”
That makes no sense to me. What feeling?
He must see my confusion because he grabs my hand and places my palm flat against his chest. “Here.”
My goodness. His heart is racing a crazy beat. Is he about to have a heart attack?
“For you, Ivy.” His words cut my worry short. “I feel here for you.”
Oh.
Oh .
My fingers soak in his warmth as I feel his heart’s rhythm. His eyes beg me to understand, but I don’t want to assume. I’m already too giddy with the image forming in my head. I need the truth. “What-what does that mean?”
His throat bobs with a swallow. “I think some people call it love.”
I forget how to breathe. I hold it all in as his words wash over me.
“But I call it... I can’t think of anything else but you, Ivy. When I’m awake, when I’m asleep, you are all that’s on my mind. I thought it was because of your decision to go up against your dad. I thought I was worried about you because you’re a stubborn, willful woman. But no, I feel deeply for you. It was all because of you. Whether you’re lying in bed next to me or you’re miles away in Denver, I can’t get you out of my head. Out of my heart.”
His hand trembles on mine as he presses my hand more firmly against his thumping heart. “I feel for you more than I have ever felt for anyone. And I can’t hold it back anymore. Can’t keep it to myself.”
I inhale a long breath, my mind spinning. Brody is into me . “That has to be the longest synonym for anything ever.” My mind is only able to form that stupid joke.
Brody laughs and palms my cheek, stroking tenderly. “You don’t have to feel the same way. I just needed you to know. Whatever you feel, it’s entirely up to—”
“Shh...” I place a finger on his lips before he can break his heart and mine. “Don’t tell me what to feel.” I look up, considering. “Or what not to feel.”
He stares at me, mouth shut and eyes wide open. Hopeful. Patient.
“Brody,” I begin, “you’re a tough man to be around.”
“Wow.” His head sinks.
So dramatic .
“But...” I finger his chin, urging his eyes back up to me. “I’m a tough woman and your hard edges never scared me. I found a worthy opponent I enjoyed sparring with.”
Caution stays in his gaze.
“And somewhere along the line, you weren’t just driving me crazy. You were driving me crazy in the best way possible.”
His eyebrows lift.
“You weren’t just getting on my nerves, you were getting into my heart, too.” I bring his hand to my chest, too, tearing up with the truth of my confession. “You weren’t pushing my buttons, you were pulling at my heartstrings, too.”
His lips twitch with the beginnings of a smile. He knows I’m right. He can be a pain when he chooses.
“What I’m saying is, I care about you a lot.” I emphasize the words as best I can. “And I... I want to be with you.”
He exhales like he’s been holding his breath the whole time. “Oh, Ivy.” He presses our faces together and kisses me. “I want that, too. More than anything.”
Elation builds in my chest. I’ve always kept my feelings to myself, knowing the man that Brody is. But hearing he shares them sends me to cloud nine. Yet, even in all my fantasies, there’s one thing I can’t reconcile. “But I don’t know how we’ll make it work.”
His brows furrow. “What do you mean?”
“Well, you’re here in Pine Peaks and I live in Denver. We’re not exactly neighbors. I can’t drop by anytime and I know you need to be here for your firm.”
Even before we confessed how we felt, being apart for a week was hard. I don’t want to go through that again.
“I know that, too,” he says. “I’ve thought about it. But I’m not going to let distance be the reason why we won’t be together, okay? We’ll figure something out. I promise.”
He sounds so sure. I know he’ll make it happen. A smile pulls at my lips. “So...”
His eyes twinkle. “So, I think we are a thing now.”
“A good thing?”
“Definitely.” He palms my cheek and brings my lips to his.
His lips claim mine with a sweet reassurance. Brody’s mine. He loves me as I love him.
My heart feels full now, not with the nerves of unspoken feelings but with the certainty of reciprocated love. Whatever happens, I’ve got him, and he’s got me.
The slow kiss takes a turn as his tongue licks the seam of my lips open and snakes inside. The taste of his tongue rewires my brain, pouring need into my veins. I yearn for him.
As if reading my thoughts, he pushes my thighs apart and presses his hard body on mine. Heat flushes through me. I need him. Circling his neck with my hands, I grind my crotch against the quickly lengthening behind his fly.
He grabs my hip and takes over the grinding motion, hitting his cock in the right spot. My neck loses strength, and my head falls back. But Brody’s hand curves around my nape, pulling me back to take my mouth in a heated kiss. Just when I’m getting into it, he breaks free and starts to trail kisses down my jaw and neck.
My hands shake as I undo the buttons of my shirt, giving him room to explore my breasts hidden beneath padding and underwire. He unclasps the bra easily, tossing aside the piece of garment as though it offends him. His heated breath bathes my skin, followed by a soft, wet kiss on the valley between my breasts.
A moan falls from my lips. I run my fingers through his hair, pushing my chest against his face, urging him to keep going. His hands hold me still as his lips graze one nipple, and then he sucks it into his mouth.
“Ah,” I cry out, arching into him some more.
He rolls the second nipple between his thumb and index while sucking on the first one. He keeps up the pace until I can’t stay still. My head thrashes left and right, and involuntary pleas fall from my lips as I beg for more.
Then his mouth leaves my nipple with a pucker, and his kisses trail lower. My beaded flesh is only given a moment of respite because he closes his hand around it. Both hands keep working my tight peaks as he kisses down my shivering belly to the needy spot between my legs.
He scowls at my jeans and tugs it off as quickly as possible. My underwear goes with it, and then my slick pussy is on full display. Brody licks his lips, staring down at it with a ravenous hunger in his eyes.
I can’t wait. I grab the sides of his face and tug him down, pushing my legs apart to give him room.
A wicked smile curves his lips as he leans in and gets right to it, stroking his tongue up my slit. My hips come off the chair as a cry leaves me. Brody uses this to his advantage, slipping his hands under me to fist my ass cheeks. He holds up my pussy to his face and proceeds to eat me out in earnest.
“Jesus, Ivy.” He laps at it. “Your sweet, tangy flavor is driving me crazy.”
His heated words, combined with the way he thoroughly devours me, make my body feel like a string pulled too tight. I want to snap, and only he can bring me to the razor’s edge. He presses his face against me, alternating between circling my clit and running his tongue through my slit to slurp up the wetness that spills out.
“Oh, my goodness!” I gyrate against him, trying to find friction. “Brody, I want to come.”
“I know, baby. I can feel how eager you are. But not yet.” He sucks my clit until my body feels as though it would explode, and then he stops and runs his tongue through my slit, drinking up my juices.
“Please,” I moan. He’s having his fun while I’m falling apart.
He takes my clit between his lips again. I’m sure he’d let me come this time. He sucks me softly. Just enough to make me feel heady with pleasure. I throw my head against the backrest, squeeze my eyes shut, and play with my nipples.
“Oh, yes, yes!” I twist my hips as my pleasure starts to peak. Almost there . “Brody, I’m going to come.”
His tongue presses harder on my clit, giving me something to rub against. “Come, baby. Rub yourself all over my tongue and come. You deserve it.”
An ear-splitting screech leaves my throat as I slide back and forth on his tongue. My orgasm hits me so hard I wrap my legs around his head and thrust my clenching pussy on his face.
Long seconds pass, and then I collapse onto the chair. Tremors still thrum through me, but something else worries me. “I’m so sorry.” I brush my hands up Brody’s face. “Did I hurt you? I don’t know what happened.”
I lost control, reaching for the pleasure however I could get it.
He chuckles like it’s a nonissue and plucks me off the seat. My yelp dies in my throat as he puts me against his chest, bridal style. He brings me to the bed, lays me on the pillows, and looks down at me. He’s a sight with his eyes dark and lusty and his jaw covered in my juices. My stomach quivers as fresh need rushes through me.
“You didn’t hurt me, Ivy. In fact, if you fuck my face like that every single time, we’d be doing nothing else.” He pulls down his zipper and reveals his cock, palming the hard length. “See how hard you make me. I love giving you pleasure, because it brings me pleasure, too.”
His admission warms me, and his cock makes me want to go again. As he’s busy getting undressed, I lean forward and take his cock in my hands. He’s hard and smooth and dripping at the tip. I pucker my lips and kiss it, taking some precum into my mouth.
“Fuck,” he rumbles, staring down his expansive, heaving chest.
He watches as I touch and taste him, eyes grow narrower, body growing tighter.
“Enough.” He takes me by the chin, pulling me up and fusing our lips.
Our combined tastes hit the back of my throat. It’s all the aphrodisiac I need. “Fuck me, Brody.” I lick my cream off his tongue. “I want you inside me.”
“I want to be inside you, too.” He eases me back onto the bed. “Lay down and open those legs for your new boyfriend.”
My heart beats a little faster. Brody’s mine. Head against the pillows, I pull my legs apart.
He comes down with me, laying between my open legs and fitting his hard cock inside my pussy.
“Just as I imagined,” he chokes out. “Soft and wet and fucking tight.” He drags my knees up and sinks a couple more inches in.
A whimper sings from my lips. I wrap my arms around his shoulders and kiss his neck. “Fuck me, Brody.”
“I wouldn’t get a pump in before I come, baby,” he huffs against my ear. “You feel too good.”
“If you come, just keep going. I need you to thrust in me now.”
“Oh, fuck.” He pulls out so only the tip lingers at my entrance, and then he plunges back in.
A scream rips from me. “More, more.”
He gives me more. Driving in and out of me with such force, the bed rams into the wall.
He grunts and trembles against me, his cock throbbing harder. He’s coming. Need balls up in my core, seeking release. My hips come off the bed to slap against his, and my cries ricochet off the walls.
“Fucking hell.” He leans back and lifts my legs. “Look at that,” he groans, staring down at his cock as it drives in and out of me. Whatever he sees makes him fuck me harder.
“I’m so close,” I tell him. “Keep going.”
“I couldn’t stop if the pope was watching, baby.” He leans down and kisses my parted lips.
Soon, I’m crying out, my pussy clenching around his cock. A fresh bout of cum shoots from his cock, bathing my depths with slippery warmth. He groans and sinks in, rolling his pelvis as our orgasms subside.
I lift my arms in an open invitation. He pulls out quickly and lies in my embrace.
“You’re an amazing woman, Ivy Ross.” His mouth slides against mine. “Stunning. Beautiful. Sexy as hell.”
Giddy excitement fills me. I run my fingers down his chiseled back muscles and through his damp hair. “I want to be like this with you forever.”
He huffs a laugh. “You’re so horny.”
That’s not what I meant, but he’s right anyhow. Laughing, I flick his ear. “So are you.”
“Being this way would be a dream.” He thrusts his semi-hard cock against my belly. “But we need to head to the party.”
Ugh . I forgot there’s an entire world outside the four walls of this room. “The party. Right.”
He chuckles, tweaking my cheek. “We’ll be back here in no time.”
“Is that a date?” I meet his eyes.
His lips lift at the corner. “It’s always a date with you.”