Chapter 34
CHAPTER 34
FORD
I wanted her. God, how I wanted her. Always had. The chemistry between us had only grown stronger over the years apart. But I hadn’t expected this response when I’d crawled into bed beside her. Hell, I hadn’t expected any of this. I’d assumed we’d clean up, rack out for a few hours, then head back to the hospital. But with Bree straddling me, rocking against my aching cock through our clothes, my brain was shorting out all my good intentions.
I had to be sure this wasn’t grief or exhaustion or desperation talking.
Trying to hang on to some shred of control, I trailed kisses along her jaw. “Are you sure about this?”
“Don’t be an idiot.” She captured my mouth again, swiveling her hips against mine as she plunged her tongue into my mouth, and whatever resistance I’d been clinging to crumbled.
My hands slid higher beneath her top, seeking the soft curves I remembered so well. “I don’t want you to regret this.” The words came out rough as I traced the underside of her breast with my thumb.
She pulled back just enough to meet my eyes in the darkness. “I only regretted last time because you left. You’ve just said you’re not leaving again.”
It was the absolute truth. I’d made my choice. I was staying on Hatterwick. For Peyton. And for Bree. And if she was finally ready to believe it, then I could finally, finally make love to her the way I’d wanted to all these years.
I tugged the ridiculous unicorn pajama top up and off. The dim glow of moonlight painted her bare breasts in silver. She was fuller now than she had been at twenty. Giving in to the urge to touch, I found each breast a perfect warm weight in my palms. Bree moaned, covering my hands with hers and pressing them tighter to her chest. I circled each nipple with my thumbs and watched them draw tight, begging for my mouth. I pulled her into reach, loving how her hips bucked to the rhythm of my suckling.
I wanted to taste every inch of her. Trailing kisses down the valley between her breasts, I savored the softness of her skin. Her breath hitched as I shifted to lavish attention on the other breast. The rhythm of her hips grew more frantic, and if I didn’t want this over in the next thirty seconds, I needed her off my aching cock.
Rolling us both, I hooked my thumbs into the waistband of her pajama shorts and began to ease them down. Bree lifted her hips to speed along the process, no doubt expecting me to fast forward to the main event. But I had so much more I wanted to give her first.
I tossed the shorts aside and skimmed my hands down her thighs, feeling the soft skin and subtle tremble of her muscles. “You’re beautiful.”
“And you’re overdressed.” She managed to get ahold of my t-shirt and tugged it over my head.
The hungry look on her face as she took in my chest and arms in all their tattooed glory was beyond gratifying. But I had more satisfying pursuits in mind.
Leaning in, I pressed slow, nibbling kisses along her inner thigh, smiling as she shuddered. I could smell her arousal, and it was all I could do not to dive in like a starving man. But I wanted to savor every moment of this. Of her.
Her muscles tensed in anticipation, until she was all but vibrating with need by the time I reached her center. I paused, teasing her with my breath for a moment.
“Ford, for the love of God…”
“No, for the love of you.” I leaned in to taste her with a long, slow lick.
Bree’s hips bucked, and she swore a blue streak that had me grinning as I settled between her thighs to do it again and again, loving her feverish response and how her hands dove into my hair, holding me to her as I worshipped her, searching out each spot that made her gasp and moan. She was getting closer, her breaths coming in short pants, her hips rocking against my mouth. I slid one finger inside her, then another, feeling her body clench around me. I imagined that clench around my cock and almost lost my rhythm.
“Ford! I’m almost… I’m going to…”
I doubled down, sucking her clit into my mouth as I pumped my fingers. Her hips jerked. She was right on the edge as I curled my fingers just so, finding the spot that sent her over the edge with a cry. Her body convulsed around my fingers, her hips bucking relentlessly against my mouth as I slowly eased her down until she lay panting, a trembling, beautiful mess beneath me.
But I wasn’t done with her yet. Not by a long shot.
I crawled off her.
“What? No. Still… need… you.”
From where I dug through my bag, I chuckled. “Oh, I’m not going anywhere, sweet girl. Just grabbing a condom.”
“Boy Scout. Thank God.” She dropped her head back against the pillow.
I quickly shucked my sweatpants and rolled on the condom. Bree watched me with hungry eyes, and I couldn’t resist stroking myself. My cock swelled in my hand. I’d waited so damned long for this. For her. It wouldn’t be our last time, but I was determined to infuse every moment with pleasure for her. It wouldn’t make up for the pain I’d caused her, but it damned well couldn’t hurt.
I rejoined her on the bed, stretching out over her until my forearms were braced on either side of her head. I took her mouth in another long, languid kiss until she sighed against me and softened. That surrender would never, ever get old. Because I knew she gave it to no one else. Her legs parted, one of them curving around my hips, guiding me between her thighs. She lifted her hips, fitting the length of my cock in the wetness of her seam and rocking there, stroking, stroking, until my eyes crossed.
“You feel so good,” she murmured, trailing kisses along my jaw. “But I know you’ll feel even better inside me.”
“Are you absolutely sure?” I’d taken her physical response as enthusiastic consent before. I wouldn’t make that mistake again.
Her fingers threaded in my hair as she stared up at me with eyes gone dark with arousal. “I’m sure I love you. And I want this.”
I love you .
I hadn’t expected the words back. Not yet. Not with everything we’d been through. They were a gift I hadn’t dared hope for, just like this chance with her. I wouldn’t waste it.
I eased inside her with excruciating slowness, fighting every instinct that screamed to plunge deep. Her body gripped me like a fist, hot and tight and perfect. My muscles trembled with the effort to hold back, to give her what she deserved.
Bree’s nails dug into my shoulders. “Ford…”
I captured her mouth, drinking in her gasps as I pressed deeper, deeper, until I was fully seated. We both groaned, and I had to concentrate on breathing, on not moving, letting her body accommodate my size.
Her hips shifted restlessly beneath me. “Please.”
That breathy plea nearly undid me. I withdrew almost completely before gliding back in with the same torturous control. Setting a slow, steady rhythm that had us both panting. Her body welcomed each thrust, growing wetter, hotter.
She wrapped both legs around my hips, trying to urge me faster. But I maintained the easy pace, wanting to draw out every moment. To memorize each gasp and shiver. The way her breath caught when I hit just the right spot. How her inner muscles fluttered around me as pleasure built between us.
“You feel incredible,” I murmured against her throat, tasting the salt of her skin. “So perfect.”
Her hands slid down my back, urging me on as our bodies moved together, each stroke driving us steadily higher toward release.
Bree’s skin was flushed and damp, her lips swollen from my kisses. I’d never seen anything more beautiful. I’d dreamed of this moment for years. Imagined having her beneath me again countless times. But reality put every fantasy to shame.
“I love you,” I breathed against her throat, quickening my pace as her breathing grew more ragged. “Love you so much.”
Her nails raked down my back as she arched into me. “Ford.”
That breathy moan of my name nearly broke the last of my control. I’d spent years thinking I’d never hear it again. Never feel her wrapped around me, moving with me like we were made for each other.
“Let go for me, sweet girl.” I shifted my angle, hitting a spot that made her gasp. “I’ve got you.”
Her inner muscles fluttered around me. She was close. I slid a hand between us to circle her clit, wanting to watch her fall apart all over again. Wanting to feel her come around me.
“That’s it. Come for me, baby. Come for me. I’ve got you.”
She shattered with a cry, her body spasming around mine in a rhythmic grip that had lightning coiling in my spine. “Love you. God, I love you.”
The words, the feel of her, dragged me over the edge into the most intense orgasm of my life.
My hips jerked against hers as pleasure wracked my body, each pulse drawing another groan from deep in my chest. I buried my face in her neck, breathing in the scent of her skin as aftershocks rippled through us both.
When I could move again, I carefully withdrew and disposed of the condom. I came back to bed, gathering her close. She curled into me, head on my chest, fingers tracing idle patterns on my pecs.
“I meant it, you know.” Her voice was soft in the darkness.
“Meant what?”
“That I love you. Have since we were kids, really. Even when I was furious with you.” She pressed a kiss over my heart. “Maybe especially then.”
I tightened my arms around her. “I wish I’d figured my shit out sooner. Wish I hadn’t wasted so much time.”
“There’s the small matter of me being the world’s most stubborn bitch.”
“You’re not a bitch. You had a right to be hurt.”
“Either way, we can’t change the past.” She propped her chin on my chest to look at me. “But we can do better going forward.”
“Yeah?” Hope bloomed in my chest.
“Yeah. I want to try. For real this time.”
I grinned at her. “Why, Bree Cartwright. Are you saying you want to date me?”
She thumped me against the shoulder. “Don’t tease. I’ve never really done that before. I’ll probably be terrible at it.”
I brushed her hair back from her face. “You’ll do fine. There are no rules here. Our relationship doesn’t have to look like anybody else’s, and we can take it at whatever pace you’re comfortable with. Just promise me something, okay?”
“What’s that?”
“That we’ll talk things through the next time I fuck up or you get upset. The only way this works is if we communicate better than we did at twenty.”
“I can do that.” The soft, sweet expression sobered. “Do you think Peyton will be okay with this?”
I snorted. “In case you’ve missed it, she’s been trying to match-make us almost from the beginning. She’ll probably throw a party that we finally got our heads out of our asses.” I paused to consider. “My moms will probably help.”
“Oh, my God.” She buried her face against my chest.
I tipped her chin up, so she had to look at me. “All teasing aside, you and Peyton are my priorities now. Equally. It might not always be easy, but we’re going to make it work.”
Her eyes softened. “I believe you.”
Those three words meant almost as much as her declaration of love. Trust had always been the real issue between us. Earning it back was everything, and I was never taking it or her for granted again.