Chapter 33 Boundaries and Consequences
CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
BOUNDARIES AND CONSEQUENCES
Harlow
Adeep voice greets me on the other end of the line. “Hello?”
My stomach flips. “Is this Jett Cross?”
A silent pause hovers over the line so long, I begin to think we got disconnected or he changed his mind and wants nothing to do with me.
“Yeah, this is Jett.”
I shut my eyes and swallow over my emotions. Anxiety, dread, and hope swirl within me. “My name is Harlow Madison. We spoke over email. I’m your—”
He cuts me off, and I can’t tell if he’s happy or pissed or surprised. “My sister.”
“Yes,” I whisper and force myself to clear my throat. Devon stands behind me offering support as we look out the floor-to-ceiling windows over the lake from his suite. “I got the letter this afternoon. But, yes, I’m your sister.”
“I got the same letter.” Unlike me, he doesn’t sound one bit emotional. “I’ve got to say, I’m a little surprised you got back with me instead of Patrick Madison. I guess that says a lot.”
“No.” I stop him right there as my defenses come up for my father—our father.
“For reasons I don’t want to get into right now, Dad and I didn’t get your emails until recently.
In fact, I responded as soon as I saw them.
But Dad has been dealing with some health issues.
He’s fine now, but he is still recovering.
I made the decision to wait until we got the DNA results back to talk to him.
In fact, we just got off the phone. He knows about you.
He was...” I pull in a deep breath as I think back on the emotional conversation with Dad.
“Surprised, obviously. But not in a bad way.” I internally groan at myself for tripping over my words.
“I’m saying all the wrong things. I’m sorry, this is new. ”
“Yeah, it’s not new for me,” he states, but he doesn’t sound angry. He sounds almost despondent. “It’s been a journey, that’s for sure.”
“I can’t express how sorry I am. Like I said, Dad and I weren’t receiving your emails.
But we’re here now. I’d really like to meet you.
” I don’t want to admit that I’ve had him checked out by people who are more connected than the CIA since they work under their own rules, which means no rules at all.
“I’m in Winslet on the west coast right now.
I’m closing on a house here next week and plan to live here fulltime. ”
“Interesting. I read the magazine article.”
I wince. “I’m past all that, thank goodness. Come to Winslet. I’ll take care of transportation and a place for you to stay.”
“That’s not going to happen. Traveling isn’t easy. You know ... commitments.”
“Oh, of course.” I glance up at Devon and shrug. “Then I’ll come to you. Let me know when and where. When Dad is able to travel, he’ll visit as well. He’s going to reach out to you soon. I told him I wanted to talk to you first.”
“The sooner the better.”
It sounds like he’s more anxious than I am. “Okay then. Send me your address. I’ll make the arrangements as soon as possible.”
“Will do.” Another pause. “I can’t believe this is happening.”
“That makes two of us,” I agree. “I’ll let you know when I can get a trip scheduled—but it will be soon. I promise.”
“Thanks, Harlow. You don’t know how much I appreciate this.” There’s something in his tone that makes me uneasy.
“Of course. I’ll be in touch.”
We say a final goodbye. I disconnect the call and look up at Devon. “He can’t travel. I guess I’m going to him.”
Devon shakes his head. “We’re going to him. There’s no way you’re going on your own. It sounds like we’re doing that soon.”
“I can’t believe it. Let me know when you can go, and I’ll make the arrangements in the next few days. I have a meeting tomorrow at the house. But after that, seeing Jett is my first priority.”
Devon leans down to press his lips to my forehead. “It’s like ripping off a bandage. Let’s make the trip before my family gets here. This place will be fine for a couple of days. My new GM starts soon.”
“That’s great.”
“Yeah, and don’t ask me why I hired her other than the fact she’s no more or less qualified than anyone else I’ve taken a chance on. But there was something about her. She needed a break.”
“You can act like that broody secret agent for everyone else, but I know better. I’d go so far to say you’re a big marshmallow, but there’s not one thing soft on you.” I wrap my arms around him, push up on my toes, and press my lips to his. “Look who’s the philanthropist now.”
He gives my ass a smack. “I’m starving. Let’s eat so we can get back. I’ll have you for dessert and show you how not soft I am.”
I squeeze my thighs together thinking about that.
“Unless you want to skip dinner,” he suggests.
“No. But let’s make it quick.”
“A quick dinner and a long and very drawn-out dessert. Nothing sounds better.”
Devon
We barely made it through the door. Dinner was so rushed, Harlow didn’t even finish her meal, and for once, she didn’t care. The only reason I didn’t strip her down in the elevator was because of the cameras.
I couldn’t wait to get her back to my suite. It’s been a lonely refuge until recently. Having her here with me feels right.
Complete.
Like I built it for us.
Harlow’s clothes are in a pile at my feet, and she’s sprawled before me on the entryway table. My hands might as well be vises on the insides of her thighs holding her high and wide. The light shining down from the chandelier above us pales in comparison to her beauty.
And she’s all mine.
Fucking heaven.
I want every inch of her. Every time we’re together, I find myself wanting more and giving fewer shits about protection and consequences. I won’t allow anything to come between me and her. I’m ready for that in every way.
Her hand smacks the wood when I stop teasing her and pull her clit into my mouth. Her moans vibrate on the cold, hard wood as her back arches. Every orgasm I’ve given her is burned on my brain, spurring the need inside me to do it again and again and again.
She’s never come so fast.
When she arches and shifts, my fingers press into her delicate skin to keep her where I want her.
I’m not done.
I doubt I ever will be.
She calls for her savior and me, but not in that order. “Dev ... oh, God. Yes. I can’t take any more.”
I don’t stop until she’s limp under my touch. I stand straight and rip my belt and trousers open. My cock has been rock hard since we got on the lift, so when it springs free and knows what’s to come, I throb with need for her.
I hook her behind one knee with my elbow and bend at the waist to take her mouth at the same time I rub the underside of my cock against her pussy.
So wet.
So fucking tempting.
My tongue plunges in her mouth. The taste of her and wine are intoxicating.
Boundaries...
Consequences...
Those lines, which have always been hard and fast for me, blur into something I can’t even make out.
“Baby,” I murmur against her lips. “You don’t know how badly I want to take you bare. Condoms are a big, fucking damper. They might as well be a cold wet blanket on my need for you.”
Her breath is labored as she comes down from her orgasm, but that doesn’t stop her from shifting beneath me, sliding her pussy up and down my cock. “I’m sure it’ll be okay. You know, just for a second.”
I press up on my forearm far enough to look at her.
Her tits rise and fall, but she backpedals her words when she sees my expression. “I didn’t mean that. I mean, go get a condom. I’ll come with you. Or I can wait here. You can be bossy. I’m obviously here for it when you get me naked.”
I hike a brow and give her more of my weight. When I press my cock into her swollen clit, her eyelids fall shut on a moan.
“Baby, do you even know what you want?”
She shakes her head and forces herself to look up at me. “Before dinner, yes. An hour from now, probably another yes. Right now, no—not even close.”
I continue to torment her clit and my cock as I lower my voice. “The only thing I want is to be close to you. The closer the better in every sense.”
She drags her hands up over my dress shirt.
Her hands land on my neck and make their way to my face where her fingertips dance on my jawline.
“I want that too. At first you were a security blanket. But now, the thought of being apart is too much. I’m not sure when one morphed into the other. I’ve never felt this way.”
There’s something about her words that make me pull my hips back just enough. The tip of my cock flirts with her pussy.
She feels it.
“Baby.” It’s not a question.
She hikes her knees farther up my sides. “This is dangerous.”
My only answer is to take an inch.
Our gaze never breaks. Not even a blink.
Her hands slide into my hair. My roots pull where she holds on.
Another inch.
“Fuck,” I groan.
She nods once.
And that’s it.
I thrust in the rest of the way. I don’t do it slow or easy.
Still, it doesn’t matter how quickly I’m losing control when it comes to her. If I move, there’s no way I’ll stop. Consequences will have a whole new meaning.
I stay planted to the root.
Our lips are an inch apart. Our breaths lace into one. And her pussy has my cock in its chokehold. I’ve never been happier.
My words are in complete contrast with what I want. “We should stop.”
She nods. “We should.”
Neither of us moves.
“You feel so good,” she whispers.
“You feel like a bloody dream,” I growl.
I’m holding onto my control with every fiber of my being and pray my cock will comply.
I pull out halfway and slide back in. This time slow and controlled, because if I don’t, the Donnelly family tree will sprout a new limb.
Her pussy squeezes my cock, like she’s holding me there and doesn’t want to let go.
“Again,” she begs. “Just once more.”
I press my lips to hers before I pull out and thrust back in.
And as much as I want this, there’s a part of my brain that fights to slap the reality back into me.
I don’t discuss it or ask, because I’m too close. Hell, that’s what she does to me.
But reality and cause and effect win. I pull out completely, but there’s no way I’ll make it to the bedroom.
I press into her bare body, working her clit again, rubbing it with the underside of my needy cock. I know she feels it when her bare heels dig into my ass. When I really start to move, the table creaks below us, and her breath comes faster in shallow pants.
I’m close, but she’s closer.
She’s going to come again.
“Fuck, yes,” I grit.
She claws my shoulders, and I grip the table below her.
When I push her over the figurative edge and her second orgasm hits, her body trembles and shakes and tenses.
I come hard, spurting a sticky mess between us.
If this is what happens from me getting one feel of her bare, I can’t imagine our life when I can make her fully mine the way I was meant to.
Her fingers loosen on me, and every muscle in her body goes limp. I give her as much weight as she and the table can take and press my lips to the side of her head.
“We’re a mess,” I say.
After another few pants, she disagrees. “No. We’re perfect.”
I stroke her hair and take her mouth one more time. “So fucking perfect, baby. It’s only going to get better. I promise.”
A small smile touches her lips. “I know. There’s something in me that just knows.”
Words bubble beneath the surface ... words that are foreign and premature. I push them away and instead wrap an arm around her back and slide the other under her knees.
She wraps her arms around my neck. “What are you doing?”
“Taking care of you.”
She tucks her face into the skin at my neck. “In so many ways. Thank you.”
I can’t know for sure, but it feels like we both are talking around words we really want to say.
There’s plenty of time for that.