Chapter Thirty-Four
Anson
B alancing myself with one hand on the doorjamb, I catch her with one arm.
She buries her face in my neck, and not bothering with lights, I walk us straight to the counter. In a flash, her swimsuit top and my tee are gone, and we are bare chest to bare chest.
I set her down on the Formica and step between her legs. Her hand slides between us and tugs at the string holding my swim trunks up until they loosen and I kick them to the floor. She takes my cock into her hand, and I watch as she strokes me. Her breath quickens, and her stormy-blue eyes meet mine.
I take her mouth and then pepper kisses down her neck, across her collarbone, and to her breasts.
“Fuck, I’m addicted to the taste of your skin,” I growl.
Her back arches, giving me better access. I lavish both mounds with attention before moving lower. She raises her hips, so I slide her shorts down. I spread her legs wide so I can get a good look at her before guiding one of them over my shoulder.
I lower my mouth to her and run a line through her wet folds with my tongue.
“Mmm,” I hum against her flesh.
Then, I do a gentle swirl around her clit, and she throws her head back and moans. Sucking the bud into my mouth, I insert a finger inside of her and start rotating it slowly.
She reaches down and threads her fingers into my hair as her hips move. I slip another finger inside. She starts moving faster, and I suck harder on her sensitive skin.
“Yes, Anson. Yes,” she cries.
I feast on her. Lapping at her core like a starved man until she’s screaming out my name as her grip tightens in my hair. I nip and suck at her opening as her body quakes in my hold, making sure to swallow every drop of her release, and continue to pump my fingers in and out until her body goes limp.
When her hold on me relaxes, I prowl up her body, capturing her mouth with mine. I feed my hands under her and lift her from the counter and stand her on her feet. Then, I clutch her waist and turn her, my mouth moving from hers and sliding across her cheek to the back of her neck. Once her back is to me, I guide her hands to the counter.
“Hold on,” I command.
She braces her arms as I grasp her hips and pull them toward me. I slide a hand around so I can cup a breast as I kiss down her neck and to her shoulder.
I bring my hands to her ass, spread her open, and step closer until my hardness finds her entrance, and I guide myself inside.
“Oh my God,” she cries as her back arches and her head falls back on my chest.
I try to move slowly. To savor the feel of her contracting around me.
“Baby,” she pants as I thrust into her from behind, “you feel so good inside me.”
Burying my fingers into the flesh at her side, I start moving faster, and she rocks back against me. She lifts her right leg and props it on the sink, giving me more room and giving me a better view of her glistening pussy as I pump deeper.
That is when I lose all control.
I grab her hips and lift them as I hammer into her. Her groans grow louder and more desperate. My cock throbs as I thrust harder and faster.
When I think I can’t hold on any longer, her sweet warmth clinches down on me, and my name falls from her lips. I reach up and cup her chin, guiding her head to the side so I can take her mouth with mine to absorb her cries. I let go when her muscles spasm around me. My orgasm rockets through me before I realize I forgot to cover myself, but instead of panicking, I bury myself deep and hold still as my seed spills inside of her.
Then, it hits me. I love this girl.
Not like. Fucking love.
Once our bodies have settled, I pull out and turn her in my arms. I hold her close and kiss her eyes, her nose, and her lips until she sighs.
I lead her to the bed, and she climbs in ahead of me. I follow and pull the covers over us as she snuggles into my side.
As she drifts off to sleep, I kiss the side of her head and whisper, “I love you, Trouble.”
I feel her shocked intake of breath more than I hear it. Pulling her closer, I close my eyes.
“I love you too,” she mumbles as her body relaxes and her breathing becomes steady.
And I give myself to sleep. Content and not the least bit freaked out.
I wake to the sound of the ocean.
The waves roll in a steady rhythm. The air is cool, the faintest breeze slipping in through the cracked window above the bed of the RV.
I shift slightly, careful not to wake her, but she doesn’t stir. She’s curled into me, her cheek against my chest, her fingers resting lightly against my ribs, like she belongs there.
Like she’s always belonged there.
I don’t want to move.
But it’s early—so early that the sky is still deep and dark, only the first hints of dawn touching the horizon. I have work in a few hours. And if I don’t leave now and head to my and Parker’s house to shower and change, I’m going to be late.
Carefully, I slide my arm out from beneath her and sit up. The sheets fall, and without her warmth, the chilly air hits my chest. She makes a faint sound, something between a sigh and a murmur, but she doesn’t wake.
She looks peaceful. Her hair is a mess, tangled from sleep, from my hands in it last night. Her lips are parted, still swollen from my kiss.
Fuck, I love her. And I told her so last night.
It wasn’t planned; it wasn’t something I’d expected to say. But when she was cuddled next to me, I couldn’t hold back. It felt as if the words had been pressing against my ribs for days, weeks, or even longer than I’d realized.
And now, they’re out in the world.
I exhale quietly, rubbing a hand over my jaw before standing. I find my trunks, pull them on, then reach for my shirt. The space is small, but it feels even smaller now, like it’s closing in around me. Not in a bad way. In a way that makes me realize how much I don’t want to leave.
How much I want this—her—all of it.
I grab my shoes, not bothering to put them on yet, and move to the door. But before I go, I hesitate.
One more moment.
I step back to the bed, crouching beside it, beside her. She’s still lost in sleep, her breathing slow, steady. I reach out, brushing a strand of hair from her face. Her skin is warm beneath my fingers.
I lean in, pressing my lips to her temple, then lower, to the corner of her mouth. She sighs, the faintest sound escaping her, but she doesn’t wake.
I hover there for a second, my lips close, and whisper, “I love you.”
The words slip out softer this time, but they feel the same. Right.
And as I pull back and quietly let myself out into the dark, I realize …
I’ve never said those words to a woman before.
Not like this.
Not said them and meant them.