Chapter 20
CHAPTER TWENTY
All I really need is you.
Ellis had actually said it. Out loud. To Brett. All but confessed she was madly in love with him. That nothing had faded while they’d been apart. That her love hadn’t just been resurrected but intensified since falling into his arms. And she was powerless to stop it.
Didn’t want to, if she was being honest. Brett had grabbed her attention and her heart from the start. And she’d love the man until she died. No hesitations. No regrets.
Brett froze. Just stood there, water spraying across his skin, his arms wrapped around her. Breath held, his eyes focused on her. His lips slightly parted. His heartbeat echoed through her chest. Steady. Strong.
Then, he was moving. Dipping down. Capturing her mouth.
Lips. Teeth. Tongues. Over her skin, down her neck.
She blinked, and he had her lifted. Cradled in his arms as he turned, rested her ass against a shelf.
It wasn’t enough to hold her, but he wasn’t letting go.
Just bracing her against it, opening her to him.
He cupped one breast, her heart pounding against his palm. Her nipple beading into a hard point. He moaned, lowered enough to lick the tip—worship it then take it into his mouth. Hot. Wet. All that pressure, tugging hard. Calling an answering echo in her groin.
She ran her hands across his chest, up to his shoulders then into his hair.
She needed his mouth on hers. Joined. She wasn’t sure if she spoke the words or if he just read her mind.
Understood the incessant pull of her fingers because he released her breast, crushing his mouth to hers.
Breathing into her as he notched his cock at her entrance then pushed forward.
One long hard stroke and he was in. Hips pumping, body moving against her.
She wrapped herself around him, tilting into each thrust. Steam billowed around them.
From the heat of the water. The warmth of their breath.
The friction between them as he claimed every inch.
Took everything she gave him then demanded more.
It was too much. His touch, his scent. The strong band of his arms surrounding her. Keeping her safe as he pushed her higher. Her surroundings faded. The sound of the water splashing against the glass. The bite of the tile at her back. Nothing but his skin on hers. His body moving inside her.
She arched against him, heat coiling tight in her core. Burning a path outwards until it fractured. Shattered. Splintered her into a thousand pieces. Pleasure searing along her nerves, scorching the ends, drowning her in blinding light.
“Now. Christ, El…”
He thrust harder, deeper, then he was coming. Emptying in a series of jerking spasms. Hips grinding against hers. His breath raking across her shoulder.
She held on. Fingers digging into his muscles.
She wasn’t sure when she’d moved them from his hair to his back.
It was just one long blur of time. Nothing really registering between when she’d asked him to love her until right now.
She remembered hands and heat and her heart exploding inside her chest. All her love for him spilling out.
It was there in the way she clung to him.
The tears joining the water washing down her cheeks.
How she shook, not just from the release, but from the soul-deep realization that she belonged to him.
That he’d been the part of her she’d been missing.
Why she had merely existed all this time.
Hadn’t been able to give herself to another. He’d had her heart, all along.
Brett squeezed her tight, shifting just enough to ease some of the pressure against her back.
But he wasn’t letting go. Wasn’t putting her feet on the floor, asking her to loosen her hold.
Somehow, he knew that she didn’t have the strength.
The capacity to do more than tremble in his arms, everything exposed. Raw.
A kiss on her temple, followed by a gentle brush of his mouth on hers. “Easy, sweetheart. Not going anywhere. Just breathe.”
She wanted to tell him she was breathing.
In. Out. Repeat. But it wasn’t helping. Wasn’t easing the tight feeling in her chest, making the black dots flitting across her vision dissipate.
As if the oxygen wasn’t getting past the huge ball of emotion welling up inside her.
The one threatening to have her sobbing out the words, “I love you,” over and over until she’d bled all of her doubts down the drain. Until it rang true.
His hold on her gentled. His hands smoothing over her instead of grasping. Locking her against him. He kissed her neck, lifting one hand to thumb her mouth as he straightened. “You okay?”
No. Not even close. Not when her emotions were laid bare for him to see. No hope of covering them up. But she managed a smile as she let her head fall against the wall. She tried to tell him she was fine, but the words died on her tongue. Just a soft sigh escaping.
Brett tensed, frowned, one large hand cupping her chin. Lowering it until she met his gaze. He watched her, staring as if she was his mission. A map he needed to memorize. A strategic plan he’d be executing later. All that hard focus directed at her.
Then, his eyes widened, his frown softening into a smile. And she knew, he knew. That she was crazy about him. That he’d upended her world. That anything she said to the contrary was just smoke and mirrors. A desperate attempt to safeguard her heart. To hide the fact she loved him.
He leaned in. Pressed a gentle kiss on her mouth. “Come on. A quick rinse then bed. Just until Bishop gets back,” he added.
Not that she could have argued. Her limbs felt like mush.
Completely devoid of any form of coordinated movement.
She’d probably crumple on the floor of the shower if he let go.
So, no, she wasn’t going to complain about spending an hour in the bed with him.
Head resting on his chest. His arms holding her tight. Safe.
Brett kept one arm around her as he turned them toward the spray, running a soapy hand across her body.
He didn’t draw it out. Try to excite her.
Just a no-nonsense wash before twisting off the taps and stepping out.
He grabbed the towels, wrapping one around her, the other around his waist. He took a moment to use a smaller towel on her hair—soak up the worst of the water.
Then, he was bending, lifting her—carrying her to the bed.
He placed her on the edge, running his fingers through her hair.
Combing it out. He seemed content just to sit there, staring at her.
Fingers massaging her scalp. Bodies so close she couldn’t see anything other than him.
He smiled one of those killer smiles. The ones that tumbled her stomach. Made her damn toes tingle. “I know I’m just sitting here, staring, but you’re just so damn beautiful.”
She laughed. “I stand corrected. I quite like this new version of you. And in case you were still wondering…” She leaned in close. “Haven’t faked it for a second.”
“Hell, no, you haven’t.”
He leaned in, mouth seeking hers, when the door bounced open. Ellis jumped. Christ, she hadn’t heard anyone coming down the hall. Not a freaking footstep before the door was banging against the wall, a shadow moving along the side.
Brett had already turned—grabbed a spare pistol he must have tucked under the bed the previous night because it materialized in his hand. Nothing but skin then cold sleek metal filling his palm. Muzzle pointed toward the door.
A grunt and a huff, then Cannon stepping sideways.
Palms up. He winced at how they were positioned on the bed.
Nothing but towels. Both with wet hair. Drops still beading parts of their skin.
There was no hiding they’d been in the shower together.
No missing the clothes strewn across the floor.
Evidence they’d practically ripped them off each other.
“Shit. Sorry. I…” He carded his hand through his hair. “You two need to get out here. Now.”
Brett’s muscles tensed as the other man turned then left, closing the door behind him.
Brett gave her a sideways glance, then he was standing.
Darting around the room, gathering his clothes.
Hopping on one leg as he tugged them on still moving.
He detoured into the bathroom while she retrieved her pants and panties, looking up when he walked back through.
He handed her the rest of her stuff, waiting for her at the door until she’d dressed.
He opened it, extending his hand to her in invitation.
She stared at it, fully aware that if they walked out hand-in-hand, there would be no hiding their relationship.
That his entire team—not just Cannon—would know they weren’t simply sleeping in the room.
That there was more. The kind of complications that could alter judgment.
Maybe put his buddies at risk if either of them started thinking with their hearts and not their heads.
She didn’t miss the way her fingers shook as she slid her palm over his.
It was dangerous. She knew it. Exposing what they shared.
Making it all very real. Shit, she knew his team already suspected Brett hadn’t spent the night in the chair.
That there had always been something more between them.
Though, at first, it had been a toss between wanting to strangle him and wanting to kiss him.
But this would crush any doubts. Put them in the spotlight.
Brett gave her hands a squeeze. “It’s going to be okay. Promise. Whatever it is… We’ll face it.”