Chapter 40
AURELIA
Harrison swept me off my feet, literally, lifting me against him with his strong arms banded around me. His heart pounded against my chest and the intensity of it all was making my head spin. I had no idea where any of this had come from, but God. I sure didn’t mind it.
For so long now, he and I had been doing this dance, saying one thing and doing another simply because we couldn’t resist. It had been driving me crazy, not really knowing what page he was on, and even though I’d also thoroughly enjoyed being his friend, this was light years better.
Knowing that he felt the same way I did, and the fact that I would never have to wonder again, made my knees weak and my heart race. Harrison was now, officially, my fiancé—for no other reason than he wanted to be.
The purest joy sent bubbles floating through my veins. My insides were having a party. Harrison lifted me higher and I wrapped my legs around his hips. I smiled against his mouth, really allowing myself to appreciate how pillowy soft his lips were for the first time.
“I’m never going to stop kissing you,” I murmured breathlessly, meaning it all the way to the very root of my soul. “I don’t even care if that means never getting anything else done either.”
He chuckled, a deep, low sound that vibrated from his chest into mine. “I’m down for that. As long as it means I get to kiss you everywhere. Anywhere I want. Anytime.”
“I don’t foresee myself having any complaints about that.” Shit, the guy was masterful with his tongue. An entirely new level of pleasure had been unlocked for me when he was between the legs.
The mere thought of him there made me shiver. Sparks of need shot through me. My nipples peaked and I felt the first rush of dampness wet my panties. Harrison paused for a beat before he seemed to make a decision, walking us out of the office and toward my living room.
My desk was absolutely covered in wedding prep, which was probably what he’d been considering.
Although I wouldn’t have minded him doing one of those sexy moves where he swiped it all off in his desperation to get to me, it would have taken hours to reorganize it.
The ring practically pulsed on my finger, reminding me that we were getting married in just two days.
I didn’t have time to waste on things like that.
Better to spend my spare minutes doing exactly this with Harrison.
It took him no longer than half a minute before we were in my living room. Strangely, he set me on my feet facing the floor-to-ceiling windows of one wall. I frowned, wondering what was going on, but then he dropped to his knees in front of me, fingers hooking into the waistband of my pajama pants.
Those captivating hazel eyes burned into mine. His lips were swollen from the force of our kisses and slightly parted as he stared up at me. “Anything you see out there is yours if you want it, Aurelia. Anything. I would even burn the whole city to the ground for you if that’s what you want.”
“I don’t think that’ll be necessary—” I cut myself off when my pants hit my ankles and he pitched forward.
He buried his face between my legs and my hand flew to his hair. He wasn’t even doing anything yet, just nuzzling, and shit, this had never happened to me before.
If he had been absolutely anybody else, I would’ve been mortified right around now, but with him, it just seemed impossibly hot. So hot that I felt more heat pooling between my thighs and I moaned. “Harrison, what…”
“I love the way you smell,” he answered in a husky half-whisper, swallowing like his mouth was suddenly watering. “I love the way you taste. I could live down here, Aurelia.”
Arousal exploded from deep within, sending a sharp whine out of my mouth before I could bite it back. My fingers tightened on his hair and I reached out to steady myself against the window with my free hand, thanking my lucky stars that they were all mirrored on the outside.
Tongue coming out to press against my clit, he moaned against me and I trembled, my knees almost buckling. Harrison grabbed my hip to steady me, licking a long line through my seam as need coiled every last one of my muscles into knots.
God, he really is a damn genius with that tongue. Licking or talking. Doesn’t really matter.
As he really got going, sucking, nipping, and licking, he spread my legs a little wider with one hand on either one of my thighs. I let him position me exactly as he wanted. My bracing hand fogged up the window in an outline around it.
My head dropped forward and my breaths turned into pants as his hot mouth kept going. One of his fingers pushed into my slick opening. The sounds that were escaping me were incomprehensible, but it felt so freaking good that I didn’t care.
An orgasm was rapidly building. When all that energy released in a flash of blinding pleasure, I bucked against his face, hanging on for dear life to keep from collapsing right onto the floor.
In the aftermath, Harrison picked me up gently, my head lolling against his chest, and he carried me to my bed.
My entire body was still so sensitive that when I saw the tortured expression on his face, his eyebrows knitted, lips parted, and pupils so blown that his eyes were almost pure black, I squirmed in his arms.
“I love you, Harrison, but you really should let me be the one to make you feel good first sometimes.”
“Sure,” he ground out. A smirk so tight that it was almost dark curved his lips but disappeared just as fast. “Whenever you want, Princess. Just don’t blame me if I’m too boneless to help you out after.”
I chuckled, cuddling against his chest even as I lazily shook my head. “I doubt that’ll ever happen.”
“True.” He winked at me, but we’d reached my bedroom and he laid me down on my bed. Then he stood still where I was.
I looked up at him, the mussed dark hair and the heaving chest, his long fingers sliding one button at a time free on his shirt. “You are insanely gorgeous. Have I ever told you that?”
He brought his gaze to mine, one eyebrow arching in that cocky sweep that had driven me up the walls when we’d first met.
I’d realized later that the irritation that surged through me had always been because he was so damn sexy when he did it.
It had made it unfairly difficult to be level-headed around him then.
“I don’t think you have, but you can keep saying it.
” He let his shirt slide off when all the buttons were undone.
Then he kicked off his shoes and started on his belt.
“My gigantic ego is all yours to feed now, so go ahead. If you don’t, I’ll have to start complimenting myself and that’s just weird. ”
Laughter bubbled out of me, and honestly, I was astonished at the fact that we’d become so close that even in a moment like this, when we were both turned on and overheated, he could still make me laugh. I’d never had anything like it before.
I couldn’t get enough of it.
“Oh, I’m sure I can find a way to keep your ego well nourished,” I teased, spreading my legs a little wider. He pushed his pants and underwear down. “How about if I tell you that it’s only ever been like this with you?”
“Like what?” he asked even as he stalked closer to the mattress, eyes flickering with searing heat. “Tell me, baby. Tell me everything.”
“Well, I—” My breath caught when he climbed on the bed, my eyes dropping just for a moment to the hard length between his legs.
He held it in his fist, stroking as his gaze bored into mine.
“You’re the only person I’ve ever felt this free with.
You’re also the only person who can take me to the edge so fast and definitely the only person who’s ever made it so fun. ”
He grabbed a condom from the stash he kept in my nightstand and slowly rolled it on, eyes on mine but a slight grin on his lips.
“It has been pretty fun, hasn’t it? Do you think it’ll stay this way, or do you think we’ll turn into one of those boring married couples who only ever do missionary and are thinking about work while they’re at it? ”
“There’s nothing wrong with missionary.” I cut myself off when he settled between my legs, elbows propped up next to my shoulders and the broad tip of his cock nestled right at my entrance. “I hope I can never think while we’re at it.”
“I’ll make sure of it.” As if to prove his point, he thrust into me with one powerful movement of his hips, burying himself to the hilt, and let out a throaty groan. “Still thinking?”
I shook my head from side to side, pleasure sparking through me from the sudden intrusion. I was still so wet that it hadn’t hurt at all, and I wrapped my legs around him instantly, my fingernails digging divots into his shoulders.
“Are you thinking?” I asked breathlessly.
“Only about what’s next, Princess,” he murmured against my lips before claiming them in a hard kiss. “Only about making you mine in every possible way.”
He began moving then, slow rolls of his hips that dragged his skin across my pelvis, putting pressure everywhere I needed it and keeping a perfect tempo.
Sometimes, I swore he made love to me like he was following some kind of perfectly paced symphony in his head, every move he made precisely timed to bring around that crescendo exactly when he was ready to.
Today was no different. The slick, hot slide of him inside me, dragging everywhere I needed it eventually became too much, and my toes curled as I screamed his name. Somewhere in the abyss of pleasure I was lost in, I felt him swell and his rhythm finally faltered. He kissed me long and hard.
In the aftermath, he held me, stroking my hair and whispering all sorts of things about why he loved me. Once we’d recovered, he sat up and shot me a smile. “You ready to go home? I’ve got Romanos delivering dinner and an amazing bottle of wine ready for us to celebrate.”
I groaned, my eyes widening, and I propped myself up on my elbows to gawk at him. “Romanos doesn’t deliver. I’ve tried a hundred times.”
He smirked and got off the bed. “They do for me.”
I chucked a pillow at him, but it only bounced off his taut ass as he started getting dressed. Lazy and reluctant, I followed, but my all-time favorite restaurant was definitely worth getting out of bed for.
As always, the food was amazing and so was the wine, but the best part of the night was when he took me back to bed and made love to me all over again.
I lay with my head on Harrison’s chest, listening to the steady beat of his heart and smiling whenever my ring caught the ambient light.
He was fast asleep now, his chest rising and falling evenly, his hand that had been stroking absent circles on my skin now still.
Everything that had happened today still felt so impossible, but I knew it had been real because of the certainty that had lodged itself deep within my chest. Harrison and I were the real deal. The right thing. He was the one.
With hindsight being twenty-twenty and all, I’d realized that part of me had known since the very first time I’d seen him that he was my perfect match.
The chemistry between us since the very beginning and the way we’d connected as soon as we’d had our first honest conversation should’ve clued me in.
Harrison Westwood was it for me, and now that we’d both fully embraced and accepted it, I was happier than I’d ever been. Feeling more settled than ever before too.
My eyes were just starting to drift shut when my phone chimed with an incoming text on the nightstand. I groaned softly, completely intent on ignoring it until another followed straight after. A quiet sigh worked its way out of me.
One text, I could’ve let go, but two? In such rapid succession? There was no way I’d fall asleep until I knew what that was about.
Slowly sitting up and detaching myself from him, I shifted carefully, reaching for the nightstand while trying my best to move as cautiously as possible. My fingers finally brushed against the smooth, hard surface of my screen and I picked up, unlocking it in the same motion.
Mom: We need to talk. Now.
Mom: This is serious, Aurelia.
I glanced over at Harrison, but he was still out cold.
Even sleeping, he was so damn handsome that my chest squeezed as my gaze traced the sharp lines of his profile.
The sheets were draped around his hips, but in the low light filtering in through the windows, I still drank him in, in all his glory.
My heart skipped several beats and another smile spread my lips, but then I sent my mother a thumbs-up emoji in response and slipped out of bed. It was the last thing I felt like doing right then, but with a little luck, I could go deal with her and be back before he ever even knew I’d been gone.