Chapter 15
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Silence.
No witty comeback or reason why they needed to wait, just her sitting there, staring at Coulter, wondering if she’d ever seen eyes that blue. If she’d ever wanted anyone the way she needed him.
A breath.
Rough. Loud.
As if he’d been holding back a scream and just the air had leaked out.
His chest heaved once, then he moved, sliding his hand through her hair, dragging her that last inch as his mouth crushed down hard on hers, his tongue dipping inside.
Neve moaned, giving herself over to the kiss as he ravaged her mouth, releasing her just long enough to move down her neck and across her shoulder before working his way back up.
He trailed a finger along her skin, frowning at the bruising she knew had blossomed while they’d slept. “I should have gotten to you faster.”
“Oh, baby, your timing was perfect.”
“If it had been perfect, you wouldn’t have gotten hurt.”
Neve sighed. The man was nothing if not stubborn.
She brushed her thumb along his jaw. “Make this last for the next few hours, and you’ll be forgiven.”
A twitch of his left eye, then a hint of a smile. “Careful, sweetheart. That sounds like you just double-dog dared me, and you know I can’t let that slide.”
“Do I look scared?”
“You look perfectly desperate, and I’ll take that challenge.”
He drew his finger along her collar bone, dipping down to circle her breast. “I believe you mentioned something the other night about my head wedged between your legs for an hour.”
She swallowed, hard, the image making it difficult to do anything other than moan.
Coulter took that as his cue to get serious, both hands cinching her tee. “Afraid I’m gonna need this back.”
She inhaled as he tugged the fabric over her head, tossing it on the floor before his breath caught, and he stared at her as if he’d never seen her naked.
She shifted under his gaze, fighting the urge to grab the corner of the blanket to cover herself when he exhaled, tracing patterns along her skin.
He smiled, a low hum sounding between them. “Christ, you really are stunning. I can’t believe I made you wait this long.”
The words came out low and gravelly, the rough timbre sending goosebumps along her skin. She closed her eyes when he cupped her breast, rubbing his thumb across her nipple.
He leaned in, blew a hot breath across the tip. “So damn pretty.”
Her hands landed in his hair as he sipped her into his mouth, tugging just enough she felt an answering pull in her groin.
He switched sides, taking her to the edge, every caress pooling heat beneath her skin. She tightened her grip, twisting the soft strands, her chest already heaving, that hypersensitivity in full force, only it wasn’t the light or the sounds that had her primed.
It was Coulter Barrett.
Warrior, rescuer, friend, and the man who’d be her undoing.
Coulter chuckled, dropping his hands to her waist. “Let’s get you more comfortable. After all, you did say you wanted to be here for a while.”
“I—”
He kissed her. Cut her off, really as he scooted her down the bed until her head landed on a pillow, her body spread out across the center.
He stared down at her, those gorgeous blue eyes looking a few shades darker.
He swept his gaze the length of her, a roguish smile curving his lips.
“Take a breath. I don’t intend on stopping until you’re completely wrecked. ”
“God, Coulter.”
Another soul-searing kiss, then he moved, licking and nipping his way down her ribcage and across her stomach, finally settling between her thighs. He trailed his finger along her skin, lingering on her hip before dipping lower.
She pressed her head into the pillow, her fingers tensing and releasing in his hair as he licked a path through her flesh, teasing her with a hint of penetration. The air rushed out of her lungs on a hiss, heat arcing across her skin.
He repeated the caress, every nerve sparking to life, threatening to explode. He chuckled. “Someone’s got a hair trigger.” He looked up her body at her. “Or am I reading this all wrong.”
Neve released his hair, pushed onto her elbows. “Wasn’t me who finished in record time yesterday.”
“Oh, that sounds like another challenge. And if I didn’t love the view, love the way your body trembles when I do this…
” He hummed as her head tilted back, all her muscles flexing at once.
“I might have to answer it. But I’m just too damn determined to sit here, watching you react to every touch, every swirl of my tongue. ”
He leaned forward, ran his tongue the length of her. “Christ, I could lick you for hours.”
One of her hands found his hair again, not that she knew how.
She’d been clenching the sheets, then her fingers were curling around the silky strands as she scratched her nails across his scalp, anchoring his head against her groin.
If Coulter minded, he didn’t show it, nipping at her skin, then licking the slight hurt before doing it all over again.
She clenched her jaw, focusing on the way his shoulders rubbed her thighs, how every breath sounded raw, desperate, as if loving her affected him just as much.
That maybe he’d fallen, too.
Coulter moaned, looking up at her as he increased his pace, jacking up her need until she started chanting his name, lifting her hips in the hopes of increasing the pressure. The brute moved with her, keeping it light, just enough to push her right up to the edge without tipping her over it.
Pressure built along her stomach, her muscles starting to cramp, but he eased back, allowed the sensations to cool.
She levered up, tugging on his hair until he looked at her. “Coulter…”
He sucked at her flesh, making her eyes roll before he released her, two fingers still sliding in and out. “Neve…”
“You’re teasing me.”
“And here, I thought I was loving you.”
“Slowly.”
“You did say you wanted it to last for hours.” He dropped a kiss on her inner thigh. “Relax and enjoy the ride. I’ll get you there.”
Falling back on the mattress, she grunted, body trembling and heart threatening to pound out of her chest. She focused on breathing, on stemming the need when he doubled his efforts, taking her right back to the brink.
Her breath stalled, all that heat coiling in tight. She clenched her hand, everything burning white hot until he stopped again, a second from sending her over.
A strangled cry tore from her chest as she rolled her head across the pillow. “No, Coulter, god… Please, I…”
He lunged toward her, crushing his mouth to hers before he resumed his assault, harder, faster, applying just the right amount of pressure. “No more teasing, sweetheart. Now, give me what I want.”
She inhaled, every touch echoed inside until she was hanging on that precipice, desperate to go over, but wanting it to last.
Coulter nipped her ear. “Just your first. Damn sure won’t be your last.”
His voice. All sexy and low.
It undid her.
Had her pulsing around his fingers, crying into his mouth as the damn broke, and she shattered into a million pieces.
Colored dots exploded behind her eyes, a dull roar sounding in her head.
Coulter hummed, kept moving his hand until her strength waned, and she collapsed, limbs shaking, her breath ragged and raw.
He nuzzled her neck, dropping a kiss on her forehead as he settled between her thighs, nothing between them but the promise of more. “So damn beautiful. I should have done that the moment you sacrificed everything so we could be together.”
She smiled, brushed his hair out of his eyes. “It was worth the wait. You were worth it.”
His jaw clenched as he blew out a rough breath. “I didn’t grab any protection, though, knowing Shepherd, he probably has a box stashed around here someplace. I could go looking…”
She dragged him closer, staring up into his insanely blue eyes. “I think we’ve waited long enough. And I’ve got an implant, so… Your move, baby.”
The muscle in his temple jumped as he closed his eyes, nostrils flaring, chest heaving against hers. He swallowed, coughed, then lowered a bit more, every inch touching. “First time might be quick. Might not be as gentle as I’d like because, you…”
His forehead fell against hers, his arms straining.
Neve lifted her head and kissed him. “Gentle’s overrated. All I need is you, loving me, for as long as you can.” She nudged his chin. “Just the first, right? Not the last.”
“Damn.”
He kissed her, one hand lifting her ass as he thrust forward, bottoming out a moment later.
Neve inhaled, all that heat burning back to life, taking her to the edge.
She clung to him, her legs wrapped around his hips, her fingers digging into his back as he stilled, his mouth clamped around her shoulder before he pulled back, reclaiming every lost inch a second before he would have slipped free.
She arched into each punishing stroke, tilting her hips to take him just a bit deeper. His skin rubbed against hers, his massive form dwarfing her as he picked up the pace, nearly sent her over before he pulled out. She gasped, shaking her head when he reared back, grabbed her waist.
“Knees, Neve. Now.”
Her breath caught, his eyes like steel, the command in his voice impossible to miss. He hadn’t really asked, and she’d barely pushed onto her elbows before he bodily lifted her, spinning her until her knees hit the mattress, her hands slapping the headboard.
Coulter moved in behind her, smoothing one hand up her spine and into her hair as his other curled around her ribs, sliding over her heart.
He leaned over her, his breath hot against her damp skin.
“God, you’re amazing. The way you fit perfectly against me.
How I know your ass will cushion every blow. ”
He wedged her thighs apart, thrust deep, grinding his hips against her butt as he tugged on her hair, dragged her upright until her head fell into the crook of his shoulder.
“Oh, no, I want you up here with me, sweetheart.” He pulled back, then slammed home.
“I want to hear every breath, feel every beat because your heart’s mine, Neve.
” Out, pause, then in again. “You’re mine. ”
He fisted her hair, twisting her head as he claimed her mouth, pounding into her as if it were a mission and her surrender was the only outcome.
She cinched her hands over his arm, used him as an anchor as that coil spun tighter, spiraling inward until it snapped, imploded into a million pieces of light.
She cried out, convulsing around him as he locked his hips against her ass, lodged so deep she couldn’t breathe. Couldn’t think.
He waited for her to take a breath, regain some of her senses, then pulled out, flipping her to her back before she even mumbled his name, looming over top a second before he settled over her — sank back inside.
“As much as I wanted to finish with you plastered against the headboard, I need this more. You, watching me.”
She traced her hands up his ribs then across his back, hooking them around his shoulders, holding him close as he started up a rhythm she knew would ruin her. Make it impossible for her to rebuild herself without him filling in the missing pieces.
The air thickened as the room seemed to collapse in on them, reducing the world to just the two of them, bodies entwined, the mattress giving beneath them. She closed her eyes, tried to fight it off when he tsked, nudged her cheek.
“Eyes on me.”
She pried her eyelids apart, pinned by the lethal gleam in his. Like when he’d spotted her in the salvage yard as that creep had grabbed her neck. Only, this was deeper. Far more dangerous.
Coulter held her gaze, daring her to look away as he picked up the pace, his skin gleaming in the dull light. He panted out a series of breaths, his laser focus finally faltering as he inhaled, arms shaking, jaw clenched. He pushed into her a few more times, his control finally cracking.
He levered up, using all his weight to pound her into the bed.
She locked her hands around his arms, met each stroke as the bed started rocking, shifting on the concrete floor, the headboard tapping the wall.
He closed his eyes, muscles flexing, the vein in his neck pulsing before he tipped his head back, emptying inside her in a series of jerking thrusts.
The sight sent her over, again — had her riding his release until he collapsed, his weight pressing her into the bed.
Neve wrapped her arms around him, each shuddering breath drawing in the scent of citrus soap and spicy man. She buried her head in his shoulder, happy to drift off in his arms when he groaned and dropped a kiss on her cheek.
Coulter eased back, staring down at her as if she’d lifted a curse. Maybe saved him from drowning. He thumbed her jaw, the love she felt reflected in his eyes.
He drew in a ragged breath, shifting onto one elbow as he leaned in, kissed her. “You okay?”
She smiled, biting back the three words trying to claw free. “Ask me again once I can feel my toes. Talk about being worth the wait.”
“That’s all you, sweetheart.” He frowned, looking as if whatever he was thinking hurt, before he eased free.
She sighed, already missing the way he made her feel complete.
Coulter chuckled. “Don’t worry. I plan on wrecking you again as soon as I can breathe.”
Her gaze dropped to his ribs. “Shit, it was too soon, wasn’t it. Should I get Darwin—”
“Neve. I’m fine. And I meant my lungs. I haven’t breathed that hard infiltrating enemy compounds. Christ, what you do to me…” He lowered himself until his side rested on the bed. “I’ll never take you for granted, again. Which starts with a shower, if you want one.”
Neve traced the bands along his arms, humbled by the sheer strength of him.
“How about a compromise. You hold me until my heart stops racing, then you can pin me against the wall in the shower. Get me dirty all over again.” She pushed up, nipped at his bottom lip.
“Or I can go to my knees. Try to beat your performance.”
“It’s not a competition.”
“Not as long as I’m winning. Though, not sure there’s any way I can lose.”
He rolled his eyes, then rearranged their positions until she was snugged against him, his arm across her back, wrapping her in his protective embrace. “Rest. Recover. Because I plan on doing absolutely filthy things to you in the shower. Then, we’ll get some food. Deal?”
“Deal.”
She rested her head on his chest, his heartbeat slowly drawing her under. And she knew, sooner or later, she’d have to tell him the truth before the words simply broke free.