Chapter 20 #4
I step into the spray as he removes his last piece of clothing, and then he’s right there, crowding behind me, his hands bracing the tile on either side of my head, caging me in as the water sluices over us. His mouth brushes my damp shoulder, a slow drag of lips and tongue.
“This was supposed to be quick,” I remind him, breathless, as his fingers slide teasingly along my waist.
He smirks against my skin. “I’m multitasking.” His hands glide, possessive but controlled, touching but not taking, his restraint only making the heat coil tighter between us.
But I’m glad he has some because mine is washing away with the water, and I press back in to him, feeling the heat of his bare—completely bare—skin on mine for the first time.
He’s hard, long against my back, our difference in height allowing me to feel the size of him stretching along my spine, and it takes everything in me not to turn and press myself to him in a new way.
“Later,” he promises then, his voice rough silk, as if he knows exactly what I’m thinking. “In my bed.”
A shiver runs through me, sharp and eager, as he shuts the water off and grabs a towel, wrapping it around me like he’s sealing the fervor between us.
Without another word, he tugs me gently down the hall, into his room.
His space.
His scent clings to the air, familiar and intoxicating, and something warm spreads through my chest as he drops the bundle of our damp pj’s near the door.
I pad over to my suitcase, already sitting open in the corner, and fish out a new set of pajamas, but before I can even think to pull them on, Chase catches my eye. He shakes his head and pulls a worn T-shirt from a drawer, tossing it to me with a look that makes my knees wobble.
I catch it and pull it over my head, letting the towel fall from around me as the shirt drops over me, the hem brushing low on my thighs, and I look over at him just as he spins, having pulled on a pair of briefs.
His gaze darkens, appreciative, but he keeps it playful, that crooked smile curling his mouth as he watches me climb onto the bed.
We both slip under the covers at the same time, meeting in the middle like magnets. Chase shifts onto his side, propping himself on one elbow, his eyes burning into mine.
“You’re intoxicating,” he murmurs.
I drag my fingers along his forearm, a teasing grin on my lips. “No more than you are.”
I lean in for a kiss, but just as our mouths brush, he hushes me softly.
“Not yet,” he whispers, and his thumb sweeps along my cheek, tender as ever.
His touch continues, skimming beneath the hem of the T-shirt until his fingers find me, bare and already aching for more of him. His eyes ask for permission he doesn’t need, but I give him a little nod anyway, and his long, thick fingers stroke across my clit.
My chest rises with a full breath, and he slides lower, dipping between my folds. His jaw tightens, eyes never once leaving mine as he glides his finger back and forth, up over my clit, and then back down, the sounds of my arousal filling the space in the most erotic of ways.
It feels dirty, scandalous somehow in a way I’ve never experienced.
I love it.
My breath stutters, my body arching instinctively into his hand.
“You feel that?” he rasps, his voice thick with need as his fingers disappear inside me. “That’s all for me.”
I can only nod, lost in the way he moves, the way he gives. No rushing, no teasing, just pure focus as he works me to the edge.
“Say it, baby.” He dips his head, his mouth hovering just out of my reach. “Tell me.”
“Yes. Just for you.”
His fingers curl, his palm pressing down on my clit, rubbing in small circles, and my back flies off the bed. “You’re so sweet, Angel. I want to dirty you up. I want to make you filthy.”
My mouth opens, a scream locking in my throat and trying to break free.
It does, but he surges forward, swallowing it with a long groan.
“Fuck,” he croaks into my mouth. “The way I want to take you somewhere where it’s just us, see how loud those little screams can get. Only for me. Only ever me, Angel. Say it.”
“Just…just you, ohh.” I break off on a moan, my climax rolling through me. It tears through me, sharp, and I swear. I cling to him, my breath breaking on a cry as he coaxes every last wave from my trembling body.
As I come down, my hand finding the waistband of his briefs, he starts to pull away, but I stop him, my gaze locking to his.
“Let me,” I whisper, my voice husky and sure. “Please.”
His jaw flexes, restraint warring with need, but I don’t give him time to argue. I slip my hand beneath the fabric, wrapping my fingers around him for the first time, feeling the way he pulses hot and hard in my palm.
A curse rumbles from his chest, and his eyes flare in surrender. “You’re gonna ruin me,” he growls, but it’s wrecked, reverent even, and he pushes into my hand, letting me shove his briefs down further. “I think you already have.”
“Good,” I breathe, and I stroke him with the same care he gave me, watching his control unravel with each pass of my palm.
His head drops forward, breath uneven, lips trembling as they suck mine into his own mouth, biting and pulling and taking as he thrusts into my grip, chasing release.
I want him to shatter in my hands, so I squeeze him tighter, stroking him faster, my legs falling open wide for him to settle more between me, so he can feel my skin and imagine it’s my body he’s inside. I want him inside me.
He’s silky and hot, thick, and even longer now. His cock throbs in my hand, and his thighs clench against my own, telling me he’s close.
“I want you to come on me,” I whisper, sliding my lips across his, and his eyes clamp closed.
“Jesus,” he rasps, pressing into my palm, his length pulsing.
“I want to see your eyes.”
They fly open, latching onto mine, his hands driving into my hair as he holds himself up on his elbows.
“Paige.” He chokes out my name and groans in pure surrender as his orgasm crashes through him, hot and thick across my stomach. His body jerks, muscles tight as pleasure tears through him, leaving him trembling. Because of me.
I did this to this gorgeous, strong man.
A thrill I’ve never known skitters down my spine, and I nearly lose my breath.
His breathing is still uneven, his chest rising and falling beneath my hand, and I swear I can feel his pulse pounding impossibly hard.
But it’s his eyes that get me. The way they search mine like he’s seeing straight through me, like whatever he finds there matters more than anything else. And suddenly, I desperately wish it did.
That this man and I are it, the endgame I never thought I’d find.
Chase strokes my cheek, a reverent expression I’ve never seen taking over his features, that nearly brings tears to my eyes.
“Paige, I’m…” he murmurs, his voice hoarse and full of emotion.
His words stall in the space between us, and I don’t want that. I can tell they’re big, important to him, to us, and I need to know what he’s thinking.
“What?” I breathe, a knot forming in my throat. “Please say it.”
His gaze burns, like the thought running through his mind is the only truth he knows.
“Happy,” he finally says. “I’m happy. Not just in the moment or because of this tonight, but actual happiness.
Like my life…” He swallows hard, his gaze flicking over my face, softening with some secret I’m not quite sure I’m supposed to know.
“Like maybe things are right where they’re supposed to be.
Like no matter what happens, everything will be okay.
And it has absolutely everything to do with you, Paige. ”
My breath catches, tears prickling behind my eyes.
“My little guardian angel, sent to me when everything felt wrong to remind me that nothing else matters. Not really,” he breathes. “Not when I can have this. You.”
“Chase—”
“Don’t say anything,” he pleads, shaking his head just slightly. “Please. I just… I need you to know.”
I reach out, fingers tracing along his cheek, cupping his face like he’s something precious. Because he is, this man above me.
His eyes close briefly, and when they open again, something raw and deep flickers there.
“Can I hold you now?” His voice is quiet, like the answer might just undo him.
I nod, my throat too tight to speak.
Gently, carefully, he tucks me against his chest, holding me like I’m the only thing tethering him to this earth.
Or maybe I’m the one who feels that way.
Either way, I’m not letting go.
I’m going to keep this man.
My thoughts instantly go to my father, and I fight back the urge to cry.
Please don’t let this man leave me, too.