36. Steele
STEELE
T he penthouse is quiet when I let myself in after midnight, the city lights spilling through the windows in streaks of gold and silver. Everything feels hushed in the way it always does when I’m the only one home.
Except, I’m no longer alone.
The moment I step out of the elevator, I feel her. Lilah’s presence wraps around me, weaving through the air, subtle but undeniable.
And all I want?—
No, all I fucking need is to find her.
Touch her.
Claim her.
What I expect is to find Lilah asleep in my bed. Naked. Sprawled across my sheets, her blonde hair a tangle against my pillow, her skin still carrying the imprint of my hands from earlier. I haven’t stopped thinking about her all damn night.
About the way she feels wrapped around me.
Tight.
Wet.
And mine .
It’s fucking nirvana.
There’s no other way to describe it.
I didn’t think it was possible to become addicted to a person.
I was wrong.
Instead of finding my sweet girl asleep in my bed, she’s cuddled up on the couch in the living room. She’s wearing one of my old Railers tees, and her legs are bare, tucked beneath her. Her hair is piled in a messy twist on top of her head, and Waffles is snuggled on a chair, sacked out.
For just a moment, I take in the sight. It’s a cozy, domestic scene that has played out in my head hundreds of times since I bought the place. She looks up at me with a smile that punches through every layer of control I thought I had left.
“Hey,” she murmurs.
“Hey, lucky charm.” I kick off my shoes, roll up the sleeves of my shirt, and close the distance between us. It’s like there’s an invisible thread that tethers me to her. I have to wonder if it will always be that way. “I didn’t think you’d still be up.”
A sleepy smile curves her lips. “Girls’ night ran late. Rina got tipsy off two glasses of wine, and we finished all the pastries Callie brought. We talked and laughed a lot. It was exactly what we all needed.”
I sink onto the couch beside her, letting the cushion dip and tilt us toward each other. Unable to help myself, my hand settles on her thigh. Her skin is warm beneath my palm. “I’m glad. You deserve it.”
She tips her head, her eyes filled with curiosity. “How was your night?”
I shrug. “Fine.”
The truth?
I spent the entire evening half-listening to Knox and River, pretending to give a damn about the game replayed on the TVs at The Rail Yard. All while counting the minutes until I could come home and wrap myself around this woman.
“I missed you,” I say, letting my hand glide a little higher along her silken thigh.
She shifts closer before swinging one leg over my lap until she straddles me. The T-shirt she’s wearing slides higher on her hips, and that’s the exact moment I realize she’s not wearing panties.
My cock reacts before my brain can catch up, pressing hard against my jeans.
She smirks, her lips curving into a devilish smile. “See something you like?”
“Yeah,” I rasp. “Been thinking about it all fucking night.”
She leans in and brushes a kiss to the corner of my mouth. “I missed you too.”
That’s all it takes for my restraint to break. My hands slide up her thighs, caressing the swell of her ass, squeezing gently as I guide her closer.
“How the hell did I go ten years without having you?” I whisper, more to myself than to her.
She rocks her hips against me. “Not sure. Maybe you should focus on making up for lost time.”
My lips curve. “Oh, trust me. I plan to.”
I draw her T-shirt over her head, baring her to the moonlight. Her skin glows under its silver kiss, so beautiful it nearly drops me to my knees.
She undoes the buttons of my shirt with quick, sure fingers, shoving the fabric off my shoulders before dragging her lips across my pec. The feel of her makes me want to lay her out and worship every inch of her body.
“Seems like my baby’s been horny all night long,” I murmur, loving the idea of it.
She blushes but doesn’t look away. “I couldn’t stop thinking about what you’d do to me when you got home,” she whispers. “ Every time I looked at the coffee table, I thought about the way you made me come with your cigar.”
A low, ragged groan rips from my chest as I palm her breasts. “I love this side of you.” I brush my thumbs over her nipples until she gasps. “The one who likes to be played with. Spanked. Tasted. Owned.”
By me.
And only me.
“And before I’m done,” I promise against her mouth, “I’ll have every inch of you. Every moan. Every last tremble. I’m going to satisfy you in ways no one else ever has.”
She shudders in my lap, already slick and needy.
“You make me feel so good,” she admits.
“Prepare for more, baby,” I grit out. “Because I’m nowhere near finished with you.”
In one smooth motion, I lift her into my arms. Her legs lock around my waist and her drenched heat presses against my abs as I carry her across the room and pin her against the window. The cool glass draws a gasp from her lips as it kisses her spine.
I take her in, haloed by the skyline behind her, and I know in this moment, I’ll never get enough.
Not in this lifetime.
And not in the next.
“Do you understand that you belong to me now?” I whisper against her lips.
She nods, silent and wide-eyed.
But that’s not enough.
Not even close.
“Say it,” I demand.
“I belong to you,” she whispers, voice shaking but sure. “Just you.”
“That’s right.”
I grind my cock against her, making her whimper as her nails dig into my shoulders .
I kiss her like a man starved.
Because that’s exactly what I am.
In one swift movement, I unzip my jeans, freeing my cock before sliding into her with one deep, claiming thrust.
Her body arches against the window, clenching tight around me.
“Fuck, you’re so damn perfect,” I groan, bracing her as I begin to move.
Slowly at first.
Then harder.
Deeper.
I drive into her with the need to brand myself on her skin and carve my name into her soul.
Her moans echo in the night air until she shatters in my arms, all the while crying out my name like a prayer. That’s all it takes for me to follow her over the precipice, spilling inside her with a groan that sounds more like a vow.
Afterward, I hold her close, her head tucked beneath my chin, our bodies tangled, exhausted and still.
I press a kiss to her damp forehead and whisper, “Now that’s how you end a night, lucky charm.”
She doesn’t answer.
But the way she melts against me says everything I need to know.