Chapter 72 Scarlett
SCARLETT
Jace and I returned to his penthouse. Our penthouse. We showered away the scent of hay and leather, letting hot water glide over us as our hands explored familiar territory with new appreciation.
We sipped wine by the fire, getting lost in lazy kisses that tasted of cabernet and contentment. But I had something up my sleeve tonight, something I’d never done before—a gesture to show Jace how much everything had changed between us. How much I had changed.
I led him into the dining room, my pulse quickening with each step.
“You hungry?” he asked.
“No.” I pulled my shirt off in one fluid motion.
“Oh.” His smile was slow and magnetic, eyes darkening as he followed my lead.
After we stripped out of our clothes, I grabbed the blue silk tie I’d placed on the chair earlier today. The same blue tie from our first weekend together.
“You want a repeat of the hotel room?” He arched an eyebrow, that half smile already launching hormones.
“Something like that.”
Climbing onto our dining room table, completely naked, I locked eyes with Jace as I lay down on my back. Understanding flickered across his features right before I pressed the tie over my eyes.
I knotted the silk around my head and surrendered to the darkness. Surrendered to whatever he wanted to do to me. With me. For me. I could hear his breathing change, could almost feel the weight of his realization as he whispered my name.
My skin hummed with electricity, desire and anticipation pulsing between my thighs. I could sense his presence surrounding me, but I had no idea exactly where he was.
Not until his hands gripped my ankles and slid me further down the cool surface.
He hooked my thighs over his shoulders, his stubble grazing the sensitive skin as he kissed the inside of my legs.
I arched my back, waiting for what I craved.
But I wouldn’t ask for it. Wouldn’t try to control it.
I simply savored his kisses, his gentle attention making the throbbing between my thighs grow into a persistent, demanding pulse.
Finally, his tongue traced a path up my center, making me gasp and grip the edges of the table.
Jace knew my body better than I knew it myself.
He knew how to swirl precise circles around the most sensitive part of me, knew exactly when to apply pressure and when to ease off, prolonging my pleasure.
He knew when to pull back when I was getting close, drawing out the exquisite torture until I was trembling, wordlessly begging.
There was something incredibly beautiful about that, about how much pleasure he gave me in every facet of my life.
Something profoundly intimate about having one of the most powerful men in the world on his knees, worshipping me like this.
I pictured it in my mind’s eye as he groaned against me, the vibrations sending shock waves through my body.
My breathing became more ragged, and he read the tempo like sheet music, knowing exactly when the crescendo was building.
When I finally shattered around him, he gripped my thighs with delicious force, holding me to his mouth, drawing out every last ripple of my release. Only then did he release me, pressing one final kiss to my inner thigh.
I lay there for a moment, imagining him looking at me—completely naked and at his mercy—wondering what he would do next, how he would claim me.
“Turn over,” he decided, his voice rough with need.
Gently, he turned me onto my stomach and positioned my legs to the floor, spreading my thighs apart. I was still unable to see anything, feeling only the table against my heated skin and his warm hands on my body. His fingers trailed along my spine as he lined himself up at my entrance.
“I love you, Scarlett,” he said, pushing himself in an inch at a time.
When he filled me completely, I rested my cheek against the table and breathed, “I love you too.”
He began moving, gentle at first, gripping my shoulders and holding my body against his. But it wasn’t long before he found his rhythm, thrusting harder, filling me, stretching me in that exquisite way that still took my breath away.
I would never get used to how incredible his body felt against mine.
How perfectly he fit inside me, my walls already clenching around him as I rose toward another release.
When we came together, he stilled above me, pressing tender kisses across my shoulder blades, his breathing gradually slowing to match mine.
We cleaned ourselves up, put our clothes back on, and settled by the fireplace, staring at each other in silent joy as the flames painted shadows across his face.
“You know I will buy you anything you want,” Jace said softly, orange embers dancing in the reflection of his eyes. “I’ll take you anywhere. I will give you anything you desire.”
But what I wanted had nothing to do with material possessions.
Not the gleaming fixtures in this massive penthouse, not the breathtaking view of the city sprawled below, not even the obscenely expensive red-soled shoes he’d bought to replace the stilettos I’d attacked Marcus with.
There was only one thing I needed in my life, one thing I couldn’t live without.
“All I want is you.”