Chapter 21 #2
He starts slow, gentle rolls of his hips that already have me seeing stars. Each movement sends sparks through me, pleasure building. He pulls down the other side of my top, revealing both breasts to his hungry gaze.
Just then, we hear voices nearby, familiar ones.
“Where the hell did they go?” Luke’s voice fades away.
“They’ve been gone forever,” Arrow adds, sounding annoyed.
I giggle against Holt’s shoulder, and he grins, never stopping his movements.
“Should we—” I start.
“Absolutely not,” he states, increasing his pace slightly. “They can wait.”
His grip shifts suddenly, a rough hand sliding beneath my knee to lift my leg around his waist. I gasp, instinctively clutching at his shoulders, but he doesn’t thrust, just holds me there, aching.
“You remember telling Luke you wanted it hard?” Holt’s voice is a rasp, every syllable dipped in hunger. “Rough?”
I nod, too breathless to speak, too far gone to pretend otherwise.
He presses in deeper, hips grinding slowly and heavily. “Say it.”
“I do,” I gasp. “God, I do. I want—” My voice fractures. “I want all of it.”
He groans, the sound hot and close. “You have no idea what that does to me.”
The ache between my hips burns hotter, sharper, and I meet him as he plunges into me, each motion harder now, deliberate, dragging sounds out of me I didn’t know I could make. He shifts his grip again, pulling back onto his knees, lifting my ankles in his hands and angling me deeper.
“I can go further like this,” he mutters, watching me with that wolfish gleam. “But I’m holding back. First time and all.”
My eyes flutter. “Don’t. I can take it.”
His head drops forward, teeth gritted. “Fuck, you’re perfect.”
Then he slams in, the sharp slap of skin against skin swallowed by my moan, raw, needy. The hay scratches at my back as I arch, my nails grabbing for his arms, trying to hold on as sensation crashes through me.
“Like that?” he growls, hips snapping.
“Yes. Oh my God—yes, Holt?—”
“You’re so goddamn tight,” he hisses. “So wet. Fuck, gripping me like you don’t wanna let go.”
He doesn’t slow. Doesn’t give me space to think. Just drives into me like he’s trying to burn the need out of both of us. The pressure builds too fast, the stretch and heat blurring into something unbearable. I don’t want it to stop.
And then?—
The world twirls as I come undone and climax. Every sound fades except the low rumble of his voice against my skin. My thoughts scatter, and there’s only heat, pressure, and him, everywhere. I reach for words and find none, only broken sounds that don’t belong to a language.
He murmurs something I can’t make out, something that sounds like praise or maybe prayer, and the sound of it unravels what’s left of me.
My body answers on instinct, muscles tightening, breath catching, vision flickering white at the edges.
I don’t even realize I’m shaking until he gathers me closer, one hand at the back of my neck, balancing me.
When the trembling finally eases, I’m still half lost, still catching my breath against his chest. The hay prickles my skin, his heartbeat thunders under my ear, and for a moment, it’s as if the entire world has gone still.
“You were so damn beautiful when you came,” he whispers.
Then suddenly he’s pulling out, still hard, and I make a sound of protest.
“Wait, you didn’t?—”
“Not here,” he says, though his jaw is clenched with the effort of stopping. “When I come with you for the first time and knot you, I want to be able to hold you after. For hours. As much as this is killing me.”
“You’re really sweet,” I say, touched by his restraint.
“Only for you, Cindy.” For a moment, Holt doesn’t move. He just glances down between my thighs, where I’m spread open for him, and something in his expression goes soft. He licks his lips as the hunger in his eyes doesn’t fade; it deepens. “You’re a sight I’m never forgetting,” he says.
My cheeks burn. I start to get up, but he stops me long enough to steal another kiss, slow, lingering, a promise tucked between breaths.
Then he grins, that crooked, dangerous smile reappearing. “We should get you decent before those two come looking for us.”
I laugh, shaky but real, and let him help me to my feet.
I smooth my skirt back down my thighs and cover my breasts, fingers trembling a little, still buzzing from everything we just shared. Holt shifts beside me, tucking himself away with a low breath, doing up his jeans.
My gaze drops to the curve of his back pocket, and there it is. Red lace.
I reach out and pluck it free.
“Hey,” he says, lips quirking. “Those are mine now.”
I laugh as I step into them and drag them up under my skirt. “You can come get them later,” I say.
His stare hits me square in the heart. Hot. Direct. Full of promise.
A shiver dances over my skin, settling low.
Heat pools deep in my belly, and I’m already aching again.
If we were anywhere else and alone, I might go all night.
My body is on a high, and I worry that my heat is making an appearance earlier than expected, just like I’d mentioned to Harper.
Something I might have to deal with tomorrow.
We leave the secret section through the shrubby wall, then round a corner and nearly collide with another couple. My stomach drops.
It’s Monica and Trevor, who are getting married soon. Their eyes go wide, taking in our joined hands, my messed hair, Holt’s possessive grip.
I try to pull my hand away, but Holt holds firm.
“Hi,” Monica squeaks. “We were just—we got lost?—”
“Maze is tricky,” Holt says calmly. “That way leads to the exit.”
They practically run in the direction he pointed, whispers starting before they’re even out of sight.
“Holt!” I hiss. “They’re going to tell everyone!”
“Good.” He draws me closer against his side, completely unbothered. “Let them know you have three boyfriends. Your mother wanted a show, right? Let’s give her one.”
Despite everything, I laugh. “You’re terrible.”
“You love it.”
I do. I really do.
And if my mother catches wind of this? Well… she already hates everything I do. This’ll just be one more sin to stack on the pile.
Three boyfriends? She’ll choke on it.
She made it clear that our family doesn’t do things like that.
Well. Clearly, I do.
We finally find the exit, where Luke and Arrow are waiting, both looking annoyed. But as we get closer, their expressions change. They inhale deeply, nostrils flaring, and their eyes go dark.
“You fucking didn’t,” Luke says, staring between us.
“In the maze?” Arrow adds. “Seriously?”
“Please tell me it’s not that obvious,” I plead.
“Only up close,” Luke says, eyes still dark with want. “We’re obsessed with your scent. Have been since day one.”
“We should grab some food if you two are up for it,” Arrow says, voice strained.
“Bathroom first,” I say, desperate to clean up a bit.
They walk me to the restrooms like bodyguards, and as I’m exiting, I spot Harper.
“Cindy! Cindy, is that you?”
Harper appears in what might be the best costume I’ve seen all night. She’s Morticia Addams, complete with the long black dress that hugs every curve, dramatic makeup, and a wig that touches the ground. She looks gorgeous and gothic and perfect.
“Harper! You look amazing!”
“I know, right? But, oh my God, you look—” Her eyes narrow. “You look like you just got properly fucked in a?—”
She stops because someone appears at her elbow.
Mack. Arrow’s brother. In leather pants and a white poet’s shirt unbuttoned to his navel, probably supposed to be a vampire or something.
“Oh, are you two…?” I breathe, looking between them.
Harper grins, completely unrepentant. “Oh, yes.”
This is going to be interesting.