Chapter 13 #2
Rafe’s arms around her. His heartbeat beneath her touch. The warmth of his body beside hers. It was the first time in maybe forever Lena allowed herself to stop fighting the desire for a future.
Love wasn’t a weakness. It didn’t make her less capable. It gave her something worth fighting for.
And as she rolled herself over Rafe’s body with the intention of taking more control, she realized the life she truly wanted was one with him.
Rafe had spent a lifetime learning how to control himself. His breathing. His reactions. His instincts.
Most of all, he’d become a master at controlling his emotions. It was a skill that had kept him alive more times than he could count.
But lying with Lena now, feeling her hands move over him with the same deliberate care he’d given her, Rafe discovered there was one thing he had no desire to control.
Her.
Not in the way he controlled situations or took command with his team. This was different. This was trust. Two people who’d spent decades keeping their guard up for self-preservation who were finally realizing they no longer had to.
Not with each other.
Not anymore.
Lena straddled his hips, leaning down to kiss him. Rafe felt something inside him snap loose. His arms tightened around her as he pulled her naked form closer. The kiss turned deeper. More urgent.
The last of his restraint disappeared.
She knew exactly what she was doing to him. A sharp rush of heat seared through his core. Rafe broke the kiss long enough to look up at her. Her cheeks were flushed, her breaths uneven, and there was something in her eyes that made his pulse kick even harder.
“You’re enjoying this.”
The vixen was enjoying every minute of the delectable torture she was doling out.
A faint smile curved her lips. “Maybe.” She arched a brow.
“Careful.”
Her smile grew wider. “What’s the matter, big guy? I thought you liked a challenge.”
That was all it took.
Rafe kissed her again, his hand sliding into her hair as he brought her close. He’d spent years imagining what it would be like to have Lena in his arms, but reality was far more dangerous than any of his fantasies. Because this was real. This was the woman he loved.
And she’d chosen him.
The thought hit him with enough force to steal his breath as Lena’s hands moved over his shoulders and down his arms. Her touch was slow but confident as she deliberately tested his limits.
She was giving him back every bit of the pulse-racing pleasure he had just given her.
Rafe closed his eyes as he let himself feel it. Lena began to undress him, and he relinquished all control. For once, he didn’t analyze or overthink the situation. He simply surrendered himself to her.
When they were both lying together, naked and unafraid, he looked up at her again. There was no fear in her hazel gaze. No hesitation in her beautiful stare. Only trust and a love he would do everything in his power to protect.
He reached up and ran the back of his knuckles along the soft skin at her cheek. “You have no idea what you do to me.”
“Oh, I think I do.”
She leaned down and pressed her lips against his. Their tongues danced as Rafe kissed her back with everything he couldn’t seem to put into words.
So many years. So many missed chances. All the nights he’d lain awake wondering what might have been.
The good and the bad, it had all worked together. Bringing them both to this moment in time.
Lena lowered herself onto him, and the two became one. Time vanished, as did the entire world around them. It was just him and her, coming together as only two people who loved one another could.
Before long, Rafe felt the pressure building inside him. He buried his face against her neck, his hips moving in perfect rhythm with hers as he fought for every new breath.
Lena whispered his name, and the feathery sound was almost his undoing. He lifted his head to look into her heated eyes, his heart swelling at the love he saw there.
He’d spent nearly three decades believing love came with a price he never wanted to pay again. But this time, it felt different. Like he’d been given something he didn’t think a man like him deserved.
Rafe kissed her again, purposely moving slower than before to let the magical moment stretch. It didn’t take long for the tension to build again, this time nearly to the point of breaking. The sound of panted breaths, soft moans, and masculine grunts echoed from the walls.
Lena continued working his body with hers, bringing him right to the very edge. She threw her head back, cried out his name, and he lost the final remnants of his control.
Pleasure unlike any Rafe had ever known swept through him in a magnificent wave. His release was powerful. Consuming. It left him breathless as he held Lena close.
For the next several moments, neither of them spoke. He simply stayed there, on his back with the woman he loved cradled in his arms.
When he finally peeled his eyes open once again, he found Lena smiling down at him. Rafe couldn’t help but smile back before his gaze drifted toward the windows. Dawn was beginning to lighten the sky over Charleston Bay.
For the first time in years, he didn’t let himself worry about what would come next. He knew what he wanted, and that was a life with Lena. One he intended to start building the minute all the craziness was behind them.
Not someday, but now. Or at least, as soon as they were able. Because he was done putting his personal life and chance at true happiness on hold.
He wanted mornings with this woman. Quiet evenings on his porch. Rafe nearly chuckled as he realized he even looked forward to silly arguments over ridiculous, non-consequential things. All the things he’d once convinced himself were impossible.
In short, he wanted her.
Moments later, they were curled up together under the covers. Rafe’s arms around her, and Lena’s cheek resting against his chest.
His eyes fell shut just as the sun peeked its face over the horizon. And for the first time in nearly thirty years, he fell asleep with a smile on his lips.