Chapter Twenty-Six
Jill
Waking up deliciously sore, blissfully happy, and in Gage’s strong arms is like nothing I’ve ever experienced before. This feeling—the soul-deep sense of acceptance and belonging—is so foreign to me. I’ve never woken up feeling simply grateful and undeniably happy like this before. And looking at the sleeping man responsible fills me with so much love I can’t contain it.
I need to mark him.
Rolling over gently, careful not to jostle the bed and disturb Gage, I snag the lipstick out of my purse on the nightstand and turn back to face him. Swiping the color across my mouth, I lean down to press my lips against the inked skin. Looking down at my handiwork, I take in the crimson kiss. Hmm, I really like seeing my mark on Gage’s chiseled abdomen. So I lean down to do it again. And again.
Gage’s abs tense and ripple under my lips as my mouth travels across his skin—kissing, marking, and licking. I can feel him wake up against me before his eyes open. Reapplying the lipstick, I don’t stop my exploration. Gage remains completely still beneath me, but I can sense his gaze when he finally opens his eyes.
“Don’t move,” I murmur between kisses. “This is going to take a while.”
“Take your time.” His deep voice rumbles in his chest, rough with sleep. God, he sounds like the devil himself. It makes my heart skip a beat.
“I’m going to need another tube of this color,” I say, reapplying for the fifth time. At this rate, I’ll be halfway through the tube of lipstick by the time I reach his neck. I pull back and crawl up to press a kiss to his throat, making a growl vibrate through him.
“I’ll buy you a whole case,” he promises as I pick up one of his hands and kiss the center of his palm to leave the perfect lip print. Then I lift his other hand to do the same. My eyes lock with his as my lips travel up his arm. He watches me through half-lidded eyes, his muscles flexing beneath me.
A buzzing sound next to the bed pulls my focus to the nightstand as Gage’s phone vibrates with a phone call. Looking back at Gage, I’m not surprised that he’s completely ignoring it. If it’s important, they’ll call back. And until then, I have his undivided attention.
When the phone goes silent, I lean up to kiss Gage’s lips. His mouth drinks me in eagerly, his hands gripping my face like he’ll never let me go. The feeling of true belonging—heavy and sweet—settles inside me. Just when he’s about to deepen the kiss, the insistent buzzing begins again, making Gage tense beneath me in irritation. But he still doesn’t reach for the phone before it stills. When the device starts to vibrate with a third call, I can feel that our quiet morning together is over.
Pulling back from him, I press one last lingering kiss on his lips. My eyes connect with his to communicate so many feelings before I sit up. Gage’s expression is more than irritated when he reaches over to his nightstand to grab the phone. Answering the call, he presses it to his ear.
“What?” he bites the vicious greeting at the person interrupting our peace. He listens to the person on the other line, his eyes averting from me to stare at the ceiling as he pinches the bridge of his nose. “How much did they deliver?”
There’s a brief silence as he listens.
“That’s not going to cover the first hour. Where’s the rest of it? They better have two more trucks on the way right fucking now.” He pauses to listen, his expression darkening. “Fine, I’m on my way. With what they’re pulling me away from, they better prepare themselves for what’s coming for them.” His eyes move back to look at me, his eyes longing against his harsh expression.
With a few more short words, he tensely ends the call and drops the phone onto the bed in irritation. When he looks at me, disappointment wars with his anger.
“I have to go to the club. Most of the alcohol for tomorrow’s event wasn’t delivered, and I have to make a few heads roll.”
“I love it when you talk business,” I hum. “We should get you cleaned up.”
“No, I’m going to wear your marks until I get to have you again.” Gage stands from the bed, naked and glorious, and moves to the dresser to pull out some clean clothes to wear. Leaning back against the headboard, I admire how the tattoos on his muscled thighs and firm ass dance and ripple as he pulls on a pair of boxers.
“Well, you’re gonna be wearing them for a while because I work tonight.”
I take the opportunity to take in every inch of his gorgeous body covered in my marks, happiness buzzing inside my head. By the time Gage pulls a t-shirt over his head, I feel like I could float right off the bed. I bite my lip in appreciation when he turns back to look at me.
“Good thing you know the boss.” With three large steps, he’s beside the bed.
“Mmmm, I do know him very well,” I say, looking up at him through my lashes. Placing one knee on the mattress, he hovers over me as he takes in my body that’s naked down to the sheet pooled at my waist. He shakes his head like he can’t fathom that I’m actually real, and it lights me up like a Christmas tree.
“I’d say you have him wrapped around your finger.” He pulls me in for a steamy kiss. “I want you to stay in my bed just like this for as long as you possibly can.”
“And if I get hungry? Am I supposed to cook naked too?”
“I like the sound of that.” My expression turns skeptical, and he relents easily. He doesn’t want me cooking naked unless he’s here to enjoy it in person with me. “I’ll have food delivered for you. You can wear a robe when you accept the delivery, but as soon as that door is closed, I want you back just like this.”
“You’re very bossy.”
“You have no idea.”