19. Boone
Boone
M y heart rate still hasn’t settled by the time we pull into our driveway. If anything, it’s picked up the pace.
My mind should be calculating our next move and planning for every contingency. But it’s not. It’s stuck on one thing and one thing only. Ani.
Jonah kills the engine and we just sit there for a moment, not speaking. He grabs his bag and disappears through the front door, giving me space.
I lost my composure back in LA. I didn’t just show our hand—I threw it face-up on the table and dared them to make a move.
I’ve been in tighter spots than this. But this is different. I’m not worried about myself.
I’m worried about Ani and Mae.
I get out of the car and slam the door. My mind keeps looping as I walk up the gravel path. All I see is that smug bastard’s face. All I hear is what he said about Ani. I wanted to fucking kill him.
The porch creaks under my weight. I reach for the handle, push the door open, and step inside.
The house is quiet.
I move through the hallway without taking off my coat. I need to see Ani and Mae. I need to know they’re okay.
When I reach Mae’s room, what I see inside stops me cold in the doorway.
Ani is sitting on the bed. She’s reading from a picture book I recognize from Mae’s shelf—something about forest animals preparing for winter.
Mae is curled beside her, head resting lightly against Ani’s chest. Her eyes are wide and alert. And also—she’s talking .
I’ve barely heard her string together more than a few words since Ani arrived. Not that she spoke much before that, but Ani’s presence brought on more silence.
I don’t move. I barely even breathe. I don’t want to break whatever spell is in the air. Neither of them seems to notice me.
They’re in their own world. And that’s exactly what guts me.
Because it’s real.
Because this wasn’t supposed to happen.
Mae reaches up and touches Ani’s arm, just lightly. Ani keeps reading as she places her hand over Mae’s without even glancing down.
I listen as Ani animates the words, making different voices for each of the characters. She’s a fucking natural.
I step back slowly, careful not to make noise.
Ani’s not just a guest in this house anymore.
She’s part of this family.
And that scares the hell out of me.
Because the moment she walked in, everything changed. Everyone is more settled now. Everyone but me. And now I’m standing here in a hallway, wondering how the hell this girl got under my skin. And why I’m fighting it so damn hard.
The tension from the drive, from LA, from that damn parking lot, all of it flares again. But now it’s twisted around something else.
She’s everywhere now. Her laugh. Her scent. And I hate how badly I want it.
Ani steps into the hallway and notices me standing there.
She stops short and opens her mouth like she’s about to speak, but I move before she can form the words. I close the space between us in two quiet strides and push her gently against the wall.
My hand rises to her throat.
I don’t squeeze. The weight of my hand alone stills her. Her breath catches as her spine straightens, her back brushing the wall behind her. I don’t take my eyes off hers.
“What are you doing to me?” I ask.
The question slips out before I can stop it. She has no idea what she’s unraveling in me. No idea how close I am to losing control.
Or maybe she does. I’m too far gone to care at this point.
Her gaze sears into me. When she swallows, her throat shifts under my palm, and I feel the tremble in her breath.
I snap. Every bit of restraint I have is gone in an instant.
I close the last inch between us and press my mouth to hers. She gasps, but I don’t pull back. Her hands slide up my chest and curl into the front of my shirt.
I kiss her like I’ve been starving for it. Because I have. Her mouth is soft and warm and eager. She kisses me back like she needs this as badly as I do. When her body arches into me, I press closer. Her hips shift just enough that I feel the heat of her, and it damn near undoes me.
I break the kiss only long enough to drag in a breath.
Then I push her harder into the wall.
Her thighs brush mine, her chest rises against me, and her nails dig into my shoulders. I cup the side of her face with my free hand, holding her steady while I press my forehead to hers.
“Tell me to stop,” I say.
Her eyes flutter open. Her voice is hoarse. “No. Don’t stop.”
I growl low in my throat and kiss her again, this time with even more urgency. More heat. I let my hand fall from her throat and drop to her thigh, dragging it up until I can hook her leg around my hip. She moves without hesitation, opening for me like she’s already mine.
I drag her into my room as quickly as I can, shutting the door behind us and clicking the lock.
I push her against the wall again and my fingers find bare skin beneath her shirt. Then I slide them lower, dipping into the waistband of her shorts.
No panties.
That revelation sends a jolt through me that makes my teeth clench. I drag my knuckles along the crease of her thigh, feel the slickness there, and nearly lose every ounce of restraint I have left.
I tear my mouth from hers and look down. Her pupils are blown wide. Her lips are wet and swollen. Her breath stutters as I press two fingers between her folds and find her soaked.
“Fuck,” I mutter.
She’s trembling now, but she doesn’t look away. She watches me like she’s waiting to see what I’ll do next. I stroke her slowly, just enough to tease. Her hips jerk, and she gasps again, but I don’t give her what she’s silently begging for. Not yet.
“Boone,” she whispers.
I shake my head. “Not unless you mean it.”
“I do.”
Her voice breaks on the words, and that’s what undoes me.
I grip her thighs and lift her. She wraps around me on instinct, arms looping behind my neck as her legs lock around my waist. I carry her to my bed and lay her down.
She looks up at me with wide, dark eyes, chest rising fast beneath the oversized tee she’s still wearing. I reach for the hem and yank it off over her head, tossing it to the floor.
Her bare skin glows in the low light.
She looks so damn soft. I don’t…I don’t know how to do soft. But I want to. For her.
Fuck, I think I’d do just about anything for this girl and I’m tired of pretending I wouldn’t.
I draw my shirt over my head and toss it to the floor.
Her eyes flick down my chest, then lower.
She drags her bottom lip between her teeth when she sees the bulge in my jeans.
I’m already painfully hard. I reach for the button of my jeans and slide them down, stripping everything in one motion before climbing onto the bed.
I start slow.
My hand settles on her knee, then trails up her thigh, fingers spreading across her skin. She watches me, eyes wide, lips parted. Her breath comes faster as my touch continues. When I reach her hip, I pause for a moment. If I’m not careful, I’ll lose control before I even get inside her.
I lean in and press my mouth to hers. She sighs, her body arching into the kiss. I slide her shorts down and toss them somewhere in the room without looking.
I can't take my eyes off this girl.
Her hands come up to my shoulders, then slide down my arms. She wraps around me slowly, her legs brushing my ribs as I settle between them.
“I’ve got you, Ani,” I murmur, voice low against her lips.
“Say it again,” she breathes. “Say my name again.”
“Ani.”
Her only answer is a quiet moan when I reach between us and stroke her. She’s wet—so fucking wet.
I drag my fingers through the slick heat and circle her clit. Her hips jerk, thighs tightening around me. I keep the pace steady, watching every twitch of her body. She’s trying to stay quiet.
I don’t want her to hold anything back.
I slide two fingers inside her. Her body resists for a second, then yields. She gasps, then moans. I curl my fingers just enough to make her feel it. She does. Ani whimpers and clings to me, rocking into the rhythm I set.
“Fuck yeah, baby,” I whisper. “Just like that.”
She twists her hands in the sheets and says my name between clenched teeth. When she comes, it hits her all at once. Her hips lift. Her mouth opens wide. Her pussy clenches so tight around my fingers I can barely move. I ease her through it, pressing soft kisses to her mouth.
As the tremors start to fade, she opens her eyes and locks them on mine.
“Boone,” she says, voice shaking. “Please.”
I know what she wants.
I grab a condom from the drawer and roll it on.
Reaching down to line myself up, I rub the head of my cock through her folds, letting her feel it.
Letting myself feel it. Her body’s still pulsing, still wet and open and ready.
When I press forward, her breath catches.
I go slow, inch by inch, until I’m fully inside her.
Her head falls back against the pillow.
“Okay?” I ask, bracing myself on my elbows, holding still to let her adjust.
She nods quickly. “I want more.”
I start to move.
Each stroke is careful, deep but not too rough. I watch her closely—how she breathes, how her face changes, how her legs tighten around my hips. She takes every inch like she was made for me.
Her fingernails dig into my back.
“Harder,” she whispers.
I freeze.
Her eyes are glassy and her cheeks are flushed red. There’s no hesitation in her voice. Just need. She knows exactly what she’s asking for.
“I don’t want to hurt you.”
“And I don’t want you to hold back. Harder. Please, Boone—I can take it.”
I draw back and thrust deep. The slap of skin echoes through the room. She gasps, then moans louder when I do it again. I grip her jaw with one hand, tilting her head just enough to hold her eyes on mine. Her lips fall open. Her breath comes in broken pieces.
“Keep looking at me,” I say. “Don’t you dare look away.”
She doesn’t.
Even as I pound into her harder, she keeps her gaze locked on mine. Her body rocks with every thrust. Her breasts bounce with the motion. Her legs wrap tighter, like she’s trying to keep me inside her forever.
“You feel that?” I growl. “That’s mine now.”
“Yes,” she gasps. “I want it.”
I don’t want this over too fast. I want to feel every damn second. I want her to remember this—how I took her apart, how I gave her exactly what she’s been begging for.
Her climax hits hard.
Her nails rake down my back, thighs shaking as she clamps down around me again.
I fuck her through it.
Her body jerks with every thrust, but she doesn’t push me away. She pulls me deeper, greedy for it, wrecked by it, sobbing my name.
She’s perfect like this.
Completely undone.
She’s shaking under me, hair stuck to her temples, skin flushed. I slow just enough to slide my hands under her thighs and shift her. She doesn’t resist when I flip her onto her stomach.
I grip her hips and pull her up onto her knees, leaving her chest flush to the mattress.
Her ass tilts up, legs spread wide, pussy glistening as it throbs and clenches, still wet and swollen from her orgasm.
I line up and press back inside her, gritting my teeth as her body stretches to take me again.
She lets out a ragged sound.
“Good girl,” I growl, thrusting deeper. “You take me so damn well.”
Her fingers claw at the bedding.
I set a brutal pace.
Every thrust is deep and rough, the sound of skin on skin echoing in the room. Her ass bounces with every stroke. I grab a handful of it, squeezing hard enough to leave marks, and pull her back into me. She chokes on a moan and collapses lower, but I catch her by the waist and keep going.
“You wanted it harder,” I say. “So you’re gonna take every inch.”
“Yes,” she cries, voice muffled against the pillow. “Don’t stop.”
I lean over her back, hips still driving into her without pause.
Her skin is hot beneath mine, slick with sweat.
Her pussy’s so fucking tight, clenching around me like she can’t let go.
I slide one hand up her back and flatten my palm between her shoulder blades, pinning her down as I grind in deeper.
I kiss her shoulder. Her neck. Her lips.
Then I shift my weight, press my chest flush to her back, and wrap one arm around the front of her throat. My other hand slips under her cheek and drags her face back toward mine until I can press my mouth to the edge of her lips.
She gasps again, softer this time.
“Taking me so good,” I whisper against her skin.
Her hips push back again, desperate for more, even as her body starts to tremble. I kiss her temple, her cheek, the corner of her mouth. My hips don’t stop. I keep driving into her, as deep as I can go. She feels everything. Every inch. Every growl. Every filthy word I feed her.
“You love this, don’t you? You love being full of me. You love knowing you’re mine.”
“Yes.” Her voice is high and cracking. “I love it—I love it?—”
I wrap my hand tighter around her jaw, thumb dragging along her lips.
“You’re mine now,” I say. “Say it.”
“I’m yours.”
“Say it again.”
“I’m yours, Boone. Fuck—please?—”
She starts to come apart again, and I know she’s close. My hand curves around her chin, fingers spread wide across her throat, and my face stays pressed to hers as I whisper, “Come for me again. I want to feel it.”
She says something I don’t expect—barely loud enough to hear. But I do.
“Daddy…”
I go still.
My chest locks up. Her body tenses beneath me.
I groan low in her ear. “Say it again.”
She whimpers.
“Say it.”
“Daddy…”
My hand tightens around her throat. My other arm holds her still. I thrust once, hard, then again, grinding deep.
“Fuck, Ani. That’s it. That’s my girl. Say it again.”
“Daddy—please—don’t stop?—”
I fuck her harder, deeper, every thrust slamming into her with more force than the last. Her mouth opens wide. Her hands clutch the sheets. Her whole body starts to shake.
“That’s it, sweetheart. You want to come on Daddy’s cock, don’t you?”
“Yes—yes—yes?—”
“Do it.”
Her orgasm hits so hard I have to cover her mouth with my hand so she doesn’t scream out loud.
Her hips jerk, and she clamps down around me so tightly I can barely move.
I hold her through it, grinding as deep as I can, and when I come, it’s violent.
My body locks. My cock pulses deep inside her.
I growl her name against her ear as I come, every muscle burning from the effort it takes to stay upright.
We collapse together.
I stay inside her. I keep my face buried in her neck.
I’ve never fucked like that before.
I’ve never let go like that for anyone.
And now I don’t know how I’ll ever go back.