Chapter 8 Rebel
If I ever had any doubt that Heron wanted me, it was blown apart the second our eyes locked. I’d felt lust and need—the urgency for release and the building of an orgasm. I wasn’t a virgin, and I had gotten myself off plenty since I was old enough to feel my body’s urges. But the heated, intense, and powerful look in Heron’s eyes put any experience I had before this to shame.
God. He could burn me to ashes with that stare.
Eyes so dark they appeared to resemble coal swept over me and lingered on the vee between my legs. I purposely wore these shorts, knowing they would send him over the edge. I didn’t want to wait to feel him inside me or fight the breathless need constricting my chest. Why did I prolong this, to begin with? Why put off the pleasure?
Because nothing felt as good as my man’s hungry gaze raking across my skin.
Only when his cock entered me would I finally feel its match.
“Spark.”
He called me that in front of everyone—our secret nickname. I doubted any of the club members, ol’ ladies, or club girls noticed before this moment. Something in my lower belly unfurled, and wicked heat spread throughout my groin. I almost moaned with how intense and erotic the sensations felt. They coursed through me, pulsing in my core.
Before I could stop myself, my hips undulated, begging for his touch.
Heron blocked the view from most of the room as his body draped mine. His voice lowered, raspy and delicious as he spoke into my ear. “I will fuck you right here, Rebel, and prove to every man who watches that this pussy belongs to me. Don’t think I won’t get off knowing that it’s me causing you to spasm and cry out as you come. I’ll fill and stretch you as the whole club sees my cock plunging into your tight hole. Do. Not. Tempt. Me.”
His ragged breathing on the shell of my ear sent shivers down my spine. “Then carry me to your room, Heron. Take me. I need you.”
He released a pent-up breath, moving slightly until our foreheads touched. “This is it, Rebel. After I fuck you, you’re mine.”
He needed assurances that I wanted him, that I craved him with the same wild abandonment. I lifted my hand to caress his jaw, but he caught my wrist.
“If you’re asking for my consent, Heron, I granted it when I texted you the naked pic.”
His hold tightened, but not enough to hurt. “I’m on the edge, Love.”
“Take me to bed,” I ordered, softer this time. “I want to come as I say your name.”
“Not Heron.”
“No,” I agreed. Manu.
He wrapped my legs around his waist as he lifted me off the pool table, gripping my ass as he spun and turned toward the hall.
A few whistles and lewd comments followed after us, but I doubt Heron noticed. He seemed thoroughly focused on getting to his room as quickly as possible.
Once we entered, he shut and locked the door. My feet rested on the floor as he released me. With a tick of his chin, he gestured to the bed. “Strip.” I caught the clenching of his fists as he worked to control his body and the tone of his voice. “Slowly,” he added with a growl.
I did as instructed, kicking off my boots first, followed by my shorts. I unsnapped the buttons, pulling on the zipper until they were loose enough to tug down my hips. The material fell to the floor with a whisper. I stood in my red lacey thong and reached for my shirt, lifting it over my breasts and head, tossing it aside. The matching bra stood out against my skin.
The desired effect was achieved, and I smiled in triumph when I noticed his pupils dilate.
“Wait.” He panted as he took a step closer. “Get on the bed.”
Knowing it would entice him further, I opted to climb onto it, remaining on my hands and knees as I awaited further instructions. I could feel him close the distance between us. As I turned my head, I caught his predatory movements.
“Red,” he whispered. “My favorite color.”
I didn’t know that before now. Perfect.
“Head down. Ass up. Legs wide, Love.”
I obeyed. Resting my cheek on my hands, I tried to spread wide for him, aching for his touch and hoping every second he would release me from the sweet torment already beginning to build.
“I can see you glistening, and I haven’t touched you yet.”
He was right. The material between my legs already felt damp.
Without warning, he tugged hard on the delicate lace, ripping it away and exposing my lower half. Being so exposed felt intimate and erotic, bared to his gaze and every whim.
I had fantasies about all the ways I wanted him to touch and fuck me. I woke more than once last night, aching to be filled by him.
The heat of his palms nearly seared my skin when he skimmed them up my thighs, only stopping to caress the generous globes of my ass. For a few seconds, he kneaded the swells, rocking me gently in the process.
Cool air brushed across my skin as he backed away. Heron didn’t say a word. I heard his belt and the buckle clatter, the snap of his jeans, and the zipper harshly yanked down. Before I could wonder what else he was doing, I felt the bed dip as he joined me again.
Something hard and hot, solid, and needy bumped my inner thigh before sliding beneath my parted legs to gently glide back and forth along my slit. A moan escaped my lips when I realized it was his shaft, ready and eager to penetrate me.
But he didn’t.
A tortuous snap of his hips pushed him forward before he receded again, teasing me as his cock gathered moisture from my neglected pussy. I tried to move and impale him, only to be rewarded with a stinging slap on the globe of my ass.
“Naughty girl. You’ll wait.”
“But,” I began.
“I’ll take care of you,” he promised.
One of his fingers slowly entered me, pumping with precise, slow strokes. I tried to tilt my hips again, and he gripped them, forcing me to remain in place.
“Rebel.”
“I feel,” I managed to say before he pulled me up.
Two arms wrapped around me tight. His warm breath tickled the back of my neck before teasing the shell of my ear. “I’m trying to drag this out, my eager lover.”
“But it sucks,” I whined.
“Then it’s time I give you what you need. Yeah, my Spark?”
“Yesssssss,” I hissed, leaning back against his chest. “I’m so empty.”
With utmost care, he released me, turning me so my back rested against the mattress. My legs opened wide. He settled into the cradle of my thighs, his erection bumping into me but not sheathing itself yet. On his elbows, Heron stared into my eyes. A tenderness I didn’t expect radiated from him as he lowered his head and kissed me.
It occurred to me that maybe all the rumors weren’t true. Maybe he hadn’t found ways to slake his lust over the last twelve months with women from local bars or club girls. I had no right to him, no claim before the last few weeks, but the thought of it still made my heart ache.
Shit. I didn’t know how or when, but I fell hard for Heron.
It didn’t matter that I pushed him away or we didn’t interact much in the last year. That undeniable chemistry between us found a way. I knew in my heart that I was his as completely as he was mine.
His lips left my mouth and trailed kisses, peppering them over my jawline and down my neck, making their way up to my ear. “Relax,” he whispered, “It’s you and me, Rebel. It’s meant to be.”
I felt the tension and anxiety leave as I exhaled, realizing he’d been able to feel it and probably slowed things down because he thought I was second-guessing our intimacy.
“I want this,” I promised, resting my hand against the stubble on his cheek. “I want you .”
The surge of emotions pouring out of Rebel almost became too much to handle. They nearly overwhelmed me, but it was the ache, longing, and inadequacy she felt that spurred me into action, kissing her until I felt the tension leave her body. I knew she wanted me. I felt that same hunger and craving.
Leaning back, I knew I couldn’t delay this any longer. I had dragged it out until this moment, teasing and playing with her until I felt some of those emotions begin to level out. I wanted her to be as present as me, enjoying every moment of our union.
Taking my dick in hand, I began to stroke up and down the shaft, still rigid even though we had paused a minute. Fuck. It felt good but not half as incredible as she’d feel when I entered her. Pre-cum lubricated the tip as I caught a droplet on the crown, almost groaning as I lined up at her slick entrance. I would have stopped if she hadn’t been ready, but my Rebel was all in. I pressed into her, slowly pushing until I bottomed out.
Goddamn. She was tight. Wet. Perfect.
Her fingers grasped my arms as she said my name. “Manu.”
“Rebecca.”
She blinked, surprised that I remembered. I learned it the day we met but never said it since. She preferred Rebel. Using her real name seemed wrong until now.
I withdrew, plunging back inside her as she gasped. “Yeah, I remember everything about you, Rebecca. It’s stored in my head and marked under permanent files.”
She smirked, pulling me closer to her as I began to move, picking up speed as my hips drove deeper, building back up the friction we needed. “You’re in here.” Her fingertip tapped her heart. “It’s scary to admit but true.”
Fuck. Was she saying that she loved me?
“I’ve loved you for a long ass time, my Rebel.”
“I know.” Her fingertips skated along my chest, rising to press against my lips. “Loving you seemed to happen without my consent. It snuck up on me, but I won’t let it go now.”
Damn. What a confession. “Fuck, Spark, you make me feel alive.”
Her expression softened. “Alive. That’s what I feel with you.” Her voice caught, and I wanted to ask a dozen questions about the surging emotions that followed. “Don’t stop.”
I didn’t realize that I had until she mentioned it. My hips pulled back as I withdrew and then punched as I drove deep into her, filling her and wanting to erase anything from her past that made her feel empty, alone, or less than beautiful.
“I need you to come,” I announced, pushing up her legs and dropping them over my shoulders. I slid into her, leveraging one hand on the mattress as I used the other to tease her clit. “Fucking soak me. Come hard enough that you get the sheets wet.”
She made a low noise in her throat, a sort of wail as I strummed that sensitive bundle of nerves, making her shoot off like a rocket. I knew the second she came because she gripped my cock so fucking tight that I hissed. Her walls squeezed, and I pistoned my hips, trying to give her all that she needed to drag out her orgasm.
“Manu!”
There it was. Her cry awoke the dormant beast inside me. I grew relentless after that, fucking her nearly raw. She enjoyed that. Only two emotions stood out: satisfaction and love. They poured from her into me, filling that empty cavern inside my chest until I was so full I thought I’d crack wide open. I came with a shudder, pumping into her until I was spent.
Her name fell from my lips as a caress. I pulled out and rolled over, bringing her against me as I wrapped her in my embrace. I held this precious, beautiful woman in my arms and swore I would protect and love her as long as I lived.
The caws of crows lifted in celebration outside the window. A single kraa resonated deep in my chest.
Heron, Manu Hale Williams, was mated.