Chapter 22 #3
A sound pitches in my throat, almost a growl, and I loosen my belt buckle and kick off my boxers and jeans, descending on her again with maddening urgency.
My mouth takes hold of her nipple, dusky and taut, and my tongue laves over each one as I feel her writhing beneath me.
Her hands are in my hair again, her nails digging into my scalp, and it only drives me more wild.
“You’re fucking beautiful,” I murmur against her skin, trailing my lips down over her flat stomach, then lower, until I’m between her legs.
Her scent alone fuels me, but the way she bucks her hips against my face, still pulling my hair, has me diving into her heat with a hunger I’ve never felt before.
Cora arches her back and lets out a cry of pleasure that electrifies me.
I palm her inner thighs, then push her legs further apart, spreading her as wide as I can.
I want her to be fully exposed to me—utterly vulnerable .
I push two fingers inside her as my mouth works her clit.
The sweet, intoxicating taste of her mixed with how goddamn wet she is, has my cock throbbing, yearning to be inside her again.
I glance up at the stretch of her body, bowed and trembling, and reach up to palm her breast as she rides against my face.
I thrust my tongue over her slick folds, sucking her clit, until she’s chanting, “Dean, Dean, Dean…”
Jesus . I’ve heard my name expelled from her mouth so many times, in so many ways: anger, annoyance, outrage, humor, audacity, fear, confusion, grief, heartache… and I swear to God, love .
But not like this.
Never like this.
I crawl back up her body before she spirals, and Cora squeaks in surprise when I leave her unfulfilled. But before she can protest, I hook her thighs around my waist and whisper against her ear, “I want you to come when I’m inside you.”
Cora pushes at my chest and flips me onto my back, climbing on top of me and straddling my hips.
My cock grazes the crease of her ass, and I want to lift her onto me, but she reaches behind her and starts stroking me.
She drags her fingernails down my abdomen with her opposite hand, then leans down to kiss me.
Feeling her hand grip my cock as her tongue plunges into my mouth is too fucking much, so I flip her again until she’s on her back, like we’re in some sort of powerplay .
But I want to be in control.
I kneel in front of her and grab one of her legs, tonguing and nipping along her thigh before hooking it over my shoulder.
My other hand reaches up to grab her breast, tweaking her nipple between my fingers until she whimpers.
Then I situate myself between her thighs, my cock just teasing her entrance.
Cora moves her hips downward and releases a gasp-like moan when the tip pushes inside.
Fucking hell, this is really happening.
We’re going to have sex.
By choice.
There are no guns, no chains, no shackles, no evil eyes watching us from across the room, tainting us like poison.
It’s just us .
I lean forward as Cora’s ankle curls around my upper back, her leg still draped over my shoulder. She’s spread wide and waiting.
A trace of moonlight brightens her face, and I can see that her eyes are closed. I pull all the way out of her, and she lifts her hips with frustration. “Look at me, Corabelle.”
Cora’s eyelids flutter open beneath her long lashes, and we are face to face. Chest to chest. Heart to heart. I could never look her in the eyes when I entered her before—there was too much shame and guilt. Too much heartbreak. Too much I was afraid I might see.
Now I want to see it all.
When our gaze is fixed and holding tight, I push my cock inside her.
We both cry out with a tapered groan, and I watch her eyes glaze over, widening slightly, as we are swept up together in the culmination, the pinnacle , of the last fifteen years.
We are frozen for a heartbeat, taking it all in, absorbing it for everything it is.
And then we let go.
I pull out and push back in, hard and demanding, and it’s teeth and nails and moans and sweat.
Cora scratches at my arms, meeting me thrust for thrust, her neck arched back against the pillow as she whimpers and gasps.
I glide my hands up her chest to her neck, my fingers catching on her necklace and gently curling around her throat as I plunge into her.
My lips caress her ear, biting the lobe, and I whisper, “Did you miss my cock?”
Cora grabs my ass, spearing me with her fingernails, tightening her legs around me while she moans, “Yes…”
Goddamn .
I pull out completely, flipping her around until she’s on her stomach, and reenter her from behind.
She cries out, fisting the bedsheets as I slink my arm under her stomach and yank her up, driving into her with zero restraint.
I tug her hair back until she’s fully flush against me, back to chest, moaning and mewling.
One of my hands roves over her breasts, twisting each nipple, while the other finds her throat and tilts her face towards me.
Our mouths collide over her shoulder, and I can taste every beautiful fucking sound I’m ripping out of her, our tongues tangling and hungry as our bodies crash together.
My lips make their way to her ear again as my right hand slides between her legs and finds her clit.
“You’re mine, Corabelle,” I breathe out, claiming her, branding her, marking her as my own.
Her wetness slicks my fingers as I massage her into a frenzy, feeling her shuddering, spinning, begging for release. “Say it. Tell me you’re mine.”
Cora snakes one arm behind my head, holding my face to the crook of her neck where I pull the tender flesh between my teeth and bite down. She gasps, squeaking out more sounds that drive me fucking mad. “I’m yours,” she says, whispery, laced with lust. “You know I am. You’ve always known it.”
“Fuck…” Does she really believe that? Do I believe that?
I’m overcome with the need to look her in the eyes, so I pull back out and spin her around, pushing her down onto the mattress.
I climb over her until we’re face to face, my arms resting on either side of her head.
My cock grazes her entrance, and Cora jerks her hips up, craving me, needing me to fill her.
“Please,” she tells me, grinding herself against my length, making me crazy.
I love teasing her. I always have. “Please what?”
She whimpers. “Please fuck me. Please make me come.”
Jesus . I curl my hands around her wrists and press my forehead to hers, pushing in slowly, our eyes locked.
Desire is the color green, and it floods me, bathing me in emeralds and jades and the waves of the sea.
I lean down to kiss her mouth, puffy and pink, and Cora arches up, wrapping her legs around my waist and locking her ankles.
I reach down to grab her thighs, palming and squeezing, as she rakes her nails down my back, then back up to tug handfuls of my hair.
I pick up the pace, drowning in the madness. Drowning in her .
I never honestly believed we would be in this position again, voluntarily.
Not really. I thought about it, of course—fuck, I thought about it a hell of a lot more than I care to admit.
And when I pictured this moment, being inside her again, feeling her pulsate around me, I envisioned something softer.
Slow, gentle lovemaking that wiped us clean of all that violence. Of all that darkness .
But this is anything but soft.
This is rough and raw and dirty, and we’re animals clawing at each other, biting, all primal growls and desperate thrusts.
It’s fitting , I decide.
After all, we were created in darkness.
It’s in our blood.
I angle my hips so I stroke against her sensitive bundle of nerves as my fingers dig into her thighs. I ram into her over and over, quicker and harder, until I feel her body tense beneath me, her breaths hitching and halting as she begins to peak.
The last time she moaned with pleasure as she came, my mouth found hers before the sound could touch the air.
As much as I wanted to hear it, as much as I wanted it to sweep right through me and claw its way inside my bones, I couldn’t let him hear it.
I couldn’t let him have it. So, I kissed her instead and swallowed it down.
But this time I watch her let go; I let her cry out with shameless abandon, and she’s so fucking loud and wild and stripped down, I can’t hold back any longer.
My orgasm takes over and I come inside her, burying my face into that perfect, familiar curve of her neck and groaning as my body shudders and releases.
We cling to each other, her legs stretching out underneath me, her toes tickling their way down my calves.
I bring my hands up to her hair and weave my fingers in the soft strands, breathing in her scent with a long sigh.
I feel her arms wrap around my middle as she pulls me close, and I lift my head to meet her eyes.
And then the lights flicker back on, like a spotlight, illuminating our tangled limbs and flushed skin. Our bite marks and scratches and sweat. Disheveled hair and wide eyes. All of our flaws and cracks and weaknesses are spread out between us, visible and raw.
We don’t speak. I pull out and roll beside her, sliding my arm around her waist and tugging her towards me. She curls up against me, her back to my chest, and we lie there silent and spooning, wondering what the fuck happens now.
But then I feel her start to tremble, shivering in my arms as she tries to hide her tears from me. I hold her tight, kissing her shoulder and whispering soothing words into her ear.
I told her I would stay with her until the darkness passed, and I did not lie.