Chapter 20
Her eyes are wet, lashes clumped together. The way she looks at me causes something in my chest to crack wide open.
“Hey,” I murmur, brushing my thumbs across her cheekbones. “What's going on?”
She shakes her head, trying to smile through it.
“Talk to me.”
With a sigh, she looks down at her hands. “I'm... processing. Rosalie called. She was teasing me about us being alone.”
“Is that all?” I ask, stroking her jawline.
For a beat, Liberty won't meet my eyes.
“You can speak your mind, Liberty. You're safe with me. You thoughts. Emotions. Anything you want to say is perfect.
After a small headshake, she meets my gaze. “Rosalie was being nice. But I felt sort of cornered. There's so much pressure around this. Around us. What if I said the wrong thing?”
Liberty said, us.
The urge to crush her against me and never let her go is so strong I have to grit my teeth.
“I don't know what will happen when they come. I'm really dreading it.”
The fact that she feels unsafe in this situation makes me furious.
“Here's what happens when they come, sweetheart. I deal with it. All of it. I'm your shield. Do you understand that? Anything comes your way now, I'm the wall between you and the world.”
Her eyes widen, the tears riding thick on the lashes. “Justice has defended me my whole life, but when I hear you say that, it feels totally different.”
I pull her into my arms. “We'd both put our lives on the line for you, honey. But between us, you get to be who you are, who you want to be. Not your brother's younger sister. You get to be the woman who chooses what she wants, who is respected and safe to unravel in my arms.”
The way her arms wrap around me has my throat in my heart. “I've got you now.”
“I'm worried about you too,” she says softly. “I want to protect you, Spence. Your job could be at stake... your friendship with Justice, too.”
“Things will be fine. I suspect the boss really did play a part in us being alone. And even if he fires me, it doesn't matter.”
She rests her cheek against my shoulder, nesting in my arms. “I just worry because you and Justice are just getting close again.”
“We are. And the call I got was from Justice. He wanted to make sure you were okay. That I was...” I pause, choosing my words carefully. “Treating you right.”
She leans back to look at me with concern. “What did you tell him?”
“Told him you're safe.”
Searching my expression, Liberty asks, “But you didn't tell him we're sharing a bed?”
“I'll have that conversation in person. Man-to-man.”
An anxious shiver tightens her shoulders.
It drives me crazy to have her so upset. I press a kiss to her forehead. “He loves you, Liberty, but you get to make your own choices.”
“What if he makes you choose? The job and your relationship with the team, or me?”
My answer is immediate. “Then I choose you. Every single time. They're my friends, my brothers. The job is good, but what we'll have together going forward is much more important.”
Her breath stalls as we look at each other. When I'm not sure if she's going to pull back, Liberty moves in, kissing me. Her touch desperate and sweet, her lips tasting like tears.
I respond instinctively, my hands sliding into her hair as I deepen the kiss, pouring everything I can't say into the connection between us.
“Come here,” I rasp, climbing onto the bed properly this time.
She watches me with wide eyes as I settle over her, bracing my weight on my forearms so I'm hovering above her without crushing her. Her hands come up to rest on my chest, fingers splaying over my heartbeat.
“Is this okay?” I ask, searching her face. “I think we both need this right now.”
“More than okay.”
I lower myself slowly, letting her feel my weight in increments, giving her every opportunity to tell me to stop. But she doesn't. Instead, her legs part slightly, making room for me between them, and I settle against her with a groan I can't suppress.
“You feel so good,” I murmur against her neck, pressing open-mouthed kisses along her throat. “So delicate and soft below me.”
Her hands slide under my shirt, nails dragging lightly across my back, and I shudder. Every nerve ending in my body is firing, every cell focused on the woman beneath me.
I'm hard in an instant.
“I love your weight on top of me, feels perfect,” she breathes, arching and rocking below me, widening her knees to take me deeper against her.
I capture her mouth again, fighting the urge to devour, to dominate her.
We are going slow. I swear.
But my hips roll against hers experimentally and she gasps, her fingers biting into me. The friction is incredible—too much, but just a tease of what will come.
“God,” I growl against her lips, grinding down again. “You do something wicked to me, sweetheart. But I'm going to take my time with you. This is too good to rush.”
“I'm so desperate,” she whispers, tone husky as she explores my body with bolder and bolder touches.
“Feels. Good. Keep touching me,” I choke out, seeking her lips with mine.
She opens for my tongue, letting me tease her, taste her in a slow, searching kiss.
There is utter trust in her eyes when I break away.
It's the best feeling in the world. Her believing I'll take care of her.”
“When I do take you, angel, I'm going to make you come with my mouth first, my fingers deep, hitting that place we found today. I'm going to learn exactly what makes you shake.”
She whimpers, her fingers climbing up to my shoulders. “I don't know if I can wait...”
“You will,” I say huskily, gliding my tongue along the pulse in her neck. The urge to bite and mark her comes from nowhere.
“Who knew you were such a cruel man, Spence.” Her head tilts back giving me more access.
Grazing her with my teeth, I grind my aching shaft against her. “See what you did? I've been like this for weeks, Liberty. Fucking weeks.”
“I know. I've been the same.”
God. That feels good. Deep inside me, I needed that confirmation she's been as obsessed as I have.
“Then another night or two,” I say, “is worth the wait. You'll be dying for it by the time I slide inside you. But I won't go fast, Liberty, I'm going to take you so slow. Worship you like you deserve.”
She sucks at my lip, making my entire body shudder.
We're breathing hard, my length caught between us, aching, hot with the need to be inside her. It's dangerous, but I take her mouth with a deeper kiss, gripping her hair with one hand, tipping her face up so I can dominate her.
Careful.
You're getting close to the edge...
“Fuck,” I rasp, pulling away.
She's trembling beneath me, her breathing ragged, and I can feel how ready she is even through our clothes. It would be so easy to keep going, to give us both what we're desperate for.
“Not tonight.”
This is about showing her this means something. That I can want her this badly and still put her first.
With a monumental effort, I move back, rolling us both so she's on her side facing away from me. I tuck her against my chest, one arm banded around her waist, pulling her flush against me.
“Spence—” she protests, voice confused and breathless.
“Sleep, beautiful',” I murmur into her hair, holding her tight. “We've got all the time in the world.”
“But you're so hard—” She shifts her hips back against me, and I bite back a groan. She can definitely feel exactly how ready I am.
“It's all good.” I press a kiss to her shoulder. “You're worth the wait. Going slow is about us getting this right.”
She's quiet for a moment, then her hand comes up to cover mine where it rests on her stomach. “You're nothing like I expected, and yet everything I did at the same time.”
My heart kicks hard behind my ribs. I tighten my hold on her, breathing her in, feeling her heartbeat sync with mine.
The Christmas lights twinkle overhead. The waterfall murmurs its constant song. And Liberty Cruze is safe in my arms, exactly where she belongs.
I feel right for the first time in forever.
“Goodnight, angel,” I whisper.
“Goodnight, my Saint.”
She falls asleep first, her breathing evening out, her body going soft and trusting against mine. I stay awake for more than an hour, memorizing the weight of her, the way she fits, the absolute rightness of this moment.
Tomorrow we'll face whatever comes. Tonight, she's mine to protect.