9. Bones
CHAPTER NINE
BONES
The sky is still dark when I wake up, but the room is lit by a spill of gray and gold through the big glass wall. I don’t move, not at first. She’s here, curled into my side, hair fanned out like a fucking banner across my chest. I watch her sleep, and my heart tries to punch through my ribs.
Eden breathes slow and soft. Her cheek is pressed against my shoulder, mouth half-open, lashes making a delicate fan over her cheek. She’s wrapped herself around me without even knowing it. One leg thrown over my thigh. An arm locked tight around my middle. Like she thinks I might leave.
She couldn’t be more wrong. The idea of moving even an inch away from her makes me break out in a cold sweat. Eden Brooks is mine, and I’ll fucking do whatever it takes to keep her.
If I’m being honest, this should scare the hell out of me.
I’ve spent my whole life building armor, layering it up until nothing got through.
I’ve seen brothers lose their edge over a woman, lose everything because they got soft.
I always swore I’d never be that guy. Never let anything close enough to matter.
Now here I am, head over heels for her.
I run my hand down her bare back and she stirs. A tiny frown creases the skin between her brows. Then she nuzzles in closer, burying her nose against my chest. My heart squeezes so hard it aches.
The sunrise shines in the window, turning her hair into a living fire across my skin. I watch the way it shifts, the color changing from dark chocolate to red to copper. For a long time, I just stare at her, drinking it in, because I’ll never get enough of her.
She wakes up slow. At first, just her lashes flutter, then her brows draw tight, then her whole body goes rigid. I can feel the moment she remembers where she is. With me.
Her head lifts, and she blinks, squinting at the morning. Her eyes are sleepy golden green. She blinks up at me.
For a second, she doesn’t say anything. Her hand flexes on my side, digging in like she’s making sure I’m not going anywhere.
“Morning,” she whispers.
“Morning, sweetheart,” I rumble. My mouth is too dry. My pulse pounds away.
She’s naked except for the blanket bunched around her waist, her tits smashed against my side.
I want to drag her on top of me and start all over again, but I don’t.
Not yet. I just keep my arm around her and run my fingers through her hair.
Something clicks into place inside me, a piece that’s always been missing. I wonder if she feels it too.
Fuck. I can’t resist her. I shift over her, pinning her wrists above her head, my mouth hovering over hers. “I need you again,” I murmur, then crush her lips with mine.
She melts under me, mouth opening right away. I kiss her slow, soft, then nip her lower lip hard enough to make her gasp. Her legs wrap around my hips, pulling me closer. My cock slides along her slit, hot and wet and ready.
I drag my mouth down her jaw, over her throat, sucking marks into the skin where only I’ll ever see them. She rocks her hips up, and I press the head of my cock to her entrance.
She’s wet as fuck, slick and eager. I push in, just the tip, and her whole body bows up, eyes rolling back for a second.
She gasps my name as I slide in slow, inch by inch, watching her face the whole time. The stretch is tight, just like last night, but this time she takes me easier. I fuck into her with long, lazy strokes, hands bracketing her head while she clings to me, her nails digging into my back.
We move slow. No rush, just the pure pleasure of her body wrapped around mine. I watch every flicker of feeling on her face, every catch of breath and flutter of eyelash.
When she comes, she does it silently, biting her lip and locking her legs around me so tight I see stars. I don’t last much longer. I slam in deep and let go, coming so hard I see black for a second.
We lie there, tangled and sweaty, catching our breath.
Eden laughs, quiet and broken. “I love the way you say good morning.”
An idea suddenly occurs to me. She just gave me the perfect opening. I brush the hair out of her eyes, press a kiss to her temple. “If you move in with me, we can wake up like this every morning.”
My little lamb goes rigid in my arms, surprise flashing across her gorgeous face before she laughs, low and dangerous. “Don’t you think that’s a little fast?”
Fuck. I might be moving at the speed of light, but I can’t stop myself. I want to own every inch of her, inside and out. “I mean it, Eden. Move in with me.” My voice comes out like a goddamn growl.
For a second, she just stares up at me, breathing hard, those wild green-gold eyes scanning mine for any hint of a joke. There’s nothing funny about this. I drag my palm up her thigh and cup her pussy, grinning when I find her hot and wet and already clenching for me again.
She shudders, gorgeous hair fanned over my chest, her nails biting into my ribs. “Are you trying to bribe me with sex?” she mutters, cheeks flushed, hips rocking against my hand.
“Is it working?” I smirk down at her as my fingers circle her clit and watch her eyes go wide and glassy. Christ, nothing’s better than feeling her lose control under my hands.
I slide one finger inside her, loving the way her breath catches and her thighs squeeze around my wrist. “It’s working too well,” she breathes and arches up to drive my finger deeper.
Fuck. My cock’s already leaking all over her thigh, but I can’t pull my goddamn eyes off the way her pussy clenches around my finger like she’s desperate for me.
I curl it deep, slow, loving the sound she makes.
Any more, and I’m going to flip her over and fuck her senseless, but I want this. I want to watch her fall apart for me.
“That’s it, sweetheart,” I rumble, voice ugly with need. “Grip me tighter. Show me how bad you want it.”
She shivers, head thrown back, hair wild and spilling all over my arm. Her nails rake up my side, sharp enough to sting, and fucking hell, I love that she doesn’t hold back. Not with me.
I drive a second finger inside, and she damn near levitates off the bed. Her pretty tits bounce with every thrust of my hand, and I’m seconds from losing control.
“Look at you,” I growl, leaning down until I’m breathing her in, lips tracing the shell of her ear. She’s panting, moaning, biting her lip raw. “So goddamn perfect. All mine. You get that, right?”
Her eyes open just enough. Green, gold, wild. “Not sure you’ve made your case,” she throws back at me, trying to sound tough, but her voice is wrecked in the best way. “You might need to try harder.”
That’s my girl, still fighting even when she’s seconds from ruin. Fuck, I love her. Every last stubborn inch.
I grin down at Eden, fingers knuckle-deep in her perfect pussy, soaking up the sight of her arching under my touch.
“You want me to go harder, baby? You got it.” My voice is pure gravel, and my cock is throbbing, dripping precum all over her thigh, but I’m not letting up.
Not with my little lamb daring me to give her more.
I piston my fingers in and out and circle her clit with my thumb until her whole body shudders. She bites her lip, but I see it—the way her eyes roll back, hands fisting in the sheets like she’s about to tear them in half.
“That’s it, Eden. Show me how fucking good I make you feel.” I lean down, mouth grazing her throat, sucking a bruise under her jaw just because I can. Her hips rock up, greedy and wild, and she moans my name like a prayer.
“Still think I haven’t made my case?” I tease, curling my fingers just right so she nearly goes airborne.
“You aren’t fighting fair,” she gasps, voice hoarse and desperate.
I bare my teeth and fuck her with my hand, fierce and relentless, watching her tits bounce and her pretty pussy squeeze every inch. The sight alone nearly makes me blow. “Never promised fair. I always fight to win.” I rub her clit harder, watching her shatter for me all over again.
She breaks apart with a hoarse scream, nails digging into my back so deep they nearly draw blood. Fuck. That’s my good girl. The way she comes for me is straight-up addictive. I drag it out, fingers pumping into her perfect pussy, loving every fucking flutter of her walls as she crumbles under me.
“Bones,” she gasps, voice raw, body arching off the mattress. Holy shit, this woman owns me right down to my damn DNA.
I slow my hand, circling her clit gently. “That’s it, sweetheart. I fucking love watching you fall apart for me.”
She shudders, breath coming in shaky bursts, cheeks flushed, hair a dark, tangled halo against my arm. Gorgeous. I want to lock this memory down for the rest of my life.
She lets go, all her muscles going lax and boneless. I ease out my fingers and lean in to brush a kiss across her swollen lips. “So, Eden. Are you convinced yet?”
She narrows those wild gold-green eyes at me, still catching her breath. “I might need a second opinion.”
Smartass. My cock throbs so hard it hurts. “You’re about to get it.”
I roll her so she’s under me, her tits soft against my chest, legs open and waiting. She locks her ankles around my lower back and tilts her hips up, greedy as hell for me. God, I fucking love this woman.
I slide the head of my cock along her soaked slit, slow and fucking deliberate. Just teasing. Eden arches up for it, greedy, hungry, her pussy weeping for me. The way her hips chase my dick drives me absolutely insane.
I drag it back and forth, slick with her come, until she whimpers and glares at me. “Bones,” she grits out, nails digging into my ass. “Quit teasing.”
I push in, just the head, and watch her sharp mouth go slack. Her legs quiver on either side of my hips. I hold her pinned, my hands on her wrists, and sink deeper. Inch by thick inch. Jesus. Her pussy grabs me so tight I see fucking stars.
“Fucking hell,” I grind out, burying myself all the way, the stretch nearly too much.
She’s so wet and so hot, every muscle in her body squeezing me like she never wants to let go.
I don’t hold back, not even a fucking inch, as I drive my cock into her wet heat.
Her pussy is greedy as hell, grabbing me so goddamn tight it nearly rips the soul right out of my chest.
Eden’s nails claw at my ass, her body arching up to meet every thrust like she wants to crawl inside my skin and never leave. That’s my girl.
She moans my name, wild and desperate, and it shoots straight to my cock. Her tits bounce with every hard fuck of my hips, and I can’t get enough of the way her nipples pebble against my chest as I grind down and claim her.
“Harder,” she begs. Hell fucking yes.
I lose every last scrap of mercy as I hammer into her, keeping her wrists pinned above her head and driving deep with each stroke.
I flex my hips, rolling them so my cock drags hard against her g-spot and my hand finds her clit.
She damn near convulses under me, that perfect pussy spasming as she shatters.
I bare my teeth, slam deep once, twice, and there’s no controlling it. I blow so hard I see black spots behind my eyes. My cock throbs, pumping her full until she’s dripping down her thighs. I pin her there and let the orgasm tear me apart.
I drop down hard, my weight caging her under me, and for a second, all I can do is pant like I just went twelve rounds with a heavyweight and survived by the skin of my fucking teeth.
Every muscle in my body is shot, my cock still throbbing as our cum leaks down her thighs and onto my sheets, but it’s the look on Eden’s face that absolutely wrecks me.
She’s a wild mess of tangled dark hair, flushed cheeks, lips swollen from my rough kisses, eyes glassy and gold-green and dazed as hell.
She’s breathing like she can’t get enough air, and I know exactly how she feels.
I want to eat up every inch of her, mark her inside and out, then do it all over again just to make sure nothing and no one ever takes this from me.
I haul her to my chest, palm cradling the back of her head so she can’t do anything but melt into me and take it.
My heart’s pounding so damn hard I think it might beat straight out of my ribs.
I nuzzle the top of her hair, dragging her leg over my hip, not about to let her wiggle away even an inch.
“How was that for a second opinion?” I rasp it into her ear, voice so raw I barely recognize it.
She laughs against my chest. “Not bad,” she finally manages, voice all wrecked and sassy. “Once I can feel my toes, we could try for a third.”
Fuck, I love her.
“Sweetheart, you’re going to keep me on my toes.” I smile and hug her close.
“It’s my goal in life.”