Chapter 22 #2
The moment my fingers slide against her heat, a curse rips from my chest. She’s slick, hot, dripping for me already. My cock jerks hard, but I force myself to hold back, to give her what she’s never had.
I stroke her once, twice, reveling in the way her hips twitch against my hand. Her scent fills my lungs, and I know I’ll crave it forever.
“So tight,” I growl, dipping just enough to feel her clench around the edge of my touch. “So perfect. I’m gonna make you come until you forget every man who ever touched you before me.”
Her hips jerk when I curl my fingers inside her, her walls clenching down so tight it nearly wrecks me. But I want more. I need more.
I slide down her body, kissing every inch on the way until I’m between her thighs, spreading her open with my hands. And then I bury my mouth against her.
She cries out, her back bowing off the mattress, but she’s tense, her body fighting the pleasure she doesn’t believe is hers to feel.
“Griffin…” The sound of my name leaves her lips, shaky and desperate, like she’s not sure she deserves this. And it levels me more than any scream. She’s here with me. She’s trying.
I drag my tongue slow and deliberate along her slit, lifting my head just enough to growl, “Beautiful, I promise you’re gonna come—and you’re gonna come hard. So just lie back and enjoy the fuck out of this as much as I am.”
Then I seal my mouth over her, licking her like a starving man. Sweet vanilla-lavender soap, her skin, her wet heat—it’s intoxicating, dripping down my chin as I devour her.
“This,” I murmur against her clit, tongue working mercilessly, “is what I’ve craved for so fucking long. The chance to worship you.”
Her thighs quiver around me, muscles trembling. Her nails bite into my shoulders, desperate for an anchor. Another broken whisper of my name slips out—pleading, prayerful—and it only drives me harder.
“It’s not fair,” she murmurs. “I need to touch you, too. Please.”
I glance up, lips wet with her, my cock throbbing at the sight of her undone. “You will. I promise. But right now? You’re mine. Give me this, belleza. Let me feel you come all over my tongue.”
I suck her clit into my mouth, flicking my tongue hard and fast, fingers stroking deep, curling exactly where I know she’ll shatter. And then she breaks—crying out my name, sobbing, clutching my head like I’m the only thing keeping her alive.
But I don’t stop. I lap at her, relentless, dragging her through the quake of one orgasm and straight into another. She’s begging now, the words fractured, her thighs shaking so hard I have to pin her hips to the mattress to hold her steady as I devour her.
Finally, when she’s spent, I rise. My mouth is slick with her, and I kiss her hard, letting her taste herself on my lips.
“Look at you,” I whisper against her lips, my voice hoarse with want. “Do you have any idea how fucking gorgeous you are?”
She’s trembling, her chest heaving, eyes glazed like she can’t find words. Her lips part, and what comes out is a broken whisper. “Oh, my God. I can’t. You’re incredible. I can’t?—”
I catch her mouth in another kiss, growling against her lips. “Yes, you can. And I’m going to spend the rest of tonight proving it.”
I lean off the bed just long enough to snag my wallet from my jeans, tearing open the foil packet with my teeth.
My cock is throbbing so hard it’s painful, but I take my time, rolling the condom down slow, my gaze locked on her the whole damn time. Her hair’s mussed, her lips swollen, her body spread out on the sheets like a fucking goddess—and all mine.
God, I want her raw. I want to sink into her bare and lose myself, nothing between us. And I know she’d let me.
But not tonight. Tonight isn’t about claiming—it’s about proving.
Climbing back over her, I brace my weight on my forearms, caging her in. Her legs fall open without me asking, instinct pulling her toward me. I drag the head of my cock along her slick entrance, and she gasps, arching up, her nails digging crescents into my biceps.
“Griffin…” It’s half-plea, half-moan.
“Shh.” I kiss her, swallowing the sound, my voice rough against her lips. “I’ve got you.”
Then I push in—slow, deliberate, inch by inch—until I’m buried to the hilt. My forehead drops to hers as a guttural groan tears from my chest. “Fuck, belleza. You’re so tight, so warm. Like you were made for me.”
Her eyes flutter shut, and I feel every shudder racing through her body. I don’t move yet. I just hold there, letting her take me, letting her feel every ounce of how much I want her.
“You feel that?” I whisper, rocking the smallest bit, deep enough to make her gasp. “That’s me. Inside you. You’re mine. Finally.”
She whimpers, clutching at my shoulders, and I start to move. Slow at first, savoring every glide, every squeeze of her body around me. The slick heat of her is heaven and hell all at once, and I want to lose myself—but I won’t. Not yet.
I watch her unravel beneath me, head thrashing against the pillows, thighs trembling as I drive deeper, harder, until she’s crying my name just like I promised she would.
She was always meant to fall. And I was always meant to catch her.
She’s sprawled on top of me, boneless and spent, her cheek pressed to my chest. I drag a hand lazily down her back, still reeling from the way she came apart for me.
“I hope you’re planning to let me do that a hell of a lot more often,” I murmur, kissing the top of her head.
Her chin tilts up, dark eyes glittering, a sleepy smile tugging at her lips. “Please.”
I grin, brushing a thumb over her swollen mouth. “Best time I ever had. No contest.”
She nods, but the flicker of doubt still creeps in—the shadow of all the years she thinks she wasn’t enough, the reminder that I spent years pretending.
I grasp her chin, forcing her to look at me. “Reese, listen to me. You’re the stuff dreams are made of. You feel fucking incredible. And I don’t mean that in some bullshit, practiced way. I mean, I’m lying here right now, hard as a rock and aching for you again, because you undo me.”
Her lips twitch, a little grin sneaking through. “Yeah, well, you’re pretty damn good, too.”
I bark out a laugh, feigning outrage. “Pretty damn good? That’s all I get?”
“Fine. Absolutely perfect. Better?” Her laugh bubbles up, but then she quiets, her fingers tracing lazy circles in the hair on my chest. “Is everything okay?”
I know exactly who she means, even if she won’t say the name out loud. Lauren. She won’t ruin the moment, but she can’t ignore it, either.
I press a kiss to her forehead, steady. “I’ll figure it out.”
Her gaze locks with mine, her voice soft but fierce. “You don’t have to face this alone. You’re not alone anymore, Griffin. We’ll figure it out together.”
For a heartbeat, the words I love you claw their way up my throat. I nearly say them—nearly spill the truth I’ve been choking down since the first time I saw her. Instead, I pray she can see it in my face, in the way I look at her like she’s every perfect thing I never thought I’d have.
I roll back over her, caging her in, my mouth brushing her ear. “We. I like the sound of that.” My cock nudges against her, already straining for more. “Now, if you don’t mind… I’d like to slip back into my favorite place in the world.”
The flush that blooms across her cheeks is all the invitation I need.