Chapter Eleven
Reid
Reid led Cody to the bedroom of the hotel suite and closed the door behind them. The sounds of Nashville—sirens, traffic, the distant pulse of music—faded to nothing.
“We don’t have to do this tonight,” Reid said, even though every line of his body was taut with want. “You’ve been through hell. If you don’t want—”
Cody silenced him with a kiss. “I need you. I almost lost everything tonight. I thought I’d never see you again. I need this every bit as much as you do.”
Reid made a sound—half-growl, half-groan—and pulled Cody flush against him. Then he kissed him, long and deep.
They undressed each other slowly, peeling away the expensive suits they’d been wearing all night.
Reid was all controlled strength—broad shoulders, defined abs, scars that told stories Cody wanted to hear someday when Reid was ready to tell him.
Cody was leaner, and softer, but the way Reid looked at him made him feel like the most attractive and important person in the world.
“Perfect,” Reid murmured, hands skimming over Cody’s sides. “You’re perfect.”
“I’m really not,” Cody said, breathless.
“To me, you are.” Reid guided him toward the bed. “Lie down.”
Cody did, his heart pounding. Reid followed him down, covering Cody’s body with his own, careful not to crush him. The weight was grounding, perfect.
“I’m going to take my time with you tonight,” Reid said, voice rough. “Learn every inch. Make you feel good. Is that okay?”
“More than okay.”
Reid kissed him slow and deep then started working his way down. Cody’s jaw. His throat, a careful scrape of teeth that made Cody gasp. His collarbone. Then lower.
By the time Reid’s mouth closed around his cock, Cody was shaking, completely overwhelmed. Reid was using his tongue and lips with just enough suction to make Cody’s vision white out.
“Reid, I’m going to—”
“Come,” Reid murmured against his skin. “I want to taste you.”
Cody shattered, pleasure rolling through him in waves. Reid worked him through it, gentle and thorough, then kissed his way back up Cody’s trembling body.
“You good?” Reid asked, eyes searching.
“More than good,” Cody managed. “It’s your turn.”
“This isn’t about me.”
“It’s about us.” Cody reached between them, wrapping his hand around Reid’s cock and began to stroke. He started slowly then build in speed and intensity.
Reid’s control cracked. His eyes flashed gold, and he groaned, hips flexing into Cody’s touch. “Harder. Yeah, like that.”
They moved together, finding each other’s rhythm. Cody watched Reid’s face—his jaw tightening, the flush spreading across his chest, the gold bleeding through his eyes.
“Beautiful,” Cody whispered. “You’re so beautiful like this.”
Reid kissed him, messy and desperate. “Need you. Need to be inside you.”
“Yes. Please.”
Reid took his time preparing Cody. Patient, and thorough, making sure Cody was ready. By the time Reid finally pressed inside, Cody was begging him to hurry up.
The feeling was intense, overwhelming, and completely perfect. Reid moved slowly, giving Cody time to adjust to his wide girth, his hands gentle despite the tension that vibrated through him.
“Okay?” Reid gritted out.
“Yes! Move. Please Reid!”
Reid did, and it was like nothing he had ever experienced. The connection, the intimacy, the way Cody watched him like Reid was his everything. He couldn’t believe this man was his. As Reid fucked him harder and harder, the bond flared between them until Reid felt euphoric.
“Mine,” he growled, one hand sliding to cup the back of Cody’s neck.
Reid’s thrusts grew harder, more desperate.
“Close,” he gasped. “Cody, I’m—”
“Me too,” Cody replied. “Together. Come with me.”
Reid’s hand wrapped around Cody, and stroked him in time with his thrusts. Cody came with a cry, clenching around Reid’s cock.
Reid’s control shattered. He buried his face in Cody’s neck, his hips stuttering, and his teeth sank into the tender flesh of Cody’s neck.
The bite was sharp, claiming Cody all over again. He could feel Cody’s pleasure tangling with his own, could feel the bond strengthen. Their connection went deeper than physical—Reid sensed Cody’s joy, his terror, his overwhelming love, all of it flowing through their bond connection.
Reid came with a roar, the sound vibrating through both of them.
For a long moment afterward, they didn’t move. Couldn’t move. Just breathed, two bodies so intertwined it was hard to tell where one ended and the other began.
Reid lifted his head slowly, and looked down at the man who had come to mean everything to him.
“I can feel your heartbeat,” Reid whispered, pressing his hand to his own chest. “Right here. Like it’s mine. Like our hearts are beating together.”
Cody’s hand covered Reid’s, and his eyes—those incredible blue-green eyes that had captured Reid the moment he’d first seen them—focused on his with laser intensity.
“I love you,” Cody said quietly.
The admission broke something wide open inside Reid. He leaned down and kissed Cody, a hard, claiming kiss, his tongue making itself at home in Cody’s mouth. He put every ounce of passion he possessed into the kiss and Cody returned it tenfold.
Reid made a rumbling sound of pure satisfaction as he gentled the kiss.
He couldn’t believe he had once thought that he would never have a mate, or that he had never wanted one.
Now Reid couldn’t imagine his life without Cody.
He was so honored that this loving, beautiful, talented man belonged to him, and that he would forever belong to Cody.
He would spend every day of his life making him feel safe and loved.
They laid together as the Nashville night turned quiet outside the windows, wrapped around each other, the bond thrumming between them with a rhythm that matched their breathing and Reid knew without a shadow of a doubt, that with Cody in his arms, he was home.