Chapter 36
Chapter Thirty-Six
Leif
No More Holding Back
“You know what? I never want to run again—not without you.” She says it, and for a moment, I don’t know what wrecks me more—her promise of staying, or the fact that she’s finally admitting she loves me.
Hailey Jean loves me, and she plans to stay with me. Probably forever. However, she’s looking at me like she’s terrified.
Like she just handed me a loaded gun and is waiting to see if I’ll pull the trigger.
Like she expects me to ruin this moment.
I won’t.
I can’t.
It’s totally impossible because she just said the words I’ve been waiting to hear for years. And now that I have them?
I’m never letting her run from them.
From me.
From us.
I press my forehead against hers, breathing her in, grounding myself. Because this moment is immense, pressing in from all sides. The truth of what we’ve just admitted is more than a single kiss can hold.
I need more. I need her.
My fingers drift down, skimming over her belly—our daughter beneath my palm, my entire fucking world curled up inside of her—before I drag my hand lower, gripping her hip. I keep her close, feeling the warmth of her against my skin, the way she fits against me like we were made for this.
“Say it again,” I murmur, my lips brushing against hers. “Say it while you’re looking at me like that.”
Her breath catches.
“I love you,” she whispers.
My grip tightens. My body tightens. I swear to God, those words are going to ruin me.
She doesn’t even realize what she’s done, how deeply she’s just fucking branded me with those three syllables.
I kiss her hard—slow and deep and possessive—letting her feel everything I can’t say yet. My tongue sweeps into her mouth, claiming, demanding, swallowing the soft little whimper she gives me.
“Good girl,” I murmur against her lips.
She shivers.
Fuck.
I flip us slowly, carefully, shifting her until I’m above her, keeping my weight off her belly, keeping her and our baby safe, even as I pin her beneath me.
Her hands slide up my chest, her nails dragging lightly over my skin, sending a sharp pulse of need straight to my cock. I know she can feel how hard I am, the thick press of me against her thigh, the way my body is fucking desperate for her.
“You need something, baby?” My voice is low, teasing, but full of promise.
She nods, biting her lip.
I smirk. Not good enough.
“Use your words.”
She swallows. Then, quietly, “I need you. I need your cock inside my cunt.”
I exhale through my nose, pressing a slow, open-mouthed kiss to her throat.
“I know, Hails.” My voice is rough, shaken, because as much as I’m in control, she wrecks me. “And I’m gonna give it to you. But you’re gonna take it slow. This is our first time and I need to claim you, show you who you belong to.”
She nods quickly, like she’ll do anything I ask.
I sit back on my heels, taking her in—flushed cheeks, lips parted, chest rising and falling with every shallow breath. She’s in my sweatshirt, the sleeves hanging loose around her wrists, her pajama shorts teasing me with the barest glimpse of skin. Too much fabric. Too many barriers between me and what’s mine.
I grip the hem of the sweatshirt, my knuckles brushing the soft skin of her stomach as I peel it upward. She lifts her arms without hesitation, letting me strip it away, leaving her bare from the waist up, the glow of the bedside lamp casting shadows over every curve.
“Perfect,” I murmur, dragging my fingertips down her ribs, watching the way she trembles beneath my touch. “So fucking perfect.”
Her hands twitch at her sides, like she wants to reach for me, but I shake my head, pinning her with a look. “Not yet,” I murmur. “Let me take my time.”
She exhales shakily, nodding, and I move lower, hooking my fingers into the waistband of her shorts. I pull them down inch by inch, savoring the way her breath hitches, the way she lifts her hips for me, giving me exactly what I want.
When I finally have her bare, stretched out beneath me, I drag my hands down her thighs, my palms trailing heat in their wake.
“That’s better,” I murmur, pressing a kiss to the swell of her stomach, worshiping the curve of her belly before shifting lower, dragging my tongue along her inner thigh, making her writhe.
“Leif,” she gasps, arching.
I press her hips down, pinning her in place. “Stay still, baby. Let me enjoy you.”
“Patience,” I murmur. “I want you needy for me. Want you shaking.” I slide my fingers through her slick heat, groaning at how fucking wet she is already. “Fuck, baby, look at you. All this just for me?”
She nods, a whimper slipping past her lips.
I smirk. “Of course it is. This pretty little pussy was made for me.”
I slide my tongue through her folds, slow and deliberate, savoring her, making her beg before I take her apart.
And when she comes?
It’s with a broken sob of my name.
I kiss up her body, pressing my lips to her skin, taking my time because she deserves to be cherished. Every inch of her, every gasp, every shiver belongs to me.
But she’s done waiting.
Her nails dig into my shoulders, her breath coming fast, and she pulls me down, dragging me into a desperate kiss. Teeth, tongue, raw need.
“I need you inside me,” she pleads, her voice wrecked, shaking.
I groan against her mouth, already lost.
I push up onto my knees, my hands skimming down her sides, fingers lingering at the curves I already know by heart. Then I sit back, dragging my shirt over my head and tossing it aside before reaching for the waistband of my boxer briefs. Her gaze locks onto my hands, pupils blown wide as I shove them down, letting my cock spring free, thick and aching for her.
She bites her lip, her thighs pressing together like she can’t help it, but I shake my head. “Open up for me, baby,” I murmur, running my palm along the inside of her knee, coaxing her.
She does, spreading wide, giving me exactly what I want.
I groan, gripping myself, running the head of my cock through her slick heat, teasing both of us. Then, slowly—so fucking slowly—I push inside.
The moment I sink into her, we both moan—her fingers clutching at me, my jaw tightening at how fucking perfect she feels around me.
“You feel that?” I murmur, buried deep inside her, holding her face in my hands, forcing her to look at me. “That’s mine. You’re mine.”
She nods, gasping, back arching against the bed.
But that’s not enough.
“I wanna hear it, baby.” My thrusts are slow, deliberate, grinding against that sweet spot, making her lose her mind. “Tell me whose cunt this is.”
She moans, lips parting. “Yours. Fuck—yours, Leif.”
“Good girl,” I growl, thrusting deep, feeling the way she clenches around me. “You take me so fucking well.”
She’s so sensitive, so responsive, her body melting under my praise.
I slide a hand down, cupping the soft swell of her belly, feeling where our daughter grows.
“You’re so fucking beautiful like this,” I murmur, my voice rough with reverence. “Full of me. Carrying my baby, because, Hailey, she’s mine. I love her like mine already, baby, because she is yours.”
She gasps, shaking beneath me, so close already.
I tighten my grip on her thigh, hitching it higher around my waist, driving deeper, making her feel every inch of me. Her breath stutters, a soft, broken sound, and I groan, dragging my lips down her throat, feeling her pulse race beneath my mouth.
“You take me so fucking well,” I murmur against her skin, rolling my hips in a slow, torturous rhythm, letting her feel every inch as I sink deep, then pull back just enough to tease. “Like you were made for me.”
She whimpers, her fingers digging into my shoulders, hips tilting, chasing more. Always needing more.
I smirk against her collarbone. “That desperate for me, baby?”
She nods, her lips parting, but no words come out. Just little gasping breaths, her body trembling beneath mine, gripping me like she never wants to let go.
I shift my weight, pressing deeper, angling just right, and she cries out, her nails biting into my skin.
“There,” I growl, thrusting harder, keeping the pace slow but relentless, drawing out every sweet sound she has to give me. “That’s it. Feel that?” My cock throbs inside her, needing release, needing her heat. And, fuck, if I don’t want to stay here forever.
She nods frantically, her head tipping back, exposing her throat.
I press a kiss there, then another, my free hand sliding up her side, brushing over the curve of her stomach, the place where our baby grows. “She’s mine, Hailey. Just like you.”
She gasps, her body clenching around me, her breath coming fast and uneven.
I grin, nipping at her jaw. “Come on, baby. Give it to me.” I thrust harder, deeper, every stroke pushing her closer.
Her legs tighten around me, her body arching, and then she shatters, a sharp cry spilling from her lips as she clenches around me, pulling me under with her.
“Come for me, baby,” I order, my voice firm but full of praise. “Let me feel you squeeze my cock.”
Her body locks up, her nails dig into my back, her walls clamp down around me, and she moans my fucking name like it’s the only word she knows.
“Fuck, Hailey,” I groan, losing it, driving into her once, twice—then I’m gone, spilling deep inside her, marking her, claiming her in the only way I know how.
I collapse beside her, pulling her into my chest, keeping her close.
Her breathing is still ragged, her body still soft and pliant from what I just did to her.
I brush damp hair from her face, kissing her forehead, letting my fingers trace lazy circles over her stomach.
“You okay?” I ask, voice softer now, full of something dangerously close to love.
She sighs, nestling against me. “Yeah,” she whispers. “More than okay.”
I feel her exhale, feel the tension unravel from her muscles as she sinks into me, warm and safe. I press one last kiss to her temple, murmuring, “Sleep, baby. I’ve got you. I always will.”