Chapter Thirty-Nine
CHAPTER
THIRTY-NINE
Scarlett and Brayden rushed through the quiet foyer and up the stairs. She thanked the Goddess no one got in their way to delay them with exclamations over Brayden’s return. She’d be happy to entertain that kind of chat later, but right now, no.
Inside her room, Brayden shut and locked the door behind them.
When he turned around, Scarlett was already on the bed, pulling her boots off and flinging them to the floor.
He was on her in seconds, and she clutched him to her, their lips crashing together in a bruising kiss as his body pressed into hers, pushing her down onto the bed.
An ache was already building in her.
She broke their kiss, her breaths jagged as she slid her hand down between them to grasp his stiff cock through his sweatpants. “I need you so badly right now.”
Her husband. Her North Star. Her everything. The man she’d chased through her dreams.
She’d been without him for so long. It had only been a few days, but it had seemed like forever.
The pain of their separation sat heavy in her gut, and she needed him to fuck that pain out to prove to her he was really here; really ready to be with her completely. Her need was echoed in his gaze as he pressed himself into her hand.
“I need you too. Goddess, I do,” he groaned. Hiking up the skirt of her dress while she lay beneath him, he slid her panties to the side, exposing her.
Brayden inserted a finger, letting out a growl of pleasure. “So wet for me already,” he murmured.
She ground onto his finger, whimpering when one finger became two and protesting when they slid out of her, leaving her unsatisfied.
“Take these off,” he ordered, tugging at her underwear.
Scarlett slid her panties off and tossed them aside.
Then she stood, intending to pull off her dress, but before she could, Brayden had spun her around so his hips were behind hers, her thighs pressed into the edge of the bed.
He pushed her skirt up, his hand splaying across her stomach as his hard length rubbed against her backside.
He lifted one of her knees onto the mattress.
Scarlett fell forward onto her forearms, her arse hovering in the air near the edge of the bed. She looked over her shoulder in anticipation, expecting to see him about to enter her, but instead he fell to his knees behind her.
“I just want to taste you first,” he said, almost to himself.
She let out a gasp as he gripped her thighs with both hands, his tongue sliding first into her wet pussy and then over her clit. She pushed against him, grinding on his tongue as he ate her out from behind, somehow finding her most sensitive spot even with his face buried in her.
As he massaged her sensitive bundle of nerves, Scarlett moaned, the heat in her quickly building. A low hum of pleasure spread throughout her hips. His tongue and his hands on her were all there was.
Barely any time had passed when she gasped, “I’m coming.” She throbbed against his tongue, feeling the pleasure everywhere, from the tips of her breasts to her curled toes.
He licked her for a few seconds longer before pulling back slightly, his face still between her legs. “I think I spent half my time in jail worrying, and the other half thinking about this.”
“Brayden.” His name came out as a breathy whisper. Closing her eyes, she reveled in her post-orgasm glow, her body ready to melt into a puddle.
“Scarlett, my love. My sweetheart.” He rose, standing behind her. “I can’t wait for you to be mine completely.”
“I can’t wait to be yours,” she murmured, her eyes still closed. Her body was weightless, her soul consumed with joy at the thought of realizing their North Star bond the very next day.
He dragged his fingertips up her thigh and then kneaded her arse.
Her eyes flew open, the touch making her want him again.
Still on her knees, resting on her forearms with her backside in the air, Scarlett looked back at him.
Brayden’s eyes were dark with need as he stared down at her.
She grinned at the sight. He’d stepped out of his pants, but he was still wearing his sweatshirt.
They’d been in too much of a rush to undress properly.
As if reading her mind already, he yanked the sweatshirt over his head, flinging it to the floor next to his pants.
She raked her gaze appreciatively over the view of his naked body before her.
The solid curves of his muscles, how big he was, the knowing that he was hers, body and soul. She was so fucking lucky.
He tugged impatiently at her dress, and Scarlett snapped out of her worshipful stare to help him pull it over her head. Now totally naked, she lay on her side and waited expectantly for him.
Brayden slid onto the bed behind her and pulled her back against him so their bodies fit perfectly together.
Nudging her legs apart, he gripped her to him as the head of his cock found her entrance, sliding back and forth.
With several small thrusts, the thickness of him filled her, making her cry out.
Scarlett adjusted to him with a sharp intake of breath, and his fingers explored her body.
He slid out of her slowly and pushed into her again, until he was fully inside her once more.
She wiggled her hips, wanting him to give it to her hard, but instead of picking up the pace, he only chuckled softly as he reached an arm around to her front and rubbed one of her peaked nipples with the rough pad of his thumb.
Scarlett panted, no longer impatient as he stroked her heavy breast and continued to push in and out of her in an unhurried fashion.
“I…”
“You love me?” he whispered in her ear, sounding out of breath despite his slow pace.
“I love you. Forever.”
She throbbed as he moved in her, touched her, and as if sensing her on the edge, his fingertip found her clit. Scarlett rocked on his shaft as a surprising second orgasm coursed through her.
“That’s right, sweetheart. Are you satisfied now?” he asked.
“No.” She managed to make the one-word answer sound petulant as she pressed herself into him. He was still inside her, and she wanted him undone. She needed him to come with her.
Brayden rolled her onto her stomach, threading his fingers through hers as he used his hands and his body to pin her to the bed, pushing into her harder and picking up the pace. “You want it like that?”
She moaned her answer, her voice husky and pleading.
White-hot fire seared through her as he began to move with urgency. Brayden inside her was all there was as he drove into her hard and fast. She couldn’t move much with his body covering hers, but she rocked into him as best she could, her body still flush with desire.
“More.” She wanted him to stay inside her until she couldn’t remember what it was like to live without him. “I need it hard, Brayden.”
He slowed, and she growled in frustration.
“Shh,” he said. “Let me…”
Her aggravated need turned to curiosity as he hooked his arm around her waist and hauled her onto her hands and knees.
Then his hands circled her wrists. She stilled for a second, not knowing what he wanted, but she let him gently guide her hands behind her back, with her hips still in the air.
Turning her face to one side, she let her head and her shoulders fall to the mattress.
He held her wrists, her arms taut by her sides, and she cried out in pleasure as he used the leverage of the hold to drive into her even harder.
Brayden had her moaning with every deep thrust. The dominance of the position made her writhe under him, the surrender of it bringing her to the brink of climax yet again. He was actually here, and after tomorrow, they’d never really be apart again.
As he pounded into her, she tightened the walls of her pussy on his cock, coming again, and was rewarded as he jerked, spilling himself inside of her. He groaned, releasing his hold on her wrists and stroking her lower back as he pumped in and out of her slowly.
“That was, without a doubt, the best orgasm I’ve ever had.”
She flushed hot, pleased she’d been the one to give him that. They were finally together, the way they should be.
They cleaned up and got back into bed. The familiar sound of birds over the water outside reached Scarlett through her window.
A golden glow from the fading sun lit up her bedroom as she glanced around at all her familiar things.
Brayden encased Scarlett’s body with his, her back to his chest and their legs threaded together.
“I should probably get up,” murmured Scarlett. “Beni might be wondering about dinner.”
“I’m sure he’s fine, but why don’t you text him and see if he needs anything?” said Brayden.
“Good idea.” Scarlett reached for her phone.
His reply came through a minute later. Scarlett smirked and showed Brayden.
Beni: I’m fine. Cass said you needed some “alone time” with Brayden, so we’re out at dinner. Tell Brayden I say hi! I’m glad he’s home.
Brayden chuckled softly. “You’ll bring him to the North Star ceremony, right?”
“Of course,” said Scarlett. She wouldn’t have it any other way.
“Good.” He rested his chin on her shoulder, his warm breath tickling her as he nuzzled into her neck.
While they lay in each other’s arms, Scarlett recalled the last time they’d been in bed together and the arguments that had ensued.
She’d been so unyielding, worrying about her duty over everything else, and for what?
A job she wasn’t even sure she wanted? A promise rose within her, begging to be spoken aloud.
“There’s something I want you to know,” she said.
He stiffened. “What?”
Her grip tightened on the forearm he’d draped over her. “I’ll move to Clair de Lune.”
He was silent for several seconds. “But…”
“Not right away,” she clarified before he could go on.
“I want to give Parliament my best shot for a while and see if I can get the border legislation passed. But let’s say we’re three years down the line and nothing has changed—if by then I haven’t succeeded, I’ll start making a succession plan.
Beni could prepare to take it if he wants, or I can try to name a nonfamilial heir. ”
His hold on her tightened. “You’d do that? Your family’s legacy—you wouldn’t regret giving it up?” His voice was soft, tentative. “I could be the one to move too. I’d do it eventually.”
She turned in his arms so they were face-to-face.
“I know you would. But I love Clair. I could be happy there. And being with you means more to me than the seat in Parliament. I want to leave the world a better place than I found it, but there’s more than one way to do that.
Ways that involve us living together, not apart. ”
Brayden’s gaze was tender and filled with joy as he searched her face. He closed his eyes and pressed his forehead to hers. “I love the idea of you and me together in Clair de Lune.”
She grinned as she reached up and threaded her fingers through his hair. “Me too.”
“Me three,” added Nori, who was floating together with Jax at the foot of the bed, looking peaceful too.
“Until the war is over, it does make sense for you to keep pursuing your goals in Soleil. And three years… I pray we’re at peace by then.”
Scarlett’s smile faded slightly. “I’ll pray for that too.”
“Either way,” he said, sounding happy once more. “Thank you. I love knowing we’ll be together in Clair de Lune someday. After the war.”
A sense of foreboding fell over her at the thought of Brayden at war. She forced it away by nuzzling into him. He was here with her, in her arms, right now. And for now, that was more than enough.