Chapter 49 #2
"When I ran, I wasn't running from you," I continued, my own tears falling freely now, dripping off my chin onto our joined hands.
My voice was thick with emotion, but I forced the words out anyway, knowing he needed to hear them as much as I needed to say them.
"I was running from myself. From my fear.
From the voice in my head that said I didn't deserve this, didn't deserve you, any of you.
I was so scared of being happy that I sabotaged it before it could be taken away. "
"Ava—" His voice broke on my name, cracking like a dam about to burst. His hand came up to cover mine where it rested on his cheek, pressing my palm harder against his skin, as if he was afraid I might disappear if he didn't hold on tight enough.
"I'm not done," I said softly, gently but firmly. I held his gaze, letting him see the truth in my eyes, the love, the regret, the unwavering certainty of what I was about to say. "You asked for words. Let me give them to you." He nodded, his hand tightening on mine.
"When I was out there in the snow, dying, do you know what I thought about?
" I asked. "You. All of you. I thought about your laugh, and your stupid jokes, and the way you look at me like I'm the most precious thing in the world.
I thought about all the moments we'd never have, all the words we'd never say, all the love I'd thrown away because I was too scared to accept it.
" I shuddered as I gave him all my words.
"I choose you, Leo. Not because I have to.
Not because of the bond. But because you're you — brilliant and funny and kind and so much more than you let anyone see.
I choose your words, your laughter, your heart.
I choose all of it. Forever." I cupped his face in both hands now, my thumbs tracing the sharp lines of his cheekbones, wiping away the tears that continued to fall.
For a long moment, he just stared at me, tears streaming down his face, his blue eyes swimming with so much emotion I thought I might drown in it. His lips parted like he wanted to speak, but no words came and from a man who always had words, that silence said everything.
Then he surged forward, pulling me so I was straddling him and kissed me.
It wasn't gentle. It wasn't playful. It was desperate and deep and filled with all the words he couldn't say.
His hands fisted in my hair, tilting my head back, his tongue sweeping into my mouth like he was trying to taste the truth of my words.
I moaned against his lips, my body melting into his, my Omega purring at the intensity of his need.
Heat flooded through me, pooling between my thighs, slick already beginning to gather.
"More words," he gasped against my mouth, pulling back just far enough to speak, his breath hot and ragged against my swollen lips.
His blue eyes were dark with desire now, the pupils blown wide, and his hands trembled where they gripped my hips.
"I need more. Tell me what you want. Tell me what you need. Use your words, Ava."
"I want you," I breathed, my hands fumbling with the buttons of his shirt, my fingers clumsy with desperation. I could feel his heart pounding beneath my palms, racing as fast as my own. "I need you. I need to feel you inside me, Leo. I need you to make me yours."
He groaned, his hands moving to strip off my clothes with an urgency that made me shiver. He pulled my shirt over my head, then my pants, leaving me in just my underwear. His eyes raked over my body, dark with hunger.
"All of it," he demanded, his voice rough with need, his blue eyes dark and hungry as they devoured every inch of exposed skin. His chest was heaving, his golden hair disheveled from my fingers, and he looked like something wild and beautiful and desperate. "I want to see every inch of you."
I reached back to unhook my bra, letting it fall away. Then I lifted my hips to slide my panties down, kicking them off until I was completely bare before him. The cool air raised goosebumps on my skin, my nipples pebbling into hard peaks.
"Beautiful," he breathed, his hands hovering just above my skin without touching, close enough that I could feel the heat radiating from his palms. His eyes traced over my body with reverent hunger, cataloging every curve, every freckle, every rise and fall of my chest as I breathed. "Tell me what you want me to do."
"Touch me," I begged, my voice coming out needy and desperate. I arched toward his hovering hands, chasing contact he wouldn't give. "Please, Leo. I need your hands on me."
"Where?" His fingers traced a featherlight path down my arm, barely a whisper of contact that made goosebumps erupt in their wake. His eyes never left mine, watching every flicker of expression on my face. "Be specific."
"Everywhere," I gasped, my body trembling with need. "Touch me everywhere—" His hands cupped my breasts, his thumbs brushing across my nipples, and I cried out at the sensation. Electricity shot straight to my core, pleasure sparking through my entire body.
He rolled my nipples between his fingers, tugging gently. "Tell me what you feel."
"Pleasure," I moaned, my back arching into his touch. "It shoots straight down, I can feel it between my legs, I'm already so wet for you, Leo—"
"I can smell it," he growled, his voice rough and primal in a way I'd never heard from charming, playful Leo. His nostrils flared as he inhaled deeply, and his eyes went even darker, the blue almost swallowed by the black of his pupils. "I can smell how much you want me. Tell me more."
"I want your mouth," I begged, my voice breaking on the words. "Please — I need your mouth on me—" He lowered his head and took one nipple into his mouth, sucking hard, his tongue swirling around the hardened peak. I wailed, my fingers tangling in his hair, my hips bucking up against nothing.
"More," I sobbed. "Please, more—" He switched to my other breast, lavishing it with the same attention while his hand continued to tease the first. The dual sensation was overwhelming, pleasure building in my core, slick gathering between my thighs until I could feel it dripping onto the chaise beneath me.
"Tell me what you need," he demanded against my skin, his breath hot against my breast, his lips brushing the sensitive flesh with every word. His golden hair tickled my collarbone, and I could feel the tension in his shoulders where my hands gripped him. "Keep giving me words."
"I need you to touch me lower," I begged, my thighs falling open in shameless invitation, slick glistening on my swollen folds.
"I want your fingers inside me. I need — oh god—" His hand slid between my thighs, his fingers finding my slick, swollen folds.
He groaned at how wet I was, his fingers gliding easily through the moisture gathered there.
"You're soaked," he breathed, wonder and hunger warring in his voice as his fingers slid through my wetness.
His blue eyes were fixed on where he touched me, watching his fingers glide through my folds with an expression of rapt fascination.
"God, Ava, you're dripping for me. Is this what words do to you? "
"It's what you do to me," I corrected, my hips bucking against his hand, chasing more contact, more pressure.
My voice was wrecked, barely recognizable as my own.
"Everything about you. Your voice, your touch, your, oh god, " His finger slid inside me, and I cried out, my walls clenching around him greedily, desperately.
"Keep talking," he ordered, adding a second finger, curling them to find that spot that made stars explode behind my eyes.
His thumb pressed against my clit, circling slowly, and his eyes never left my face, drinking in every expression of pleasure like a man dying of thirst. "Tell me how it feels. "
"So good," I sobbed, my hips rocking against his hand, trying to take him deeper. "Your fingers feel so good inside me. I can feel you stretching me, curling against that spot, oh god, Leo, right there—"
He pumped his fingers faster, his thumb finding my clit and circling with devastating precision. The pleasure built impossibly high, coiling tighter and tighter in my core, my walls fluttering around his fingers—then he stopped.
"No!" I wailed, my body convulsing with denied pleasure. "Leo, please — I was so close—"
"Tell me more," he demanded, his fingers still buried inside me but torturously unmoving. His jaw was tight with restraint, a muscle ticking in his cheek, and I could see how much it cost him to hold back when he clearly wanted to devour me. "Tell me what you want."
"I want to come," I sobbed, tears streaming down my face, my body shaking with denied pleasure. I was a wreck beneath him, completely undone, and I didn't care. "Please, Leo, I need to come. I need you to make me come. I'll say anything — I'll do anything — please—"
"What else do you want?" He moved his fingers again, just a slow curl that made my whole body jerk, a teasing promise of what he could give me if only I gave him enough words. His voice was strained, rough with his own need, but he held firm. "Be specific."
"I want your cock," I begged, shame and need warring in my chest, the need winning by a landslide. The words spilled out of me, desperate and raw. "I want to feel you inside me. I want you to fill me up, stretch me open, fuck me until I can't think—"
"Such pretty words," he murmured, his voice dropping to a husky rasp that made my inner walls clench around his fingers. He pumped them again, driving me back toward that edge with practiced precision. "Keep going."