Chapter 26
Chapter Twenty-Six
HARPER
“ T hat’s the last of it.”
Holy shit. I’m really doing this. I’m moving in with Blake Blackwell.
I get to see him every day, even if it’s only for a few minutes between our crazy schedules, and part of me is so relieved. I need him every day.
With my few suitcases and a couple of totes in the back of his vehicle, Blake reaches up to close his SUV just as Xander comes driving up in his fancy-as-fuck car and parks behind us.
“What are you guys up to?” my brother asks as he climbs out of his sports car and pulls his sunglasses off.
“Oh good, I don’t have to text you. I’m moving all of my things over to Blake’s place.”
The smile falls from Xander’s lips, and his gaze bounces between Blake and me.
“Say that again.” Xander crosses his arms over his chest and glares at Blake, and I let out a sigh .
“Stop looking at him like that.” I prop my hands on my hips.
“Thank you for giving me a place to live, X. I appreciate you, and I have loved having some time with you since it feels like I never get to see you. But Blake and I hardly see each other as it is with our schedules, and I’m going to be living with him. ”
“You move fast,” Xander says, still staring at Blake, and I close my eyes and shake my head.
“God save me from overprotective men. Xander, chill out.”
“It’s my whole job not to chill out when one of my sisters decides to shack up with some dude,” he reminds me, then turns back to Blake.
“Look, I like you. I like your family. I don’t have beef with you, but she’s my sister, and she’s already been through it.
So if you hurt her, if you even hurt her feelings , I’ll hurt you tenfold. ”
I walk right over to him and wrap my arms around him, hugging him close.
“He won’t hurt me,” I tell him, meaning every single word. Sure, we might argue, and earlier, I was ready to run Blake over with my car. But when it really counts? I know that Blake won’t hurt me.
“I love you, baby sis,” Xander says, kissing my head.
“Yeah, yeah, love, blah, blah.” I grin up at him. “Ditto, X-man. Now, stop being a bully, okay? You can pull that shit on the ice, but not with me or my man. I won’t bake you any more cookies.”
“You don’t pull your punches.” He tugs on my hair the way he always does, and I know that everything is right with him. “You’d better tell the others. And you better not tell Dad over text.”
“I’ll call him.”
“We’ll go see him,” Blake counters and offers his hand for Xander to shake. “And we’ll have you all over for dinner soon.”
“Good luck with that,” Xander says. “Wrangling us all together at once isn’t as easy as it used to be.”
“You did it for the resort,” I remind him.
“No one was going to pass up that little vacation.” Xander laughs and turns to go inside. “Do you need help with anything?”
“Nah, we got it. I don’t have much.”
“Just call if you do.” Xander winks at me, nods at Blake, and disappears inside.
“That went well,” Blake says as we get in his car.
“For sure. No one threw a punch.” I settle back in the seat with a happy sigh. “I’ll send a group text to the rest.”
“We’ll go over and talk to Greg tomorrow,” Blake says.
I turn to look at him and smile. God, he’s pretty. It should be illegal in at least twelve states to look that good. “What about your family?”
Blake blinks at that. “Okay, we’ll go to my parents’ house, too, and I’ll text my siblings when we get home.”
I nod, happy with that answer, and reach over to take his hand in mine. He kisses my knuckles, then sets our hands on my thigh, and I squeeze three times .
A grin spreads over his gorgeous face, and he glances my way. “I love you too, baby.”
Unloading the car and getting all my clothes hung in Blake’s enormous closet takes less than an hour.
I guess it’s my closet now, too.
And when I sit on the couch to text the gang, I see I’m late to the party.
Ava: Does Harps have something to share with the freaking class????
Easton: What’s going on? You okay, Harps?
Tucker: Are you in trouble?
Xander: …
Easton: HARPER. What’s going on?
“Why are you biting your lip like that?” Blake asks as he sits next to me on the couch, holding his own phone.
“Xander has a big fucking mouth.”
Blake smirks. “It’s Billie in our family.”
“Are you texting them?” I ask him.
“Already done. They all say hi, you’ve been invited to Sunday dinner at Beckett’s place this week, and Billie will be calling you later.”
I blink at him. “Wow, okay.”
“How about you? How’s it going?”
“Well, it looks like Xander already opened his big mouth, so now I have to calm everyone down. Hold please.”
Rather than send a text, I start the voice memo.
“Hi, family. Sounds like Xander can’t keep his gossiping mouth shut.
Yes, I have news. I moved in with Blake today.
Ava, don’t yell at me. It happened really fast. I’ll tell you about it later.
Before you ask, yes, I’m fine. Better than fine.
I’d say don’t worry, but I’d be wasting my breath.
We’ll have you all over for dinner or something at some point.
Don’t tell Greg, okay? We’re going over to talk to him tomorrow.
I repeat, let me tell Greg myself. Hugs and kisses and all the mushy stuff. Bye.”
I set the phone on the coffee table, and I’m suddenly in Blake’s lap. He’s kissing down my neck, sending shivers down my body. I don’t know if I’ll ever get used to being this close to him. If my body won’t come alive whenever he touches me.
“Welcome home, sugar.”
With a grin, I snuggle against him. It’s true, I really like Blake’s house. Our house. But it’s right here, sitting in his strong arms that I truly feel like I’m at home.
Because Blake is my home.
He nuzzles my ear, and his hand moves up between my thighs and under my dress. After we fucked in the kitchen earlier, I pulled on clean underwear, but when his fingertips ghost over my center, I know they’re already wet again.
“Wet already?” he whispers in my ear before biting my earlobe. “Why are you wet, baby?”
“Because you’re touching me.” I gasp when his finger pushes the panties aside and then slides between my lips, making me arch against him.
“Does that feel good?” He nips my ear, then drags his nose down my jawline, and an involuntary whimper escapes my lips. I can feel him grin against my skin. “Oh, it must feel good if you’re making those little sounds that make me hard as fuck.”
I can feel him, hard as steel, against my hip.
“Blake.” I spread my legs wider, wanting more of him, needing him to fill me and make me come apart.
“What do you need, baby?”
I swallow hard and tip my face back, needing to see him. Needing to feel the connection to him when he looks in my eyes. “You. I just need you.”
“Excellent fucking answer.” His mouth covers mine, and his tongue slips between my lips, devouring me whole as his hands play me like an instrument, making me feral for him. His fingers slide through my wetness, and then he pulls them away and paints my bottom lip with my own arousal.
When I lick it off, Blake’s eyes darken, and he moves us quickly, laying me on my back.
“I’m fucking obsessed with you,” he growls against my neck. “Every inch of you. Inside and out. I can’t fucking get enough of you.”
He pulls my underwear down my legs, his fingertips dragging along my skin setting fire to every nerve ending, and discards them. He pushes my legs up to my chest and buries his face in my core. A wave of pure energy moves through me, heating my skin and stealing my breath .
“Blake.”
“Say it again.”
“Blake.” My voice cracks that time because he sucks my clit between his lips and pulses, and I know I’m about to come.
I’m about to explode.
When he pushes two fingers inside me, there’s no holding back. The orgasm rolls through me, and my hips lift as I cry out, pushing against him, and he growls, sending new sparks through me. He’s fucking addicting .
As I calm down, Blake licks and nibbles around my pussy, humming, and his hands roam over my stomach and thighs.
And then he’s moving over me, and he kisses me, and I can taste myself there. My hands lift to his face, and I feel more connected to this man at this moment than I ever have before, and I didn’t know that was possible.
“You’re the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen,” he whispers against my lips as he slides inside me, and we both moan with the pleasure of it. “So. Fucking. Tight.”
I clench around him, and the gold flecks in his eyes shine as he starts to move.
“So. Fucking. Mine. ” He growls the words, his forehead resting on mine as he moves, and I swear, I know on a molecular level that I’ll never be the same.
Where it was fast and hard earlier, this is long, slow strokes, as if he’s savoring every inch. Every gasp. As though I’m the most precious thing in the world, and he’s taking it all in .
Because I am. I’m the most precious thing in Blake’s world.
He will never hurt me like Nathan did. He’ll never neglect and leave me like my parents did. This man loves me.
Blake loves me.
Bringing my hands to his face again, and with my lips ghosting against his, I whisper, “You’re my home, Blake.”
He’s balls deep inside me when he stops moving. His eyes widen, and his hand cups my cheek, but he doesn’t pull back. His lips still brush mine, and I can taste the love pouring out of this beautiful, intelligent, dedicated man.
He is everything I respect, everything I need.
“You’re everything.” Tears fill my eyes, but these tears are happy ones. “ You’re my home.”
He brushes a tear away and rests his forehead against my own. “I can’t ever be without you again, Harper. My life doesn’t work without you in it.”
“I’m right here, and I’m not going anywhere.”
He starts to move again, and he presses his thumb against my clit.
“Fuck,” I whisper.
“Come for me, beautiful.” He tugs my lower lip between his teeth. “Come, sugar.”
Every cell in my body quivers from the ecstasy of this climax. I feel myself bear down on him so fucking hard that he roars and comes with me, pulsing inside me.
And when we’re a tangled, panting, sweaty mess, Blake brushes my hair off my cheek and grins down at me.
“Shower.”
“Wait. Your legs still work ?” He laughs, but I keep talking. “How? I’m pretty sure I’m boneless at this point.”
“Come on, I need to clean you up so I can get you messy again.”
“You’re trying to kill me.”
“No, baby. I’m fucking worshipping you.”