Chapter 71
SYLVIE
Ikissed him with everything I had, pouring all my love and gratitude into the connection between us. My hands found the waistband of his boxers. I slid them down slowly, deliberately, wanting to savor every moment of this.
Kent groaned softly as I wrapped my hand around him, feeling him harden further under my touch. He was already aroused. Knowing I had that effect on him sent heat flooding through my entire body.
“Sylvie,” he breathed, his voice rough with desire. “You’re going to kill me.”
“That’s the plan,” I murmured against his lips, stroking him slowly.
He pulled back just enough to yank my T-shirt over my head, leaving me completely naked beneath him.
His eyes roamed over my body with such hunger and appreciation that I felt beautiful in a way I’d never experienced before.
Not just physically attractive but truly seen and cherished.
No matter how many times he saw me naked, he always acted like it was the first time.
Like he was getting the gift of something amazing despite seeing me just that morning.
“You’re so perfect,” he said, his hands sliding up my sides to cup my breasts. His thumbs brushed over my nipples, making me arch into his touch. “So fucking perfect.”
I pulled him down for another kiss, this one deeper and more demanding. I needed him closer, needed to feel his skin against mine, needed the connection that only he could provide. His weight settled over me, sinking me into the mattress.
“I need you,” I whispered against his mouth. “Now, Kent. Please.”
He reached for the nightstand drawer where we kept condoms, but I stopped him with a hand on his wrist.
“I’m on birth control,” I said, meeting his eyes directly. “And I trust you completely. Unless you want to use one.”
“No,” he said quickly, his voice strained. “God, no. I want to feel you. All of you.”
The intimacy of that decision, the trust it represented, made my chest flutter.
This wasn’t just sex anymore. This was deeper, more profound.
This was two people choosing to be completely vulnerable with each other in every possible way.
Somewhere in the back of my mind, I knew he was the only man I would ever be with again.
He was it for me. I hoped he felt the same, but that was something we could talk about later.
He rolled to his elbow and slid his hand down my belly and then between my legs.
I gasped as his fingers found me already wet and ready for him.
He traced lazy circles around my clit, building the tension slowly, deliberately.
My hips lifted off the bed, seeking more pressure, more friction, but he maintained that maddeningly slow pace.
“Kent,” I breathed, my fingers digging into his shoulders. “Please.”
“I love watching you like this,” he murmured, his voice low and rough. “So responsive. So beautiful.”
He slid one finger inside me, then another. His thumb continued its work on my clit while his fingers moved in and out with increasing speed. The dual sensation was almost too much.
I could feel the pressure building inside me, coiling tighter and tighter with each stroke of his fingers. My breathing came in short gasps. I was making sounds I couldn’t control, needy whimpers and soft moans that seemed to spur him on.
“That’s it, baby,” Kent encouraged, his free hand sliding up to cup my breast, his thumb brushing over my nipple. “Let go. I’ve got you.”
His fingers moved faster, hitting that perfect spot inside me while his thumb increased the pressure on my clit. The combination was devastating. I felt myself climbing higher and higher, every nerve ending in my body focused on where he was touching me.
“Kent, I’m—” I couldn’t finish the sentence. The orgasm crashed over me like a wave, making my entire body tense and then shudder with pleasure. I cried out his name, my back arching off the bed as the sensations rolled through me in intense pulses.
He didn’t stop, didn’t let up, working me through every aftershock until I was trembling and oversensitive, pushing weakly at his hand.
“Too much,” I managed to gasp.
He withdrew his fingers slowly, bringing them to his mouth. The sight of him tasting me made heat flood through my body all over again despite the fact that I’d just come.
“You taste incredible,” he said, his eyes dark with desire.
I kissed him, tasting myself on his lips. My hand found him again, stroking firmly. He was rock hard. I could feel him trembling with the effort of holding back.
“I need you inside me,” I whispered against his mouth. “Now.”
He lined himself up at my entrance, his eyes locked on mine. “I love you,” he said, his voice thick with emotion.
“I love you too,” I breathed.
He pushed inside me slowly. The sensation of him filling me without any barrier between us was overwhelming. He groaned, his forehead dropping to mine, and he stilled, giving us both a moment to adjust to the intensity of the connection.
“Sylvie,” he breathed. “You feel amazing.”
“Oh God,” I gasped as he seated himself fully inside me.
He began to move then, slow and deep, each thrust deliberate and controlled. This wasn’t the frantic passion we’d shared before. This was gentler, more tender. This was making love in the truest sense of the words.
I wrapped my arms around his neck, pulling him closer as he moved inside me. Our bodies found a rhythm that felt natural, inevitable, like we’d been made to fit together exactly this way. His lips found mine, and we kissed slowly, deeply, our tongues moving in sync with our bodies.
“I love you,” he murmured against my lips. “I love you so much.”
“I love you too,” I breathed, my hands sliding down his back to grip his ass, urging him deeper.
He shifted the angle slightly. Suddenly he was hitting that perfect spot inside me that made stars burst behind my eyes. I cried out, my nails digging into his shoulders as pleasure began building low in my belly. It was too soon. Too fast. My body felt too raw.
“That’s it,” Kent encouraged, his movements becoming slightly more urgent. “Let me feel you, baby. Let me know how good I’m making you feel.”
His words sent another wave of heat through me. I loved when he talked like that, when he told me what he wanted.
“So good,” I managed to gasp. “You feel so good inside me.”
He groaned at my words, his hips snapping forward with more force. One of his hands slid between our bodies, his thumb finding my clit and circling it with just the right amount of pressure.
I felt myself climbing higher, my entire body tensing as the orgasm built.
“Kent,” I whimpered. “I’m so close.”
“Come for me,” he urged, his voice strained with his own need. “I want to feel you come around me.”
His words pushed me over the edge. My orgasm crashed over me, my body clenching around him as pleasure radiated out from my core to every nerve ending. I cried out his name.
Kent continued moving through my climax, prolonging my pleasure until I was trembling and gasping beneath him. Then his rhythm faltered, his movements becoming erratic as he chased his own release.
“Sylvie,” he groaned. I felt him pulse inside me as he came, his entire body going rigid before collapsing against me.
After a few seconds, he carefully pulled out and rolled to his side, immediately pulling me against his chest. His heart was still racing under my palm, matching the frantic beat of my own.
We lay there, our breathing gradually returning to normal. I felt myself starting to drift toward sleep, warm and satisfied and completely content.
“Sylvie?” Kent’s voice was soft in the darkness.
“Mmm?”
“Thank you.”
I lifted my head to look at him, confused. “For what? Please don’t tell me you’re thanking me for sex. I mean, you’re welcome, but still.”
“For choosing me,” he said simply. “For trusting me with all of this. Your family, your dreams, your body. For letting me be part of your life.”
Tears filled my eyes. “You’re not just part of my life, Kent. You’re my life now. You and this place and the future we’re building together.”
He kissed me softly, a gentle press of lips that somehow conveyed more emotion than all our passionate kisses combined.
“I know I said it before, but I need you to really hear this,” he said seriously. “I don’t regret anything. Not the investment, not walking away from my family, not losing access to my trust fund. Being here with you, right now, is worth more than all of that combined.”
“Even if things get hard?” I asked quietly. “Even if the lodge struggles or we hit rough patches?”
“Especially then,” he said firmly. “Because we’ll face it together. That’s what matters.”
I snuggled closer, breathing in his familiar scent and marveling at how quickly he’d become essential to my existence. A month ago, I didn’t even know Kent Bancroft existed. Now I couldn’t imagine my life without him.
“What are you thinking about?” he asked.
“Just how crazy this all is,” I admitted. “How fast everything happened. How different my life is now compared to a few weeks ago.”
“Good different or scary different?”
“Both,” I said honestly. “But mostly good. Really, really good.”
He tightened his arms around me. I felt him press a kiss to the top of my head. “Get some sleep,” he murmured. “We have a busy day tomorrow with all those guests to feed.”
“Mmm, don’t remind me,” I groaned, though I was smiling. “We’re going to be running around like crazy people trying to make sure everyone has a perfect Christmas morning.”
“And we’ll be amazing at it,” Kent said confidently. “Because that’s what your family does. You make people feel welcome and cared for. It’s your superpower.”
His words made my heart swell with pride and love. He saw the value in what we did here, understood that hospitality wasn’t just about providing a service but about creating meaningful experiences for people.
“What about you?” I asked sleepily. “What’s your superpower?”
“Apparently not making beds,” he said dryly, making me laugh.
“You were pretty terrible at it,” I teased. “Brom said your corners kept popping off.”
“Hey, I got better,” he said, shaking his head. “I’m not ready to go pro yet, but I’ll get there.”
I giggled against his chest, feeling lighter and happier than I could ever remember being. Even with all the uncertainty about the future, even with the challenges we’d inevitably face, everything felt right in this moment.
“Kent?” I said softly.
“Yeah?”
“Merry Christmas.”
“Merry Christmas, baby.”
I closed my eyes, letting the warmth of his body and the steady rhythm of his heartbeat lull me toward sleep. Tomorrow we would have to be up early to serve breakfast to a lodge full of guests.
But right now, wrapped in Kent’s arms, everything was perfect.
I drifted off to sleep with a smile on my face, dreaming of Christmas mornings and full lodges and a future that looked brighter than anything I’d ever dared to imagine.
The last thought I had before sleep claimed me was the greatest Christmas gift I’d ever received was him. And unlike the material presents that would be unwrapped tomorrow morning, he was a gift that would last forever.