Chapter 33
SAWYER
BY THE TIME we made it back to the cabin hours later, my face hurt from smiling. And not the fake smiling either, which was an important distinction to make because I’d spent a lot of time and energy trying to convince everyone I was okay when I wasn’t.
This was different, though. It was real and genuine, like the version of Beckett I’d finally met.
I’d thought walking back into the reception with him would feel strange, and maybe it did for the first few seconds.
Then my brothers spotted us from across the room and immediately clocked our joined hands, which had Hudson giving Beckett a terrifying look that had probably shaved a couple of years off his life.
Rome was much less intimidating—in a different way—and mouthed, Hey, Tracksuit, before shooting us a wink.
My moms hugged us both, and Mama whispered, “I’m proud of you,” in my ear, which almost took me out.
Until Mom looked at Beckett and said, “You’ll be careful with him,” which, if it were me, might’ve sent me running for the hills.
But Beckett only nodded and said, “I will,” like he understood it was less a request and more a demand that shouldn’t be disobeyed.
After that, the night was easy in a way I hadn’t expected it to be.
The two of us fell back into that natural rhythm we’d had since the day we met, only now there wasn’t a lie hanging over our heads.
We danced. Laughed through the toasts. We even haggled the DJ into letting me take over for ten minutes and scored another five during his bathroom break, which I considered a major victory for the crowd.
At some point after dinner, Hudson leaned in to tell me, “Your ex is gone,” and that was when I realized I hadn’t noticed Peter’s leaving with Alec.
I hadn’t even cared—because Beckett was beside me.
Not the man I’d hired or the one I thought I’d brought here.
Just Beckett. Sports therapist for the NCAA, which meant I needed to learn about basketball, stat.
Terrible equestrian, which even Duchess would agree was an understatement.
Not an escort, thank God. And apparently very interested, which made two of us.
And…mine, maybe, if I didn’t scare the shit out of myself thinking about it too hard.
Beckett’s hand was warm around mine as we climbed the porch steps back to the cabin hours later, and I couldn’t deny that now that we were alone, butterflies had erupted low in my belly.
It was ridiculous, I knew that. But maybe it was the fact that I knew what was happening between us wasn’t just confined to this week. This was going to be more, and that was both exciting and scary as hell, knowing I could give this man the power to hurt me.
But I guessed that was why they called it falling in love. You had to fall…and hope the person you chose was there to catch you.
As I unlocked the cabin door and pushed it open, I knew I was ready.
Beckett could choose to walk away at any point, just like Peter had, but he was proving over and over again that he wanted to be here.
With me. He’d made that leap without any promises I’d be there to catch him, and now it was my turn to choose.
We stepped inside, and there was no awkward pause or careful distance. No dancing around the fact that we’d left the reception before the rest of my family, because this was exactly where we’d wanted to end up.
Beckett shut the door and turned the lock, and when I looked over my shoulder, the man staring back at me made my breath catch.
His tie was hanging loose around his neck, shirt open at the throat, and his sleeves still rolled up those strong forearms. There was no mistaking the look in his eyes, the one that told me he’d been waiting all night and wasn’t about to waste another second to get his hands on me.
Our reunion, just the two of us, was long overdue.
“Come here,” he said.
I’d barely taken a step in his direction when he reached for me, sliding his hands under my tux jacket and pushing it off my shoulders.
The jacket hit the floor and then Beckett’s mouth was on mine, stealing my breath, nothing careful at all in the way he kissed me.
That talented tongue slid past my lips, exploring and tasting faintly like the sweet cherry We Tied the Knot shot we’d taken earlier.
All bets were off as I grabbed fistfuls of his shirt, pulling him closer so I could feel every inch of his hard body against mine.
The truth had cracked us wide open that morning, but this—his mouth at my throat, my hands sliding up his shirt, and the rough sound he made when I started to unbutton it—was where we found each other again.
I worked quickly, needing all these clothes out of my way, and Beckett let me for about two seconds before he took over.
Before I realized what was happening, he had my back against the wall, his body pressed up against mine, a solid weight I wanted more of.
I pulled his shirt up out of his pants and slid my hands up under it, his bare skin smooth and scorching under my palms.
Then he shivered, and God, that did something to my self-control. Blasted it to friggin’ smithereens.
“Becks.” I would’ve hated the fact that my words came out so rough and impatient if not for the fact that he then deepened the kiss, like he’d waited the whole damn night to get me alone and had finally run out of patience.
And, frankly, thank fuck.
I pushed his shirt off his shoulders, needing his skin and heat, needing the man under all that control. And speaking of control…
Beckett grabbed my wrists, pinned them against the wall, and then kissed the breath right out of me.
Oh hell yes.
I melted, every inch of me aware of his hands around my wrists, his thigh between mine, his mouth dragging from my lips to my jaw like he was done pretending he didn’t know exactly what I needed.
Then his teeth grazed the side of my neck, and I literally felt my legs start to give out beneath me. He chuckled low, his breath by my ear as he released my wrists so he could grab my hips and turn us to walk back toward the bed.
My dick was pounding, aching for some friction, and with my hands free I finally got my wish, quickly unbuttoning his pants and shoving them down his hips. I pulled back enough that I could look at him, running my fingers down his abs before dipping beneath the waist of his briefs.
He sucked in a breath, letting me touch all I wanted, and damn I loved that sound. Loved that I was the one who caused it.
More than that, I loved the way he wanted me, that he’d said it and shown it and stayed just to prove it. Now he was looking at me like he planned to make sure I never doubted it again.
“You’re overdressed,” he murmured against my lips.
“Then why don’t you—”
I didn’t even get the chance to tell him to do something about it. He somehow already had my belt undone and was shoving my pants to the ground before the words were even out of my mouth.
Damn he was good.
So good I missed the part where he’d left his boxer briefs behind somewhere, because when he reached for my ass and pulled me in to him, his erection rubbed up against mine and I almost lost it right then.
His lips stayed fused to mine as he lowered us to the mattress, me flat on my back and his hard body flush against mine. I got lost in his kisses, the urgency building, but both of us taking the time to explore, to feel and touch and learn each other all over again.
He rocked his hips over mine slowly, his cock giving mine all the friction I needed, and then he planted his hands by my head and pulled back to look at me. Even in the dim light of the cabin, his blue eyes were bright and mesmerizing, holding me spellbound.
His fingers came up to trail softly along my jaw. “You’re beautiful.”
That was the moment my heart stopped. Because I could feel the emotion behind those two words and knew he meant it. He wasn’t just telling me what I wanted to hear; he was telling me what he wanted me to know.
Beckett thought I was beautiful. Had anyone ever actually called me that before?
I wanted to tell him I felt the same. That he was the most stunning man I’d ever seen, that he looked at me like no one ever had before. And that it meant everything.
But while I usually had more than enough words, even the wrong ones, I found myself unable to speak, too caught up in him and the overwhelming way he made me feel.
“I know,” he whispered as he tipped my face up to his and kissed me again.
Of course he did. He read me better than my own family, and while that should’ve scared me, it felt too right.
He nudged my legs wider, settling between them as I slid my hands over his shoulders and down his back, holding him as his mouth moved over mine before trailing lower. His hand wrapped around my dick, and I sucked in a sharp breath.
“Beckett…”
His tongue circled my right nipple, teasing and flicking it to a peak as he looked up at me under his lashes.
“Oh God. Feels so good.” I arched my neck against the pillow, my body craving more of him even though he was everywhere. He stroked our dicks faster, sucking on my other nipple, watching me with hooded eyes, so damn sexy that I found myself moaning and begging.
“You need something?” His breath was hot against my chest.
“I think you know.”
He gave me a wicked smile and sat up between my thighs, giving our cocks another long drag that left me gasping.
“I want you like this,” he said, his eyes trailing over me writhing beneath him.
I could barely nod. “I want that too.”
Thank fuck the lube was within reach, but when Beckett reached for a condom, I stilled his hand.
He looked back at me. “Are you sure?”
“It’s you and me,” I said softly.
I knew he got it. That he understood. That we were on the same page, making the choice to be together with nothing else between us. No lies. And…
“No one else,” he said.
I shook my head. “No one else.”