16. The Phoenix
The Phoenix
Chapter 16
The warmth of the fire seeped into my skin as I nestled against Tristan’s chest, the slow beat of his heart soothing my troubled mind. An open bottle of red wine sat between us, half-empty, along with an assortment of snacks we’d been picking through.
“I still worry about Evie’s health,” I admitted as I watched the flickering flames, hating hearing the words aloud. “Every day, I wake up afraid her cancer might have returned.”
Tristan pressed a tender kiss to my hair, his arms tightening around me. “She’s been in remission for a while now. Her prognosis looks good, right?”
Taking another sip of wine, I sighed but nodded. The memory of Evie’s pallid face and frail body during her time in the hospital still haunted my dreams. “Yes. But I’m her mommy, I’ll always worry. What if I can’t protect her from this? What if I fail her?”
“That’s only natural.” His fingers traced slow circles over my back, making me want to curl around him like a cat. “You’ve been through so much. It’s understandable you’d feel anxious.”
His empathy only made my eyes burn with tears I refused to shed. Even knowing my history, he still wanted me, but that didn’t change how much of a burden I felt. He was young, and deserved someone with less baggage, but even thinking that sent a throbbing pain straight through my chest. Staring into the fire, a million thoughts and emotions swirled through my mind, and none of them wanted to let whatever this was between us go.
“Thank you,” I whispered, leaning closer against his side. “For being here. For caring about me, scars, and all.”
He pressed his lips against my temple, his breath warm against my skin. “Every part of you is beautiful and precious to me. Scars and all.”
His words melted the remaining chill in my heart, filling it with warmth. Turning toward him, I wrapped my arms around his neck, bringing his lips to mine. An intense mix of longing and bittersweet desire pulsed through me as our mouths connected. His lips were soft like velvet, tender and demanding at the same time, and I matched his passion eagerly. The kiss tasted of wine and the smoky warmth of the fireplace, a heady blend that intoxicated me more than the wine flowing through my system.
The kiss intensified, our bodies instinctively drawing closer, seeking the warmth of skin on skin. His hands roamed over my curves as though he was memorizing the landscape of my form, leaving shivers in the wake of his touch. My fingers tangled in his hair, tugging slightly, making him hiss.
Wrapping his arm around me, Tristan laid me back onto the rug. I went willingly, craving his touch. His body pressed into mine, hard muscle, and soft warmth. My hands slipped around him, splaying across his toned back.
So much loss. So much pain. In Tristan’s embrace, those sharp edges dulled. The empty spaces inside filled. Three years of grief seemed to fade into the shadows as passion lit a new flame.
“You’re so soft,” Tristan whispered, his lips trailing down my neck. Pleasure sparked under his touch, chasing away the darkness.
A low moan escaped me as he found the edge of my nightshirt, slipping beneath the fabric. Trailing his hands up my ribcage, his fingers brushed the underside of my breast. I arched into his touch, wanting him higher.
“I want this,” he said, voice rough with desire. “I want you.”
Palming the back of his head, I brought his mouth to mine, whispering against his lips, “Then take me.”
With my invitation the last of his restraint shattered, and he pulled my shirt over my head, discarding the fabric to the side. I lay bare from the waist up before him on the rug, heart pounding as his gaze roamed over my body, but there was no judgment in his eyes, only heat, and something else I couldn’t decipher—or maybe I wasn’t ready to.
“You’re beautiful.” Reaching forward, his fingers traced along my collarbone. Down between my breasts. Along the curve of my waist. Every touch left fire in its wake, desire building inside me like the flames in the hearth.
When his lips followed the path his hands had taken, I thought I might come undone right then and there. Soft kisses and teasing bites along sensitive skin ignited my nerves. I tangled my hands in his hair, holding him to me, craving more but dreading the loss of his mouth on my flesh.
Lingering at my breasts, his tongue teased my nipples, sucking and nibbling as my body rolled beneath him, needing friction between my thighs as badly as I needed air.
“Please,” I gasped, not even sure what I was asking for. More, less, everything, nothing. I only knew I needed him, all of him, and I needed it now.
Eyes locking on mine, his hands slid down to the waist of my panties, fingers hooking in the elastic. He hesitated there, a question in his gaze. There was no question.
I nodded, unable to find my voice, but I knew what I wanted. There were no more barriers left between us, no more secrets kept or desires unfulfilled. At least for tonight, I was his and he was mine, and together we would find solace in the flames.
With his eyes still on mine, darkened by desire, he slid my panties down my legs, settling between them. I reached for him, but he caught my hands, pinning them above my head.
“Not yet. Let me taste you first, Superwoman. I need you back on my tongue.”
Then he was on me, tongue teasing and tasting, pushing me higher and higher. After the time we spent on the mountain lookout, he knew enough about my body to know every place that brought me pleasure, and he lavished them all with attention. I twisted beneath him, tension coiling tighter and tighter, release hovering just out of reach.
When he increased his suction, focusing all his attention on my clit, I shattered, crying out as ecstasy flooded my veins. He gentled his touch once I’d fallen over the edge, easing me through the aftershocks until I lay limp on the rug, heart pounding.
Before I had even come back down to earth, Tristan lifted me into his arms, carrying me down the hall to my bedroom. I nestled against his chest, sated yet craving more.
When we got into my bedroom, the moon was the only light as it filtered in through the window. He laid me on the bed, following me down to cover my body with his. I wrapped my legs around his waist, urging him closer, gasping as he slid inside me an inch, but Tristan was impossibly large, so taking him all the way was a slow process.
“You’re so fucking big, hacker.”
Hooking his arm around my back, he chuckled as he rolled onto his back, leaving me to straddle his hips—giving me control. I braced my hands on his chest, leaning down to kiss him as I rolled my hips to take him deeper. With every inch that stretched me more than should have been normal, I hissed, legs trembling. “You can take it, baby. You took it all the way already tonight.”
The corner of his lips lifted in a smug grin as his hands gripped my waist and he braced my weight, helping guide me up and down on his length. My head fell back as his massive cock invaded every empty space inside me, claiming it as his own. When I looked back down, our gazes locked, breaths mingling, and the affection I saw in his eyes was painfully raw. In that moment, with pleasure making even my face tingle, I gave myself over to him, and when release came, it was shattering in its sweetness.