Chapter 32Aiden
Chapter Thirty-Two
Aiden
The only sound I could hear was the blood roaring in my ears. My grip firm, I held Stella’s hand, guiding her down into the cabin. The narrow confines of the stairwell were close, intimate, and heat radiated from her body like a beacon drawing me in.
As soon as we stumbled into the relative openness of the galley kitchen, restraint became a memory. My hands acted of their own volition, and I slammed Stella against the counter with a force that echoed through the small space. Her breath hitched, eyes wide with a mix of shock and unmistakable desire. This was more than just a kiss. This was years of pent-up yearning crashing down around us.
“Stella…” It was all I could manage before our lips crashed together in a collision of past and present. A storm of emotion swirled between us as I pulled her waist tight against mine, wanting no space, no air to separate us. Our mouths moved in desperate harmony, a clash of tongues and teeth and everything unsaid that we’d been holding back for too long.
“God, I’ve missed you,” I breathed against her lips, each word punctuated with another urgent press of my mouth to hers. I wanted every inch of her. My hands roamed over her back, pressing her even closer.
“Me too… so much,” she panted when our lips parted for the briefest of moments, her voice thick with the same raw need that was consuming me.
This wasn’t gentle. It wasn’t the soft rekindling of an old flame—it was a wildfire, uncontrolled and all-consuming. And I wouldn’t have it any other way. Stella was here, in my arms, and I burned for her. My hands found her breasts, and I cupped them hard through her shirt. Stella’s gasp was swallowed by my mouth as she moaned, her body arching into my touch. My thumbs rubbed the peaks, feeling them harden even below her shirt and bra.
Stella reached under my shirt and clawed up my chest, leaving trails of fire in her wake. The sting from her nails sent a jolt shuddering through me, and it only made me hotter for her. My pulse roared, my need for her eclipsing all rational thought. She was mine, here and now, and nothing else mattered.
I broke the kiss, panting heavily, our foreheads resting against each other’s as I tried to find my bearings in the storm. As I pulled my head back, our eyes locked and oceans of emotion crashed into one another. I saw my own longing reflected back at me, magnified in her gaze.
“Oh, Stella.” My voice was quiet with the weight of what I needed to say. “I’m so sorry for leaving, for all the lost years. I wish I could take it all back. All I had were memories. Of you. Of us. So many?—”
Stella’s finger pressed against my lips, silencing the storm of apologies threatening to overwhelm the space between us. “No,” she said fiercely, her voice thick with emotion. “No regrets. Not anymore.” Her eyes were alight with fire, a signal to leave the past where it belonged. “From this moment on, we live in the present. We look to the future. Our future.”
My heart swelled beyond what my chest could hold. Her words were a balm to my own wounds. If she was ready to leave the past behind, then I sure as hell was. Starting right now. My eyes dropped to her mouth, and raw desire overtook me again. My mouth found hers in a crushing kiss, our teeth smashing as I raked my lips over hers. I plunged my tongue into her mouth. A groan escaped me when I felt her respond with equal fervor, her body pressing against mine, urging me on.
I tangled my fingers in her hair, grabbing a handful and yanking her head back to deepen the kiss, to claim her as I’d dreamed of for years. A growl rumbled in my throat, raw and unfiltered—the sound of desire and possession.
With urgency propelling us forward, I led her from the galley kitchen, our footsteps thundering across the wooden floor in a hurried rhythm. We reached the doorway of my bedroom, and the air was thick with want, charged with electricity. I spun to her, pinning her with my eyes. In them, she would see all the hunger, the need to consume her, protect her, love her, and devour her all at once.
“I’ve dreamed of this,” I said, my voice low and throaty. “I’ve dreamed of you. I want you more than I’ve ever wanted anything in my life.”
My hands, shaking with raw desire, found the hem of Stella’s shirt. I peeled the fabric away from her skin, revealing inch by tantalizing inch of her. She mirrored my actions, her fingers deftly undoing each button of my shirt.
“God, you’re so gorgeous,” I whispered. The sight of her, half-undressed before me, was more intoxicating than any liquor.
“Yes,” she breathed out, a single word that was both a plea and a command.
Clothes became a memory as we clawed them off and let them drop to the floor. Our bare skin came together, setting off sparks where we touched, every nerve in my body firing at once. I traced the curve of her waist, committing the softness of her flesh to memory, while she explored the hard planes of my chest and abdomen with a rough, trembling desire that matched my own .
We stumbled toward the bed, a tangle of limbs and lips. I was so hard, I felt about to burst. I needed to be within her, consumed by her, and I couldn’t wait.
“Take me, Aiden. Hard and fast.” Her voice was demanding, laced with boldness as she stared at me.
A jerked nod was all I could manage as I climbed onto the bed. The heat of body beneath me drowned out my senses. I reached for the nightstand drawer, my movements almost frantic, fumbling for the little foil packet. With hands that shook, I rolled on the condom, my body poised at the brink.
I slid on top of her, skin to skin, heat to heat. I positioned myself at her entrance, our gazes locked. Then, with one furious thrust full of pent-up longing, I buried myself deep within her. The sensation was beyond thought, a primal instinct taking over as I moved within her, each stroke fueled by years of dreams becoming vivid reality. She arched and cried my name, fueling me even more. Heat coursed through my veins, my heart a drumbeat echoing hers. This wasn’t making love.
This was claiming and being claimed, a storm of emotion and flesh entwined.
She wrapped her legs around me, pulling me deeper, and I obliged with a strength and fury that left no room for anything less than total surrender. For either of us. We moved together, a rhythm born of old familiarity and new discovery, building toward an inevitable release.
Stella pushed against my chest, fierce determination in her eyes. Her hands were firm on my shoulders, and with a swift movement, she flipped our positions, leaving me staring up at her. She perched above me like some wild goddess, her back arching in an arc of pure seduction, hair cascading like a dark waterfall, catching the light that slipped through the open doorway.
“Oh my God,” I gasped, my voice ragged. The sight of her sent a rush of heat to every nerve ending, nearly sending me over the edge before we’d barely begun. Our bodies entwined fluidly, a dance as natural as the ebb and flow of the tide outside, pulling and pushing with a rhythm that was all our own.
Our kisses deepened, becoming even hungrier and more demanding. Our sighs and groans filled the room, melding with the creak of bedsprings, the whisper of skin against skin. We moved together in a primal dance, raw and unfiltered, the years apart only fueling the fire that now consumed us.
“Yes! God, Aiden,” Stella breathed out, her voice laced with the intensity of our connection. “Don’t stop. Never stop.”
Her words stoked the flames, and I felt myself spiraling toward a climax that had been building for what seemed like a lifetime. With every roll of her hips, every clench of her around me, I was drawn closer to the brink. She rode me with a fervor that matched my own, her body a vision of ecstasy that would be seared into my memory.
“Stella!” The name erupted from me, torn from the depths of my soul. Pleasure exploded within me, a release so monumental it was as if every pent-up regret, every moment of longing, burst from me in a deluge. My body shuddered violently, gripping her tight as if I could hold on to this moment and never let go. The world narrowed to the beat of our hearts, pounding in perfect unison, two lost souls finally aligned.
My fingers traced patterns across the small of her back as we clung to each other, riding out the waves of our shared oblivion. There was no past, no future, just the eternal present of Stella and me, united. This was where I belonged.
This was home.
Slowly, the sweat that beaded our skin began to cool in the evening air, yet the warmth between us only grew stronger. As I lay with Stella nestled in the crook of my arm, I felt a peace that had eluded me for years. Her breath against my neck was a soothing rhythm.
“Please tell me I’m not dreaming this,” I murmured, pressing my lips to her soft hair.
Her gentle laugh vibrated against my chest. “Believe it, Aiden. ”
My fingertips traced the curve of her spine, savoring the smoothness of her skin. “I’m never letting you go again.”
Stella lifted her head, her brown eyes glinting. “Then don’t.”
And she sealed that promise with a kiss that tasted of desire and love. As her lips slanted over mine, each gentle press a reaffirmation, my heart sang. This woman, entwined with me in heart and body, was my anchor.
Contentment settled over us like a warm, comforting blanket. Our conversation dwindled to nothing more than shared breaths and the occasional brush of lips, a silent language that was louder than words. In the quiet harmony of our embrace, sleep crept upon us, a gentle tide pulling us into its depths. Stella’s breathing deepened, and her body relaxed fully against mine. I tightened my hold and wrapped her in my love. Finally, a smile stretched my lips and I followed her lead, letting the peaceful darkness take me.