39. Luke
LUKE
Ilay Harper down on my bed like she’s something precious—which she fucking is—and just take her in for a second.
She’s wrecked. Her hair is messy, curls wild around her head.
Her lips are swollen from my mouth, her skin flushed pink from her neck down to her breasts.
Her thighs are still trembling, and I can see where my stubble marked her skin.
When she looks up at me, her eyes are hazy and unfocused, like she’s still floating somewhere between reality and what I just did to her.
Mine.
The word hits me hard, somewhere deep in my chest where I don’t usually let anything land. But Harper’s lying in my bed, completely undone, looking at me like I’m the only thing in the world that matters, and it cracks me open.
I need her. I need to sink into her, wrap myself in her heat. I need her under me, over me, and any which way she’ll take me.
I feel like I’ve been waiting to find her all my life.
I strip off my shirt and toss it aside. Harper watches me, her chest rising and falling fast, and when I shove my jeans and boxers down, her eyes drop to my cock.
“Jesus,” she whispers.
“You did this to me.” I wrap my hand around myself and stroke once, slow and deliberate. “You’ve been doing this to me for weeks. Every time you looked at me. Every time you argued with me. Every time you pretended you didn’t want this.”
Her legs rub together restlessly. “If we’re assigning blame here, you’re not walking away from this innocently.”
“Sunshine, if we’re assigning blame here, I’m pleading guilty.” I lean over her, bracing one hand beside her head, and use the other to trace down her body—between her breasts, over her stomach, stopping just above where she’s wet and ready for me. “Happily guilty.”
I slide two fingers inside her, and she gasps, her back arching off the bed. “Luke.”
I work her slowly, watching her face, feeling her clench around my fingers. She’s so tight, so wet, and I know the moment I’m inside her, I’m going to lose my fucking mind.
Her hands snake between us, rubbing up and down my cock. Groaning, I push into her palms as I curl my fingers, hitting that spot that makes her cry out.
Her fingers tighten around me, making my eyes cross.
“Fuck, that feels good.” I drop my head to watch her touch me.
“Just think how good it’ll feel inside me,” she replies.
The thought nearly makes me lose it all over her hands. Sliding my thumb up her slit, I pull my fingers out and reach for the nightstand drawer, grabbing the box of condoms I bought after the first time I met her.
I rip the box open, tear a packet free, and roll the condom on. Harper watches me the whole time, her eyes hungry, and when I settle between her thighs, she wraps her legs around my waist and pulls me closer.
I position myself at her entrance. “You ready for me?”
“I was about to ask you that.” Her hands grip my shoulders, nails digging in. “Think you can handle me?”
“Sunshine, I was born to handle you.” I push into her.
And the world fucking stops.
She’s tight—so tight I have to grit my teeth and force myself to go slow—but she takes me, inch by inch, until I’m buried completely inside her.
It’s like coming home.
Not like any of the houses I grew up in. Not like the barracks or the safe houses or the temporary places I’ve crashed over the years. This is different. This is Harper, warm and alive and wrapped around me, holding me like she never wants to let go.
This is belonging.
I do the only thing I can—I capture her mouth in a kiss that’s deeper than anything before—raw and desperate and honest. She kisses me back just as fiercely, her arms squeezing me tight. I feel her heartbeat against mine, and the restlessness that chases me vanishes.
The smart thing would be to keep my distance. The safe thing would be to remember every reason this could go wrong. Instead, I dive in and thank God I’ve never been accused of making smart decisions.
She breaks the kiss, shoving at my hips. “Move. Fucking move, Bennett.”
“Yes, ma’am.” Grinning, I spear my fingers into her hair, holding tight, loving the way she gasps, her eyes going hazy with want.
Sure I have her attention, I pull back and thrust in hard.
She cries out, her nails raking down my back. I do it again and again, setting a rhythm that’s rough and demanding and exactly what she needs. I lower my head to her neck, nipping her before I soothe it with a kiss. “That’s it,” I say against her skin. “Take it. Take all of me.”
Her whimpering moans drive me insane, and I drive into her faster. I can feel her tightening around me, getting close again.
“You’re going to come on my cock,” I tell her, my voice low and filthy. “I want to feel you fall apart around me. I want to feel you squeeze me so hard I can’t think straight.”
“Luke.”
“That’s it, sunshine. Say my name. Show me how good I make you feel.” I pinch her nipple and then move my hand lower to pinch her clit, and she shatters.
She screams my name, her entire body bowing, clenching around me so tight I nearly lose it right there. But I hold on, fucking her through it, drawing out every wave of pleasure until she’s sobbing and shaking beneath me. I’m close—so close.
I need to see her face when I come. I need her to see me, to know what she does to me. “Harper.”
She opens her eyes, looking up at me with something that makes my chest ache.
“I’m—” My cock swells, my balls drawing tight. “Fuck, Harper, I’m going to come.”
“Yes.” She reaches between us and takes hold of me where I’m pumping into her. “Come for me, Luke. I want to feel it.”
That’s all it takes.
I thrust deep one last time and come so hard I see stars. It rips through me, overwhelming and intense, and I bury my face in her neck, groaning her name as I empty myself inside her.
For a long moment, neither of us moves. We’re both breathing hard, tangled together, and I can feel her heart pounding against my chest.
Slowly, I lift my head and look down at her.
Her eyes are soft, her expression open in a way I’ve never seen before. She reaches up and brushes my hair back from my forehead, and the gesture is so tender it nearly undoes me all over again.
“Hey,” she whispers.
“Hey,” I say back, my voice rough.
“That was—” Her voice tapers off.
“Yeah.” I get it, because I don’t have words either. I kiss her softly, gently, completely different from the way I just fucked her. “It was.”
I pull out carefully and deal with the condom, then collapse beside her and pull her into my arms. She comes willingly, curling against my chest, and I wrap myself around her like I can keep the rest of the world out.
For the first time in my life, I don’t feel like I’m on the outside looking in.
I feel like I’m exactly where I’m supposed to be.
“Luke?” Harper’s voice is quiet, almost hesitant.
“Yeah?”
“Can I stay?”
I bury my head in the crook of her neck, inhaling her, conscious of the way my arms tighten around her at the thought that she’d leave. “And here I thought I’d have to handcuff you to my bed.”
She rolls us over, draping over me. “There’s always tomorrow,” she says as she lowers her mouth to mine.