11. Stella
STELLA
Six weeks.
That’s how long it’s been since the smoke cleared at the timber yard and the weight of the Syndicate finally lifted off my shoulders.
Six weeks of waking up without my heart hammering against my ribs, of walking through the sunlit corridors of Easton’s primary estate without checking every exit, without bracing for a blow that never comes.
The chaos of our introduction has melted away into a rich, peaceful domestic rhythm.
I sit at the heavy oak desk in our shared home office, nursing a cup of coffee while the morning light streams across the hardwood.
For the first time in my life, I don't feel like an underdog begging for scraps in the dark. I am safe. I am cherished. I am home.
A massive professional milestone sits glowing on my dual monitors.
Yesterday afternoon, I officially cut ties with the Colorado Free Press, leaving behind the fluff pieces and patronizing editors who told me I was too reckless for real news.
My massive, deeply researched exposé detailing the rise and fall of the Shadow Syndicate dropped nationally last night.
Major news networks picked it up within hours, and my phone hasn't stopped buzzing since.
My career isn't just surviving; it’s skyrocketing. And this time, I’m not doing it alone.
Footsteps echo softly in the doorway, heavy and familiar.
Easton leans against the frame, wearing a simple dark t-shirt that stretches across his broad shoulders, a mug of coffee in one hand.
The jagged scar slicing through his left eyebrow no longer looks like a badge of war; it’s just part of the face of the man who gave me the world.
He tracks the new high-stakes leads right alongside me, reviewing security protocols and digital data not as a warden, but as my permanent partner with fierce, protective love.
"Stop working so hard, reporter," he rumbles, his deep voice wrapping around me like a physical touch.
"I'm celebrating," I tease, spinning my chair around to face him with a triumphant smile.
In three long strides, he crosses the room, pulling me out of the chair and flush against his hard chest. He doesn't say a word, just buries his face in my neck, inhaling my scent like a man coming home from a very long war. The possessive edge is still there, as I imagine it always will be, but it’s tempered by a profound, unshakeable tenderness.
“I have something important to ask you,” Easton says, surprising me.
I nod and untangle myself from his hold so we can be face to face. My man is usually serious and stoic, but his tone right now is something else entirely. Is he… nervous?
“So, the thing is,” he starts, “I’ve been eyeing this ring online pretty much since the moment I laid eyes on you.
” I tilt my head in confusion, then notice him pulling a small velvet box out of his pocket.
“You know I’m not one for romance, but you have me wanting to get everything right.
I’m not usually good with my words, Stella, but you make me want to say all of the sweetest things.
I want to comfort you, challenge you, laugh with you, grow with you.
I want a family with you, sweetheart. I want forever with you. Will you marry me?”
I’m a blubbering mess right now, my heart so full of love I think it might just burst. I open my mouth to respond, but he cuts me off in a searing kiss.
He breathes me in and swallows me down, possessing me, body and soul.
I tear my mouth away from his and gulp down air, but Easton isn’t finished with me yet.
I feel his lips and tongue tease up and down my neck, and then he nibbles at my pulse point, making me gasp softly. “Need to be inside you now, Stella. Need to make love to my wife,” he whispers, diving in for another kiss.
I smack him playfully on the chest and take a small step back. “I haven’t even said yes yet!” I say with my hands on my hips, feigning outrage.
Easton’s beautiful brown eyes flash with lust, and the next thing I know, he’s throwing me over his shoulder and carrying me to the bedroom. Easton claps his big, rough hand over my ass, making me squirm in his arms. “You took too long to answer,” he says matter-of-factly. “Now you’re mine.”
We burst into the bedroom, and Easton tosses me down on the bed, making me giggle. “I don’t think that’s how it works,” I tease him, sitting up on the bed and raising an eyebrow in defiance.
Easton stares right at me and starts stripping down.
I watch his every move as I take my own clothes off.
Soon we’re both naked and staring at each other.
I’ll never get used to this man’s perfect body.
The muscles in his arms tense and tighten as he squeezes his hands into fists.
My man is gloriously naked, with his massive cock growing right in front of my eyes.
I lick my lips and then see a bead of precum form and drip down the head of his cock.
“Fine,” Easton says with a grin, stroking his huge dick. “But we’ve already established that I’m a stubborn man. I’ll just have to see if there are a few other ways I can get you to say yes.”
I tuck my legs underneath me and get up on all fours, crawling towards him. “Maybe you just need to ask the right question,” I murmur before sticking my tongue out and licking up his arousal. I never take my eyes off of his. I love seeing him get lost in his lust. Our lust.
Easton tips his head back and hisses out a breath. When he looks back down at me, I see a wild, feral glint behind his usually calm, tender gaze. Good. I love it when he loses control like this.
“What question is that?” he grits out, reaching down and tucking my hair behind my ear.
“I think you know,” I whisper, licking the head of his cock again, dipping my tongue in the little slit on top, just the way he likes. I moan when he fists my hair and tugs my head back.
“Do you want to suck my fat fucking cock?”
“God yes,” I moan, licking my lips. He’s still holding me tightly, my lips mere inches away from what I want most in this moment.
“Then open up, baby. I’m gonna fuck your pretty mouth now,” Easton growls.
I obey his command, opening my mouth wide for him as he holds my head in place and slides his dick past my lips, stretching me wide open to accommodate his girth.
I moan at his salty, earthy taste and eagerly suck more of him down until he hits the back of my throat.
Easton pulls back and then enters me again, fucking my mouth nice and slowly.
I, however, don’t want nice and slow. I want his passion, his dominance. Reaching out, I cup his balls in one hand and gently massage them, loving the shiver that runs through his huge, muscular body.
“Fuck,” he grunts, bucking his hips more forcefully and shoving his big dick deeper into my mouth. I breathe in through my nose, relax my throat, and then dig my nails into his ass, pulling him closer to me.
Easton roars as I deep throat him. “Jesus Christ,” he growls, pumping in and out of me.
I moan around him and lick the sensitive vein on the underside of his cock with each thrust. I feel my own juices drip down my legs as my pussy throbs and aches for attention. Keeping one hand on Easton’s sculpted ass, I move my other one down my body until my fingers sink into my soaking slit.
“Fuck, I feel you trembling. Does giving your man pleasure make you wet?”
I answer him by moaning and bobbing my head faster, taking him deeper, digging my nails further into his skin. I’m so close, my fingers rubbing furious circles around my clit while I work Easton over until we’re both in a frenzy of lust and ecstasy.
My muscles tighten up, Easton’s dick swells and twitches in my mouth, I know we’re both about to come together.
But then Easton swears and pulls me off of his dick, pushing me back on the bed. An animalistic growl rises from deep in his chest, and then he crawls on top of me and slams his cock so deep, so fast, so roughly I unravel instantly.
“Easton!” I shriek, clawing at his back trying to hang on for dear life as he fucks me through my orgasm and sucks on my neck.
“Ohmygod, so good, so…” I scream again when I feel his teeth sink into my shoulder, another orgasm slamming into me violently, rocking me to my very core.
My pussy pulses and grips him so tightly he’s having trouble pulling himself back out of me.
“Goddamn, you’re so tight, baby,” Easton grunts before taking my lips in a wild, vicious kiss. He bites my bottom lip and sucks my tongue into his mouth, devouring every inch of me. “Give me another one. Need to watch you come again.”
I shake my head no, even as my hips buck and my back bows off of the bed. “I… can’t…” I whimper.
“Yes, you can, and you will. Again and again. Swear to Christ, Stella, I’m going to fuck this little pussy till we’re both too exhausted to move. So come for me like the good girl you are, Stella.”
I shiver at his dirty words and dirtier promises. Easton just grins wickedly at me. Then, he sits back on his heels and grabs my hips, using my body to jerk himself off. God, it’s so hot the way he’s moving me up and down his cock, splitting me open with each brutal thrust.
Easton tilts my hips and digs his fingers in, anchoring both of us in this moment. He picks up his pace, hammering into my G-spot at this new angle. My whole body convulses each time he hits the end of me.
It doesn’t take much to send me flying over the edge again. My orgasm burns through me rapidly, stealing the air from my lungs as I thrash around on the bed. Easton holds my body tightly against his, feeling me convulse around his cock.