Chapter 33 Iris
IRIS
My pulse scatters. I swallow, forcing myself to remain still. To make sure I’m not imagining the words.
“What?” I whisper, needing to know I’ve heard him right. Because if I have…
It’s all I could ever want.
A warm smile curves his lips, his hand coming to gently stroke my cheek. “I love you, Iris. I’m so completely in love with you I don’t know what to do with myself.”
My breath rushes out, something between a disbelieving sigh and sheer relief.
He loves me.
He feels this too.
This week was torture. Every moment around Aidan I fought to keep my mouth shut, not to blurt out how I feel.
To focus on work and not on the man I’m so desperately in love with.
I was terrified I’d let it slip, that it would burst out of me at the worst moment and shock him into realizing I’m too much for him.
That he’s making a mistake by being with me.
But gazing at him now, seeing the tenderness in his eyes, his hopeful expression as he waits patiently for me to respond, I realize how foolish I was.
His words from our last visit to the studios play through my head, You don’t have to hide your emotions with me, and I almost laugh. How could I have doubted him?
“I love you too,” I whisper, hand trembling as I place it on his chest, over his pounding heart. “I didn’t want to scare you, didn’t want to be too much, but… I really love you, Aidan.”
Everything about him softens. “Baby,” he murmurs hoarsely, “you could never be too much for me. Never.”
My heart glows bright and hot in my chest. This man, the way he sees me, the way he doesn’t turn away… My eyes prick with tears, and when I’d usually glance down to hide it, I keep my gaze steadily on his. I let him see, because he wants to. He wants me just as I am.
And it’s everything.
His eyes move between mine, bottomless and aching, and I sense there’s more he wants to say, but he lowers his mouth to mine in a gentle kiss.
But I need more. I need all of him, every part of him, on top of me, inside me, everywhere at once. He loves me, and I want to feel it. I need to.
I wrap my arms around his neck, pulling him closer.
He takes the cue, tilting his head, parting his lips to let my tongue sweep greedily across his.
I tug at his jacket, his tie, needing his clothes off.
We part just long enough to undress, then he pulls me onto his bed, hands roaming my skin.
I feel every caress, his touch burning a trail from my cheek to my collarbone to my breast.
I can’t get enough of him either, fingertips tracing the cut of his beard along his jaw, the hard swell of muscle in his shoulders, the firmness of his pecs.
I trail my fingers through the salt and pepper of his chest hair, then bury my face there, inhaling his warm, spicy scent.
I’d consume this man if I could, every inch of him.
“God, Iris,” he rasps, so hard where he rests against my thigh. “I never imagined I could feel this way.”
My heart fills my chest as I drag my mouth along his neck, the coarse bristles of his jaw, finding his bottom lip and sucking it into my mouth.
“I love you,” I whisper, reveling in the way it feels to say the words out loud again. “I love you, Aidan.”
“Fuck.” His breath rushes out against my lips, warm and sweet. “Baby…” Then his hands are on my hips, pulling me under him. His thick length settles between my thighs where I’m achingly wet for him, and he groans into my shoulder.
I can’t wait any longer.
I shift my hips, feeling him nudge my entrance. My hands grab at his ass, tugging insistently, and he sinks inside me. Pleasure spirals out to every corner of my body, and a moan tears free.
He stills, buried deep inside me, breathing hard. When he draws back to meet my gaze, he looks wrecked. Eyes glassy and hooded, cheeks flushed, lips parted in awe, like he’s seen God. He drops his forehead to mine, pressing his eyes shut. When they open again, they’re glistening with emotion.
And my heart nearly bursts from my chest.
“Aidan,” I whisper, stroking his cheek. I can’t find the words to express the feeling inside me, so hot and intense, like a star on the brink of collapse. All I can do is kiss him, touch him, hold him close.
At last, he rolls his hips, and it feels so fucking amazing that my breath catches in disbelief. I thought the sex with him before was good, but this is so much more. Knowing he feels what I feel, that this is real… everything is heightened a thousand times over.
His mouth finds mine as he rocks into me, his kisses wet and urgent. “I love you so fucking much,” he rasps, hands in my hair, grasping, tightening. It sends a whisper of pain across my scalp that only heightens the pleasure, and I moan, feeling my release build.
“Yes,” I breathe, needing more.
He senses it, rolling us so I’m on top. I push up to my knees, letting his entire length fill me.
I’m frantic with need, riding him hard, hands on his chest. He watches me, breath ragged, eyes wild as his fingers find my clit.
Then I come so hard I see stars, and his hands grip my hips tightly, like he’s trying to hold on for dear life.
As the last wisps of my orgasm fade, he rolls us again, pinning me to the mattress as he plunges deep into me.
“That’s it, baby,” he grits out. “Take me. Take me like the good girl you are.”
Oh, fuck.
“I’ll take you forever,” I sob, not meaning to say that word—forever—cringing the moment it leaves my mouth.
But Aidan kisses me hard, a desperate mess of teeth and tongue as he pumps into me. “Forever, sweetheart,” he chokes out, beard scraping my cheek as his mouth moves to my ear. “That’s what I want.”
Before I can stop them, my eyes well with tears.
One rolls down my cheek, and Aidan kisses it, hips never missing a beat.
His eyes are wet too, and as he takes my mouth in a bruising kiss, fingers tightening in my hair again, I tip over the edge.
Ecstasy surges through me, obliterating all thought.
I cling to him, trembling as I shatter apart, and he’s there, holding me, his moans spilling onto my tongue as his hips stutter with his release.
I don’t know how long we lie like that, but when he finally rolls away, I don’t want to let him go. He gives a low, throaty chuckle, kissing my cheek.
“I’ll be right back, Cupcake. I promise.”
I watch him pad naked from the room—fuck, he’s got a great ass—my heart thundering. The sex was… I have no words. But more than that, I can’t believe I’m here. His bedroom, yes, but this moment, with this man.
And as Aidan returns with a washcloth to gently clean me, my eyes well again. I’ve never felt so cared for, so cherished, and I can’t contain the feeling.
“Hey,” he murmurs, setting the washcloth aside. He tugs the comforter down—we were in such a rush, we had sex on top of it—and pulls me into the warmth. Then he wraps his arms around me, studying my face. “You okay, sweetheart?”
A watery laugh escapes me. “I’m fine. Sorry.”
Aidan shakes his head. “You don’t have to apologize for feeling, Iris.” His thumb brushes my chin. “It’s one of the things I love most about you.”
I close my eyes, savoring his words, but an undercurrent of unease ripples through me. I want to ask him about Dad, about his job and partnership, but I can’t bring myself to say the words. I can’t bring myself to shatter this perfect moment.
I shake it off as we snuggle under the covers, exhausted from a busy week. Aidan strokes my hair softly, and as I drift off, I tell myself we’ll figure it out with Dad and the firm.
We have to.