Chapter 33
CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
HAYDEN
I’m awake before my alarm.
That part isn’t new. Sleep and I have had an uneasy relationship for years now. I usually lie in bed for hours staring at the ceiling, counting the cracks in the plaster, waiting for obligation to drag me upright.
This morning is different.
There’s a restless energy in my chest. Not regret. Not grief. It’s something warmer.
Something…happier.
I swing my legs over the edge of the bed and head downstairs, telling myself it’s to enjoy the quiet before the kids wake up.
In reality, it’s because I want to try to steal a few minutes with Rowan.
The house is mostly dark, the sun just beginning to peek over the horizon. And when I turn the corner into the kitchen, something loosens in my chest at the sight of the brunette by my coffee maker, preparing herself a cup.
This quiet domestic scene — Rowan wearing an oversized t-shirt, her dark hair rumpled from sleep — feels dangerously intimate.
Because it’s a scene I wouldn’t mind waking up to every morning.
I pad quietly toward her and loop an arm around her waist, drawing her body into mine, her back to my front.
She melts into me, and I brush my mouth along the curve of her neck, slow and unhurried. Her skin is warm, smelling faintly of lavender.
“Did your…problem wake you up again?”
I chuckle as I gently thrust against her. “What do you think?”
“I think it’s a strong possibility.”
“Any interest in helping me take care of it?”
I slide my hand down her stomach, my fingers disappearing into her shorts. When they land on her center, she moans, leaning her head back against my chest.
“In return, I’ll help you take care of your problem, too.”
She moves with me as I circle her clit, spreading her wetness around. “I’m really enjoying these added perks of my employment.”
“As am I.” I spin her around, crushing my lips to hers, our kiss hungry and frantic, as if it’s been ages since we’ve felt each other, instead of mere hours.
Her hands curl into my shirt as I guide her back a step, then another, until her hips meet the island. She smiles against my mouth like she knows exactly what she’s doing to me. That she’s made me lose all sense of reason.
Yet I don’t care.
In one swift move, I yank her shorts down and force her around once more, pressing her stomach flat against cool marble. She spreads her legs in invitation, and I bring my arousal up to her, teasing her.
“You’re already so wet.”
Rowan glances over her shoulder at me. “And you’re already so hard. Now let me help you take care of that.”
“Gladly.”
With one desperate thrust, I push inside her.
She bites back her moan, her hands flying out to grip the counter.
It takes everything I have not to cry out myself. There’s nothing like being inside of this woman. I’ve never felt anything so damn perfect. So damn right.
I know I shouldn’t feel these things. Know this entire situation is reckless.
But I can’t stop myself. Don’t want to stop.
Instead, I let myself sink fully into the present.
Not thinking about tomorrow.
Not thinking about consequences.
Not thinking about how this ends.
I stay in the moment with her.
Her body moving against mine.
Her moans echoing in the silence.
Her breath hitching as she gets closer and closer to falling over the edge.
“Come on, Rowan,” I groan, on the verge of losing control. “Don’t fight it. Let me feel you.”
I bring my hand to her clit and rub as I continue thrusting into her.
A soft moan slips free, and she moves against me with more urgency, her muscles growing rigid until her body convulses, her fist in her mouth muffling her cries.
“God, I love watching you come. Love feeling you lose all control. Because you’ve made me lose all damn control, too.”
I grip her hips and drive into her over and over, every muscle in my body tightening, desperate for the release only Rowan can give me.
Electricity courses through my veins, and I have to bite back the roar begging to be set free as waves of bliss wash over me, stronger than anything I’ve ever experienced.
I curve toward her, leaving soft kisses along her shoulder blades, addicted to her in a way I never thought possible.
Once I have my breathing under control, I ease out of her and grab a fresh towel from the drawer. I help her upright, then clean between her legs.
“I can do that, you know,” she states.
I lean down and touch a soft kiss to her forehead. “I know. But I like taking care of you.”
The words come easier than they should.
And that’s what unsettles me.
Because I do like taking care of her.
Like being with her. Like the passionate, intense moments when we can’t seem to satisfy our cravings fast enough.
But I also like these quiet, tender moments when we’ve satisfied our urges and can be at peace with each other.
I toss the towel onto the floor and pull her against me, wrapping her in my embrace and enjoying this moment of peace. Of tranquility.
Something I never thought I’d have again.
Then the baby monitor crackles to life.
“Ro-Ro. Ro-Ro,” Jemmy babbles.
Rowan pushes against me, and I reluctantly let her go.
“Guess I’m officially on the clock,” she sighs, grabbing her shorts and sliding them on.
“Sorry if I cut into your ‘me time’.”
She grins, hoisting herself onto her toes and planting a soft kiss on my lips. “I can think of a lot worse ways to spend my mornings than with your cock inside me. Feel free to cut into my ‘me time’ again tomorrow morning.”
“But isn’t that the future? I didn’t think we did that. I thought we were only focusing on the now. Living in the present. Not making any plans for the future.”
“I’m not making plans. More like…manifesting.”
I arch a single brow. “Manifesting?”
“Exactly. I know I wouldn’t mind having a cock first thing tomorrow morning so I’m sending good vibes out to the universe to deliver me one…in whatever form that may be.”
I tug her against me, nipping at her neck. “The only cock you’ll be getting tomorrow morning is mine.”
“Then it’s working already.” She brings her lips toward mine, and I brace myself for her kiss.
But it never comes.
Instead, she slips free, flashing me a grin before walking away, swaying her hips as she goes just to torture me.