Chapter 13
MARISSA
Iwasn’t sure how I lasted for the rest of the event. Doing my job without falling apart after Camille’s accusation was one of the hardest things I’d ever done. But we were finally alone—just Raiden and me in the quiet of his SUV, with the rest of the world locked out.
My pulse was still jittery from everything that had happened, and I folded my fingers together in my lap to keep them from shaking. My throat felt tight, and my chest ached.
Raiden pulled away from the curb, one hand loose on the wheel and the other resting on my knee. Every few seconds, his gaze flicked toward me. Concern twisted with something protective and fierce beneath the calm he was trying to maintain.
Five blocks passed before he said anything. “You good?”
My lips parted, but my voice didn’t want to work. I forced out, “Yeah. I’m fine.”
It sounded like a lie even to me.
His thumb slowly stroked over my bare skin, sending a trail of goose bumps in its wake. “I meant every word I said back there. All of it.”
“I just—”
He must’ve heard the doubt in my tone because he shot me a look. “Marissa. I threatened a reporter’s career tonight. On record. In front of every major sports network. You think I’d do that if I wasn’t sure about us?”
I turned my face toward the window, blinking fast. The streetlights streaked in long golden lines across the glass while I tried not to fall apart after managing to hold myself together.
Finally, I whispered, “I know. It’s just—hearing someone say that out loud…
” My breath stuttered. “You already knew that I worried people would think I was using you. But I didn’t expect anyone to accuse me of lying about the baby being yours. It was a shock, that’s all.”
“Honestly, if you’d been defensive, it would have given fuel to that bitch’s shit. You’re mine. You don’t have to defend that to anyone.”
His grip tightened gently, making me feel connected to him even though I wasn’t ready to look at him until I had my tears under control.
“No one talks about you like that. And they sure as hell don’t question my kid.”
My breath hitched, and I pressed the back of my knuckles to my mouth, trying to keep my emotions from spilling everywhere. I’d spent weeks terrified someone might accuse me of trapping him, and tonight it finally happened. In front of cameras, no less. By someone from my own network.
And he’d shut it down before I could even inhale.
“Raiden…” I managed, my voice breaking as I turned toward him. “Thank you for shutting her down like that. I just…I wasn’t prepared even though I should’ve been.”
His dark eyes were filled with concern, but also a fierce gleam that warned people not to mess with him. “You don’t have to be prepared. That’s what I’m here for. Lean on me when shit hits the fan.”
A tear escaped before I could stop it, sliding hot down my cheek. I swiped it away quickly, and Raiden gently brushed away the next one with the pad of his thumb.
“Sorry,” I sniffled.
“It’s okay, baby. I’ve got you.”
He really did, which he proved again tonight. “I just want to go home.”
His jaw flexed like my words hit him somewhere deep. “We’ll be there soon.”
He threaded his fingers through mine and didn’t let go the rest of the drive. Or in the elevator, where he stood close enough that his warmth steadied the last shaky pieces of me.
As soon as the penthouse door shut behind us, big hands cupped my face, tilting it up until I had no choice but to meet his eyes.
“Don’t let her get in your head. You didn’t use me.
I picked you. If you hadn’t come home with me that night, I would’ve hunted your ass down and stalked you until you agreed to give me a chance.
Persistence is literally my job, remember? ”
A broken laugh slipped out of me. He dipped his head to kiss away the tear I hadn’t realized was falling down my cheek.
“And you’re not getting the bigger beat because you slept with me.” His voice dropped to that rough velvet tone that always undid me. “You’re the best damn reporter in that building, and your boss sees it.”
I rolled my eyes with a watery laugh as I kicked off my heels. “I wouldn’t go that far.”
“You don’t see yourself the way the rest of us do, baby,” he argued, shaking his head.
“You ask questions in a way that makes athletes open up like they don’t with other reporters.
That’s why Camille is so threatened by you.
She knows she already can’t compare, and you’re only going to get better with more experience. ”
Somehow, he knew exactly what to say to make the knot in my chest loosen. And staring into my eyes, Raiden knew it.
He didn’t give me time to answer. He scooped me up and carried me through the darkened penthouse to our bedroom. Moonlight poured over the bed as he laid me in the center, taking off his shoes and socks before following me down.
He leaned over me, bracing himself with one arm beside my head as the other traced the curve of my waist. His touch didn’t even feel sexual. It just…made me feel wanted.
I tugged him closer with a trembling breath. “Raiden.”
His forehead pressed to mine. His voice was a whisper. “I’ve got you, baby. All you have to do is tell me what you need.”
What I needed was him. The quiet certainty in every kiss that he wasn’t going anywhere. No matter what people said or what came next.
“Kiss me.”
His mouth found mine, and I tasted a hint of the champagne he’d sipped during the event. The stuff I loved but couldn’t have since I was pregnant.
I tugged at his tuxedo jacket, and he shrugged it off without breaking the kiss. My fingers fumbled with his shirt buttons until I finally shoved the fabric open and spread my palms over the hard slabs of his chest, feeling his heart hammer under my touch.
“Need you,” I whispered against his lips.
“You have me, gorgeous. Always.”
He peeled my dress down my body, cool air hitting my skin. Then his mouth followed as he pressed hot, open-mouthed kisses down my throat, across the tops of my breasts, and lingered over my belly. He pressed a reverent kiss just above my navel, and my eyes stung.
His hands slid under the lace of my bra, his thumbs brushing the sensitive peaks until they ached. I arched into him with a whimper. “Please.”
“That’s it, baby. Tell me what you need.”
He yanked the cups down and took one puckered bud into his mouth, sucking hard, his tongue flicking and teeth grazing just enough to make me gasp. “Yes.”
I felt him smile against my breast, and my fingers speared into his hair, holding him there until he moved to the other side. He lavished it with the same attention while I writhed beneath him.
He dragged my panties down my legs, tossing them aside. Then his big hands hooked under my knees and spread me wide. I was already soaked, embarrassingly so, but he groaned like I was giving him a gift.
“Fuck, look at you.” He settled between my thighs, his broad shoulders pushing my legs farther apart. “So damn pretty, all wet and ready for me to devour.”
The first slow lick of his tongue had my hips bucking off the bed.
He pinned me down with one forearm across my hips, careful of the placement so he didn’t press against my belly.
Then he ate me with long, deliberate strokes, circling my clit and sucking it between his lips until my thighs shook.
I flew apart, and he slid two fingers inside me to lengthen my release, curling just right, and I shattered even more, coming hard against his mouth.
“Yes! Oh yes! Raiden!”
He didn’t stop. He kept licking, gentler now, drawing out every aftershock until I was boneless and begging.
“Best damn thing I’ve ever tasted.” He got to his knees and shoved his pants down just enough to free himself. “But feeling your pussy wrapped around my cock is even better.”
His dick was hot and heavy against my thigh, the blunt head already slick. He notched himself at my entrance and paused, his dark eyes locked on mine.
“Tell me if it’s too much.” His voice ragged. “Don’t wanna hurt—”
“You’d never hurt me or the baby.” I dug my nails into his shoulders. “I need you inside me. Now.”
He pushed in agonizingly slow, stretching me open inch by thick inch. I was wetter than I’d ever been, but he was huge, and the pressure bordered on overwhelming. When he was halfway in, he stilled, letting me adjust, sweat beading on his brow with the effort of holding back.
I hooked my legs higher around his waist and rolled my hips. “More.”
A growl rumbled out of him. He sank the rest of the way in one smooth thrust, bottoming out, and we both groaned at the perfect fit.
“Fuck, baby.” He dropped his forehead to mine. “You always feel so damn good.”
Then he started to move. With slow, deep strokes at first, dragging over every sensitive spot inside me. My nails raked down his back, urging him on.
He picked up speed, his hips snapping so hard the headboard knocked against the wall with every thrust. One big hand slid between us, and his thumb found my clit, rubbing tight circles until I was climbing again, faster this time.
“I’m close,” I gasped.
“Come for me, baby,” he growled against my ear. “Let me feel your sweet pussy milk the come from my cock.”
I shattered a second time, harder than the first, my inner walls clenching around him in rhythmic pulses. He slammed in deep and followed me over, coming with a guttural groan as he filled me with hot, pulsing jets that seemed to go on forever.
When it was over, he didn’t pull out. Instead, he rolled us carefully so I was draped across his chest, still joined, with his arms locked tightly around me.
I lay there listening to the thunder of his heartbeat under my ear and knew I wasn’t falling for him.
I already had.
And it didn’t scare me anymore.