Chapter 20 - Mara #2
“Careful, Wilder,” I say, but he just grins and pushes the door open with his shoulder.
The house is quiet, dark except for the blue glow of the night light in the hallway.
He sets me down easily, but doesn’t let my hand go.
“You know, some people would want to stay at their own party,” he says, stripping off his jacket and tossing it on the hook by the door.
I lean into him, nose against his throat. “I’d rather be here. With you.”
He brushes my cheek with his thumb, the gesture so soft it makes my chest hurt. “You alright? I can almost feel you thinking through our bond,” he says, searching my face. “Everything okay?”
I nod, then shake my head. “I wasn’t sure when to tell you. I guess now is as good a time as any.”
He tenses, just a fraction, as if bracing for bad news. “Tell me what?”
I swallow, smiling nervously. “You’ll have trouble lifting me over the threshold soon.”
He blinks, not getting it, then his eyes widen, turning golden. “You’re serious?”
I nod. “I found out yesterday. I wanted to tell you when it was just us.”
Cade drops to his knees in front of me, his hands on my hips, and buries his face against my stomach. I run my hands through his hair, feeling his breath shudder against me. When he looks up, his eyes are wet.
“Are you happy?” I ask, suddenly scared, because what if he’s not? What if this is too much, too fast?
He pulls me down, wraps his arms around my waist, and holds me so tight I can barely breathe. “You have no idea,” he says, voice raw. “You have absolutely no idea.”
He practically sweeps me up again, lifting me off the floor, and my arms wrap around his neck, and my mouth is already on his before we even cross the threshold into the bedroom.
There’s no hesitation, no gentle undressing this time.
He wants me, and I want him, and the hunger in both of us is almost frantic, as if we need to prove that this is real, that the life we’re making together starts right here and now.
He backs me up to the bed, his hands never leaving my waist, then slides them down to cup my ass and haul me closer.
My dress is so light it slides up with just a tug, the skirt gathering around my hips.
Cade’s fingers skim along my thighs, then up under the skirt, bunching the fabric at my waist while his teeth find my bottom lip and drag, the pinch making me gasp and arch against him.
His hands slide under my dress, fingers curling around the edge of my underwear and dragging it down in one smooth motion, leaving me bare and shivering against him.
He shrugs out of his shirt, and my hands roam his back, nails raking over the muscle there, and he hums low in his chest, the sound vibrating through me.
“You’re so fucking beautiful,” he says, voice rough, and drops to his knees in front of me.
He kisses my belly, slow and reverent, hands splayed over my hips.
I tangle my fingers in his hair, not sure if I want to pull him closer or just hold on for dear life.
His mouth moves lower, tracing a line down my stomach, then to the inside of my thigh, his breath so hot and close I can barely stand it.
He slides my dress up higher, and then his tongue is on my bare skin, soft at first, just a taste, then deeper, more insistent, until my knees give out and I’m clutching at his shoulders to stay upright.
He works me over with a patience that threatens to break me, tongue circling and flicking, lips latching on to my clit and sucking until I’m shaking, gasping, begging for more.
The edge builds fast, unbearable, my hips rocking against his mouth in desperate need.
He slips two fingers inside me, curling them just right, and I come so hard I throw my head back in a silent scream.
He doesn’t stop, just eases me back onto the bed and follows me down, mouth kissing and biting its way up my body until he’s looming over me, eyes gold and hungry.
He peels the dress over my head and tosses it aside, then shucks the rest of his own clothes in record time.
I watch him, greedy for everything I know he’s going to give me.
I reach for his cock, and he watches me as I wrap my hand around him and stroke, slow and gentle at first, just to hear the way his breath stutters in his chest. I lick the head, tasting salt and heat, and then take him into my mouth, the thick weight of him making my lips stretch wide.
He groans, head dropping back, and for a moment, all I want is to please him, to feel him lose control for me.
I take him deeper, tongue swirling, sucking slow and steady.
He fucks my mouth, careful at first, but then rougher, his hands bracing my head, holding me steady as he moves.
I relax my throat, letting him in, and when he hits the back of my mouth, he shudders, hips jerking almost involuntarily.
The wet, obscene sound of it echoes in the room, and I almost come just from the taste and the weight of him, from the way he can’t stop swearing and moaning my name.
He pulls out, just for a second, and looks down at me, eyes wild.
“You have no idea what you do to me. Fuck, Mara, I’m so close…
.” He pushes back in, this time even deeper, and I gag a little, tears springing to my eyes, but I love it, love the way it undoes him, love the way he can’t stop himself from using my mouth.
But he suddenly pulls out, and I gasp, breathless and dizzy, as he drops to his knees and kisses me, mouth open and desperate.
He spreads my legs wide and pins me down as he lines up his cock and pushes in, slow at first, letting me feel every inch of the stretch as he splits me open.
The fullness is immediate, so intense I gasp and dig my nails into his shoulders.
He bottoms out, and the look on his face is pure hunger and awe.
I wrap my legs around his waist and drag him closer, needing all of him.
He fucks me slowly at first, then harder, each thrust deep and deliberate, as if he wants to memorize the feeling of me around him.
I can feel every inch, every thick, perfect stretch, and the way he moves inside me is so good I want to cry.
He holds himself up on one elbow, the other hand splayed over my belly, fingers spread wide, anchoring me beneath him.
He kisses me everywhere: my mouth, my jaw, the scar on my neck, the new mark he left on my collarbone, and every touch feels like a fresh claim.
I’ve never felt more wanted in my life. He keeps his eyes on me the whole time, and when I come again, it’s with his name in my mouth and his teeth at my throat, and this time I don’t care if the whole valley hears.
We collapse into the sheets, tangled and sweating, and I feel his hand slide down, cupping the very slight curve of my belly.
I bury my face in his chest and breathe him in.
The world outside the bedroom doesn’t matter.
The Order, my revenge, the shipments…it all feels so far away, like another life.
I never thought I’d get this. Never thought I’d want it, and for the first time in my life, I’m excited for what comes next.
*****
THE END