Chapter 26

She struggled against his hold on her hands, wanting to feel the play of muscles along his back as he moved, but he held her firm. Instead, she lifted her legs and wrapped them around his hips, tilting her pelvis in just the right way so his shaft rubbed along her swollen clit.

Brian began to move faster and she felt him thicken and harden even further as his own climax began to build. She bucked her hips into him, increasing the pressure, her body careening toward release.

“That’s it, baby,” she crooned. “Harder, fuck me harder.”

He pounded into her and she felt the walls of her core tighten around him before waves of intense pleasure rolled over her, her orgasm triggering his. She cried out as he throbbed within her, drawing out her climax. He slowed his rhythm but continued to push into her in deep, sure strokes until her body was limp and spent.

He kissed her languidly, tasting every inch of her mouth as he let her hands go. He slowly pulled out, both of them groaning with the loss of contact, and she closed her eyes to bask in the afterglow. Brian cleaned up in the ensuite and then slid back into bed, gathering her close and raining kisses down over her eyelids, nose, cheeks, and neck. She sighed with contentment, relaxing in his arms.

“The things you do to me,” he murmured against her lips.

She smiled and pressed a long kiss to his lips, “You drive me wild,” she whispered. “I can’t get enough of you.”

He groaned, the vibration rumbling in his chest and throat so that she could feel it through her whole body.

“I can’t get enough of you either,” he said, his voice low and rough.

She cupped his cheek, letting the bristles of his beard tickle her palm, and then slid her hand up and around his neck, pulling him close. They lay with their foreheads touching, their breath mingling and Cassie wondered how on earth she would ever walk away from him.

He kissed the tip of her nose and then tucked her head under his chin, his hands making large circles on her back.

“Sleep, sweetheart,” he whispered. “We’ve got a big day ahead of us.”

She snuggled into him gratefully, letting her eyes droop and her body sink into his warmth. She knew as she succumbed to the sweet call of sleep that she was falling in love with the man who held her and she had no idea what to do about it. She’d loved Nathan, but not like this, not in this all-consuming way. She wanted to spend the rest of her days wrapped up in him. She wanted to feel his skin against hers, his arms around her and their legs entwined. She wanted to wake up with him and fall asleep with him every night and although that should have scared her, being wrapped up in him, held securely by his strong arms, made all the scary things fade away. Falling asleep next to him like this gave her hope that what she hoped for could be possible.

Brian slowly opened his eyes as he crawled up from the darkness of sleep and blinked at the brightness of the room. He couldn’t remember the last time he had slept in until the sun had fully risen. The soft, warm body beside him stirred and he smiled. He could damned well get used to this.

He turned his head to the side and took in the face of the woman who had turned his world completely upside-down and inside-out. Cassie’s features were relaxed in sleep, her long dark eyelashes brushing the delicate freckles on her alabaster cheeks, her pillowy lips slightly parted and her hands tucked up under her head as she snuggled into his side.

His arm tightened reflexively around her and he lowered his head to press a gentle kiss on her temple. She smelled like flowers and the unique musky scent that was all her own and he dragged in lungfuls of it, letting it imprint on his senses and memory.

He didn’t want to move, didn’t want to wake her. He wanted to watch her sleep and catalog every little sound and facial expression. He wanted to memorize the shape of her nose, the pout of her lips, the delicate curve of her ear. He didn’t want this surreal moment of absolute bliss to end.

And that wasn’t in the least bit stalker-ish.

He sighed and kissed her again, this time with intent to wake her. He brushed his lips along those cute freckles on her cheeks and pressed soft kisses to her eyelids before taking her lips in a long, languid kiss, coaxing her mouth open with his tongue.

She responded slowly, opening to him, her eyes fluttering open and her hand stretching out to thread through his hair.

“Mmm,” she hummed into his mouth. “So much better than an alarm clock.”

He smiled against her lips and kissed her again, taking his time and savoring the taste of her. She let him lead, following contentedly along behind him as he explored her mouth, his tongue running along her lips, across her teeth, and sliding silkily against her tongue.

He pulled away from her mouth and trailed soft kisses along her jaw, exulting in the shiver of her body as his beard brushed against the tender skin of her throat. His hand wandered down her spine and she arched her back in response. He moved his mouth down her exposed throat, open-mouthed kisses, soft nips, and gently sucks until he’d made his way across her chest and down the plump globes of her breast, finally taking an engorged nipple between his lips and suckling.

She mewled in the back of her throat, her hands holding his head in place while he loved on her breast. She pushed her body towards him, urging him to take more of her into his mouth, but he nipped the tight bud with his teeth instead, causing her to gasp breathlessly.

He lifted his head and she blinked her lashes open, her eyes lazy with lust.

“We need to get up,” he whispered and then chuckled as he took in her pout.

“You can’t get me this wound up and then leave me hanging,” she replied desperately. “It’s inhumane.”

“But we’ve got a lot to do today,” he said, dropping his lips to the skin between her breasts.

She arched her back again and moaned. “I refuse to go anywhere until you finish what you started.”

He took the other nipple in his mouth and rolled it around his tongue causing her hands to clench in his hair.

“I better be quick then,” he mumbled, rolling her to her back and running his tongue down across her stomach, circling her belly button, and finally making contact with her mound. Her knees fell open and he snuggled eagerly between them, propping her legs over his shoulders and cupping his hands under her bottom so that he could angle her just right.

He took a moment to appreciate the dusky pink folds that glistened in readiness for him before dipping his head and laleavinger slit. She exhaled with a whoosh and he smiled as he ran his tongue around her clit and then sucked it into his mouth. He loved the taste of her, he loved the softness of her folds and the way she responded to his ministrations.

He tensed his tongue and dipped it into her entrance, rimming the turgid walls of her core. She bucked against his mouth, riding his face as he plunged his tongue deeper into her. He licked and sucked and nipped at her until he felt her stiffen, her thighs closing tightly against his head. He pulled away before she could come and she groaned in desperation. He slipped on a condom, his own release pulling his balls tight as he held onto his control. He plunged into her, flicking her clit with his thumb as he did so and bringing her orgasm to completion. He pumped into her two, three times before he could no longer hold back his own release and he thrust into her, burying himself deep as he let her pulsating walls milk him dry.

He collapsed over her, his head snug in the crook of her neck, and breathed deeply, waiting for his heart rate to slow and the numb feeling to leave his legs. She pulled him close and wrapped her arms and legs around him, panting in his ear. Her hot breath was doing all kinds of things to his vulnerable state of mind.

Eventually, he pulled away from her, prolonging the contact as long as he could, before rolling to the side and looking up at the ceiling. He laid an arm over his eyes as he tried to get his bearings wondering how in the hell he was going to get through the rest of the day without doing that again.