Chapter Twelve

Katie sparkled like fairy dust the minute Paige and Brenden entered the living room carrying the cake and singing the birthday song. Everyone joined in, gathering around to watch as the birthday girl blew out all nineteen candles. Soon after, the house emptied at a slow yet steady pace, with Katie and her friends being the last to leave with plans to go dancing. This was what he had waited for all evening.

The anticipation of being alone with Paige had him offering premature goodbyes and personally escorting guests to the front door. Perhaps he should have suffered a small amount of guilt when the slow trickle of departures became a hurried exodus that left his house empty with the exception of one…but a guilty conscience never came. There was no room for that feeling as he stood in the archway of his kitchen watching Paige dry wine glasses.

He loved the way she had pinned her long hair up, exposing the elegant posture she maintained even through such chores. Without further hesitation, he slipped from his coat, hung it on a barstool, and then rolled up his sleeves as he went to her side.

“You wash, I dry.” He took the goblet’s stem between his fingers and pulled it from hers.

“How sweet.” She rolled her eyes. “I have like three glasses left.”

“You want my help or not?” He flaunted a lopsided smile before she laughed, passing him another glass. “You’re short without your heels, Nichols.”

“You’re observant, Jasper. Besides, I’ve been in heels all night. My feet are killing me.”

Brenden took the last glass from her. He quickly dried it then grabbed her hand, pulling her away from the kitchen. He led them to the couch in the family room. While they sat, taking in the view of the Gulf, he eased her feet into his lap. His hands began a gentle caress that elicited hushed giggles from her. A few seconds in and she was moaning as he massaged circles into the bottoms of her feet with his knuckles.

“Feel good?”

“Um hmm…very.” Her eyes opened, tracing the movements of his hands. “If I didn’t say it earlier, you have a really nice home. The view is amazing.” Ocean waves crashing upon the shore garnered her attention. She stared beyond the glass floor-to-ceiling windows, apparently entranced by the moonlit seas.

He sighed. “I’m calm here. I have to come home to something like this after all the chaos I see.” He traced a path along her legs up to her flat hourglass waist. His hands rested a moment at her breasts before landing on her face. He was talking more about her and less about the eclectic white stucco home he designed years ago.

“What chaos do you see?”

He refocused back to the ocean view. “Even if I could tell you, I wouldn’t. I don’t want you tainted.”

“Want me tainted? What do you do, Brenden? I thought you were in the army.”

“Special Forces.” It wasn’t exactly a lie, but it was as close as he could go to the truth.

Paige cleared her throat. “Is that like a Navy SEAL?” He nodded. “Oh,” she said on a sigh.

His head snapped to her. He didn’t like the barely audible tone her voice had taken or the distant expression masking her face. Their eyes met and she swallowed hard.

“My middle brother is a SEAL.”

“So you understand the nature of what I do. There are things I will never be able to tell you.”

She nodded, swinging her legs from his lap to the floor. The second she was upright, she walked away, causing a sinking feeling to hit the pit of his stomach before he turned his head up to the ceiling. The tension tightening his limbs intensified when he heard her high heels click against the wood floors. He had waited all night to be here with her like this.

Was she really just going to leave?

“Brenden, it’s been a long day. I’m tired,” she yawned. “And ready to go home. Will you take me?”

He didn’t respond. Couldn’t. His throat was too dry and full of emotion. Somehow he managed to push against the tension in his body and lower his elbows to his knees. This was not what he had expected. She had said for him to come back to her. Now it seemed as though she had uttered that meaningful phrase in vain. Just some ploy to twist his heartstrings.

“Why?” escaped his tight throat. Silence danced around them for another minute. “Why are you leaving?” He remained intent on not facing her and not relinquishing his seat.

His eyes closed, hearing her sigh, the hesitation in it. He didn’t need to see her to feel it. More than that, he didn’t want to force her into being where she didn’t want to be.

But she was putting his heart through the fucking ringer, a feeling he had protected himself from for so long. Now it was exposed, vulnerable, twisting inside his chest. She would not just abandon him tonight. Not after her gentle spirit seemed intent on setting his free. At the very least, she would damn well explain why she was doing this to him.

A few more contemplative breaths came. He pressed his fists into the seat cushion.

“Because,” she finally spoke, freezing his momentum to push up from the couch. “Because I know men like you. You don’t want strings, attachments, or as you once said, complications. You aren’t looking for anything more than sex. And I’m not saying I don’t want sex, because sex with you was”—she blew out a breath—“really, really good. It’s just that…I honestly haven’t a clue of what I want. But I don’t think I want just sex from you.”

His heart did a right jab, cross punch into the middle of his chest. This was an ache he didn’t mind; the one he welcomed and had dreamed about since he met her on New Year’s Eve.

“Come here,” was all he said.

“What?”

“I said. Come. Here.”

…

Paige pushed her hand against the wall to brace her quivering knees. His deeply spoken authority had turned her sex into Niagara Falls. Why was she being so damn weak? If memory prevailed, her reason would be because she liked the press of his lips against hers, the way her body became putty in his hands, how he looked at her and ignited raw flames; and then she remembered the exceptional girth and length of his sex. Dear sweet Jesus, she was already dickmatized and had only had him once.

“Nichols. I want you to come to me, now.”

Brenden didn’t turn to look at her as an audible, stuttering breath escaped her lips. He seemed content on waiting, patient or not, for her to follow his order. She lost the battle and succumbed to his dominance, kicked off her shoes, then made soft steps until she stood in front of him. He relaxed back into the couch, pulling her along.

His hands clutched her thighs, making them part until she straddled his wide legs. She could no longer hide the heat radiating from her sex and exposing her hunger for him. Nor could she deny the swell of his manhood against her lacy panties or his piercing gray stare—or was it blue? Because that cosmic collision had turned a few shades darker.

“I don’t want just sex, either,” Brenden said, cupping her neck with his palm. “I want you.” Her teeth clipped her bottom lip. “Don’t do that, Paige.” His heady tone made her Kegel muscles tighten.

Lust rolled into his eyes, and a primitive desire coiled around her. The sensation began to overwhelm her, and then she grounded herself in the sincerity of his words. He doesn’t just want sex. Realization blossomed as she scanned Brenden’s handsome face.

“I think I’ve wanted you since I found you on the ground fishing for your phone, Nichols.” His fingertips whispered along her jawline. “The image of your smile burned into me, and I watched you that entire night until I had you in my arms. I don’t ever want you to leave them. I want us to be something.”

“Something?” Her brows furrowed as she drew back from his touch.

“Yes, something.” He chuckled for a second, then felt his face tighten. “I want you to be mine.” He sat up, gripping underneath her thighs, pulling her until she fit perfectly into him. “Will you be mine? Because I want to be yours.”

His open declaration was unexpected, and it reaffirmed why she dared to dream the possibilities of having Brenden in her life. She gave an innocent nod and then leaned in, pressing her lips to his. He reached up, taking her face between his hands. His kiss went from sweet to passionate as he branded her.

“I have to hear you say it,” he murmured against her mouth.

“I’ll be yours, Brenden.”

His eyes closed. “Say it again.”

“I’ll be yours, and I want you to be mine,” she whispered into his parted lips.

…

His arm snaked around her waist and he reached up, claiming her mouth. The nectar of her kiss sent him into a frenzy. There was so much more of her to explore again. His hands grew their own brain and slithered underneath the layer of pink polyester lining her dress. Each of his palms became full with her decadent ass, which he couldn’t wait to part and bury his tongue inside.

The thought made his blood sing and in no uncertain motion, he caught hold of her dress and stripped it from her body. He relaxed back into the couch, purposely appraising her beautiful body and happy she hadn’t shied away from his intense gaze.

“Mine,” he said before sealing his lips back to hers, capturing her tongue.

Brenden savored blueberry and Cabernet as she popped the buttons of his shirt before helping him discard it on the floor. Her breasts crushed to his bare chest when she deposited kisses at his jawline, before her lips followed a path down his neck and continued south. A gasp escaped her, recognizing the hardness standing at attention between his legs. At least now she understood what would be demanded of her.

Brenden groaned. He wanted to take it slow, maybe even make love. Yet the floral fragrance coating her skin, the softness of her body, and the kiss upon his lips fueled base desires.

Three months had passed since his dick nestled within her pussy. This was the moment he had replayed in his head a thousand times.

“Aagh,” she cried, digging her nails into his shoulders as he sank his teeth into her neck.

“I bite, baby.” He sucked at her flesh while his fingers crept inside her panties. “Holy fuck. Is all of that for me to lick up?”

“Mmm hmm…ohh.” Her head flung back as his fingers pushed between her drenched folds.

“Ready to take all of me?” His teeth raked over her shoulder and his blood pressure spiked, hearing her moan.

“Mmmm, yes, Brenden.”

“Good, ’cause my dick is aching to be inside you and I can’t promi—”

His words got stuck as she slid from his lap. She tugged his belt with her teeth and fell to her knees. Brenden hissed and, with shaky hands, removed his pants. He melted when the beautiful woman kneeling before him caught his cock and licked from the base to the tip.

A dirty little smile curved her lips as a harsh groan escaped him. She winked and then wrapped her lips around the head of his cock.

“That’s it, baby, open wide.” His hand laced through her hair, encouraging her down the length of him.

Her hunger was evident when she licked her lips before taking him back into her mouth. He raised himself and pushed farther down her throat, marveling at how she fought through her gag reflex and continued bobbing up and down.

“St-stop.” He shuddered from her lips exploring the ridge of his rock-hard cock. He yanked Paige back up into his lap, then invaded her mouth with his tongue. “Your mouth is sin.” He kissed her full lips. “I want to come another way first,” he said, pulling her thighs apart.

The tip of his head played within her wetness. He paused, feeling her tense. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have assumed just because you’re the last person I was with. I’m still clean, but I can grab a condom.” He pulled back and attempted to stand.

“It’s not that. We got lucky last time,” she said holding him in place. Their eyes met. She watched as his entire right brow arched. “I’m not on any birth control.”

His face settled with understanding. Responsible would be getting up and going to his stash of condoms. Brenden had never questioned the use of birth control with any other woman. Oddly, he didn’t care with Paige. For the second time in his life, he didn’t want order. He wanted this reckless impulse she strummed over him. He wanted Paige to have his heart.

Brenden pushed a flyaway hair behind her ear. “So, how… What did you use in the past?”

“Condoms.” Her eyes avoided his. “I’ve never allowed a man to come inside me. You’re the only one I’ve ever been with like this.”

If his dick could’ve grown another inch, it would have. He was the first man to ever experience Paige this intimately and he damn sure would be the last. An unexpected thought, but it was how he felt in this moment.

“I’ll pull out.”

She nodded and began to sink down on his long, impossibly thick dick. Groans tore from their throats in unison as he took handfuls of her ass and helped guide her down until she could go no farther. She closed her eyes, adjusting to being stretched by him before commencing a slow, steady dance in his lap.

“Ohhh, you’re sooo big,” she moaned, breathless.

“You shouldn’t be so good. Fuck,” he growled as he took charge of her hips. He brought her up and down his shaft in a punishing manner. Nothing was better than watching her breasts bounce as she moaned in ecstasy.

He broke rhythm, stopped, and leaned into her, resting his head and taking deep breaths.

“What’s wrong?” she whispered.

“If you move on me again, this will be over before it really had the chance to start.”

Paige ran her fingers through his hair and dropped a kiss on his jaw. Her light laughter came to an abrupt end when he stood and flipped her onto the couch. He pushed one of her legs in the air and pinned the other to the seat cushion. In one swift movement, he pushed his dick inside her.

Her body arched off the couch, craving more. He wanted to be gentle, but she felt too good and it had been too long. He needed this, needed her. Without reservation, he took more, made her give, and she received him just like he imagined.

“Brenden,” she moaned. “Please.”

“So good. So fucking sweet.” He plowed back within her tightness, watching his dick get coated with her juices.

The sight of Paige’s teeth clipping her bottom lip while her hands clutched her breasts made him go balls deep. He knew she was tight and there would be some discomfort, but his dick begged to be all the way inside her.

“Ahhh,” she cried, eyes rolling. “Brenden.”

He withdrew in slow motion, then slammed back inside her. Slow again, then slammed back in. He saw her body tremble, but he wanted it to shake. Once more, he pulled from her warm tightness with slow precision, then sunk his dick deep inside.

Paige screamed, shaking uncontrollably as she exploded. Brenden strengthened his grip on her slick leg and pumped her, chasing his orgasm. His jaw tightened as he pulled out of her pussy and began pumping his cock until his seed sprayed across her belly.

Before his legs gave in, he gripped the couch. His eyes found hers closed. He waited until they opened. “Do not move this time.”

…

Paige huffed a tired smile when he kissed her damp forehead. She nodded before he took off down the hall. A full grin came this time as she watched her Zeus come back to where she lay. As he got closer, she gulped. “You’re hard again.”

He smirked and kneeled between her legs. “I would’ve done this the last time but you left.”

“Sorry.” She reached up, cupping his face. His confession warmed her, and his thoughtfulness was unlike anything she had experienced from another man.

He nodded and began to gently wipe her. He took a deep exhale, watching her wince. “You’re sore.”

“A little. Maybe the good doctor will visit me?”

Brenden chuckled. “I’ll kiss it and make you better.”

He continued wiping her until she was clean, after which he scooped her into his arms and proceeded up the stairs. The warmth of his chest and strength of his body made her feel safe. This was her man now, and the thought of leaving his arms made her heart constrict.

As Brenden entered his room, she perked up a bit. This was the one part of the house she hadn’t explored. She smiled at a large abstract piece by Louis Lapier adorning his wall. The art was a bold statement of color, contrasting to the crisp white bed linens making up a solid wood bed that was indeed a piece of art itself. The industrial ruggedness of the bed was a reflection of the man she was getting to know, and she couldn’t wait for him to take her in his bed.

Brenden tenderly deposited her between the sheets before running out and returning with their discarded clothing. He gave a lopsided grin and dove into the bed, stealing the covers away. His lips muffled her giggles before his head went south, scattering kisses across her body. He pushed her legs open and took pleasure in the moans escaping her as her body writhed under his.

“Nichols,” he whispered while tracing his tongue over her clit. “The doctor is in.”