“Can you be quiet, kitten?” he asked, sounding sincere with a feral glimmer in his eyes.
“I promise to do my best,” I purred, suddenly liking the nickname when it rolled of his tongue in the naughtiest way imaginable.
He retrieved his jeans and fished a condom from the pocket. My breathing shallowed. Even though we’d done everything leading up to sex, sex felt like a really big deal. It would change everything—which I both wanted and didn’t want.
He stroked his cock, and I stared. There was something incredibly sensual about his strong hand wrapped around his girth. Anticipation was a wriggling beast low in my belly when he rolled on the condom.
Planting his fists on either side of the pillow where my head rested, he loomed over me like some dark, hungry predator.
“Remember your promise.” His voice was a playful lilt.
I grasped his shoulders, loving the hard, hot feel of his muscles under my palms. I slid my hands down his rounded biceps, over thick forearms, and tried to slow my racing heart. It was no use. By the time the tip of his cock glided along my slick entrance, I was mindless with need.
He tilted his hips and entered me in one slick slide. My mouth dropped open, but the sharp sound that would have split the air between us died when he covered my mouth with his.
I held onto him for purchase as he glided in and out of my body. Filling me to capacity in the best way possible. I traced lines down his strong back with my fingernails, cradling him with my crossed legs.
His eyes dropped shut, his lashes brushing his cheeks. I kissed his full mouth, savoring the way he tasted. I noted every subtle shift of his body over mine, memorized every breathy, animalistic sound.
There was only him. Only me. Only our rapidly approaching releases in the dark confines of this room.
“Tasha.” My name left his lips on a broken, desperate sigh.
I dragged my fingers along his jaw. “I’m ready.”
He cupped my bottom and tilted my hips. Then he drove deep to meet me, faster and harder than before. Something unfamiliar in my belly coiled, winding tighter and tighter as he moved. I bit my tongue to keep from screaming his name.
“Fuck being quiet,” he said on a labored breath. He increased his speed, the headboard slamming the wall and the mattress creaking.
“Say my name,” he commanded.
“Cade,” I whispered between sharp breaths, aware I was hurtling toward an intense release.
“Louder.” He slammed deep again, and that coil began to pulse.
“Cade!” I cried out as I came, tears prickling the corners of my eyes as a sob tore from my throat. My climax burst on the screen of my eyelids like a supernova, blotting out every star in the galaxy.
Never. Never had I experienced a rush followed by such a pleasant buzz. Cade’s hips sped then slowed as he thrust into me, ending on a low growl of satisfaction that rippled along my entire body.
He collapsed, his weight pressing me into the mattress. My legs that were gripping his hips lost their strength. I lay boneless beneath him. Neither of us spoke as the sweat cooled on our overexerted bodies.
Who knew how long later, he pressed a kiss to my lips and, keeping his eyes on mine, pulled out. I missed him instantly.
He strutted bare-assed to the bathroom and shut the door. I blinked in the darkness as tingles traveled up my front and down my back.
That was…that was… Wow.
Fatigue hit me with the force of a Mack truck. After a day spent in class, confronting my dad and my ex (twice), and making love to Cade for the first time, I could sleep the sleep of the dead.
I smiled as Cade walked back into the room. Making love.
I curled around one of his pillows and let out a deep sigh of satisfaction.
Cade
Tasha’s eyes sank closed as I crossed the room. She had a satisfied little smile on her lips as she cuddled my pillow. Meanwhile, my johnson was already stirring to life. I wanted her again. Already.
I climbed into bed and took the pillow away from her. She let out a sound of protest that died on her lips when I scooted against her. I pulled all her softness flush to my body and kissed the tip of her cute nose.
I liked her in my arms, in my bed. I loved the way she felt against me. I hadn’t made an official declaration, but she belonged with me. I knew it in my bones. I pulled the covers to our waists, squeezing her hip with one palm.
Letting out a sleepy yawn, she tapped my shoulder. “Tell me about your tattoos.”
I wanted to let her sleep, but a bigger part of me wanted to keep her awake by talking to her. I’d just practiced in the bathroom mirror, under my breath. I recited a verse from one of my favorite songs, pleased when there wasn’t a single hesitation or stumble. I wasn’t stupid enough to believe a miracle had occurred, but I definitely felt more in control than I had in a long while. Way before Blue skidded into that fire hydrant.
It was a relief to feel like my old self. Well, not my old self. That would be tragic. I was more a blend of old and new.
“What do you want to know?” I drifted my fingers up her arm. How she could’ve ever believed she was physically less than perfect was beyond me.
“What’s this?” She traced the circle on my bicep.
“Speedometer.” I rotated my arm to show off the contemporary design.
“Ahh. I see it now.” She traced the circle, then the needle pointing at what I liked to think was 120 miles per hour.
“What about the moon?” She drew an outline around the crescent shape and then followed the path of stars winding around my biceps.
“I like the night.”
She smiled, and even in the barest light coming from the bathroom I could make out how happy she was right now. That got me. Right in the center of the chest.
“This one I really like.” She touched my favorite tattoo. An American flag unfurling into a checkered flag.
“Lawyer and street racer,” I said with a sad smile.
“And the wolf?” She smoothed her fingers over the animal’s profile on my shoulder.
“Fox,” I corrected. “Silver-tongued fox.”
Fuck, that rolled off my tongue smoothly.
“I’ll say,” she breathed. “I’m proud of you.”
I kissed her, savoring the gentle way she kissed me back. I was pretty damn pleased with myself. Of course a sated and satisfied Tasha Montgomery in my bed had gone a long way toward helping with that.
I settled in, adjusting the pillow under my head as I pulled the blankets over us. I didn’t want to talk anymore. I wanted to hold her and sleep in and not think about tomorrow.
She wrapped an arm around my waist and sealed her body against mine.
Mine, the word echoed in my head. All mine.
“You’re in a good mood tonight.” Devlin stepped out of his office at Oak & Sage and locked the door behind him. I shrugged as I lined the trash can with a fresh bag.
He grinned. Wide.
“What?” I barked.
“Didn’t peg Tasha for a sex-in-the-park type of girl, but I don’t know her that well.”
The rest of the kitchen crew had gone, which left Devlin and me—and the dishwasher, who was noisily finishing a final load. Which was the only reason I didn’t pummel my half-brother half to death.
“Fuck,” I said. Stupid Baron.