"I-I can get my panties." She says nervously.
I lay my hand between her breasts and tip her back. She falls onto the bed with wide eyes. "I gott'em."
"Damn." She's breathless, leaving me feeling the same as I drag her underwear from her pussy and toss them behind me.
Popping the button on my pants, I smirk as her iris's fluctuate, waiting on my unveiling. I yank on my zipper, releasing my cock, heavy with need. Her mouth gapes, and I bite my lip.
"So. Much. Damn." Harper sits up on her elbows as I let my pants fall. My cock stares at her for a brief second until she breaks contact to rake her eyes over my body.
I sit my knee on the bed, tossing her off balance. "Don't come a knockin', if the beds a rockin'."
"I want your cock, not your cheesy pickup lines." She laces her fingers behind my head.
"So much for romance." I quirk my brow.
She flicks her tongue over my nipple with a wink. "Romance me after you've fucked me."
"I can do that, Baby." I fist her hair at the nape of her neck, yanking her head back. After ravaging her mouth with my tongue, I leave a trail of indentions with my teeth as I ever so slightly nibble on her skin.
Harper takes my face in her hands just as I'm about to lap her belly button. "Now, Ridge. I'm wet and need you now."
"I'll be the judge of that." I slip my fingers between her thighs, slipping them in and out, sliding easily through her. "Fuck me."
"That's all I'm asking." The frenzied desire burning in her eyes is my undoing.
I rock into her, sliding deep with unquenchable need. Harper's head lulls, baring her neck to me. Our bodies connected; we lay there, just being one. Pressing my lips to her skin, I'm engulfed with the sweet taste of her and the surprising way it has never changed. I struggle with control, wanting to take her wildly.
She rolls her head, laying her cheek to mine. Her legs hitch to my waist, as she trails the tips of her fingers over my shoulders and down my back.
I slide my hands behind her, latching onto her shoulders. I fight the urge to stay buried deep inside her, but with the sound of her gratitude at the slightest move I make, I lose all restraint.
Most of the time, the simple bump, and grind of two bodies against each other is enough, but not with Harper. The very definition to dominate her body is a heady mix of love and lust.
What so many never seen between us, is the bond we still continue to share. I've waited all my life for a love like this, staying up all night, being with her in every way possible.
Making love to her is the most sacred part of it and being with her now is more than I will ever deserve. I'm weak with her slightest touch, yet strong as I command her every move.
Our driving force is not only our want for the other but the need to be closer with each thrust. My desire for her will never be quenched, as with my taste for her will never be matched.
She rises from the bed, meeting me with her own need as we chase the one thing, we need most, our love. Our bodies coming together in succinct movements.
No words could add to this moment. Mere expressions of endearment will never be enough for the undeniable bond we share. We slowly build our pace, gazes locked, until we're racing to our ultimate destination.
Our mouths pressed against the other, no longer searching for love lost, but accepting our fate of forever being as one. As our bodies meet with the ultimate finale, our breathing becomes labored.
A single tear rolls down her face with a smile attached when I kiss it away. "How can it feel as perfect as it always did?"
"Because we will always be, forever." My lips find hers as we crash back to earth, encased in the other's arms. Protected and finally... home.
The sun sneaks through the billowing curtains across the room as I lay in Ridge's arms, the utter definition of perfection. His love for me has never wavered, cementing it for the both of us.
The thought of it catches my breath, and I gasp. Hoping for it is nothing more than a dream, when it comes true, life crawls from its ugly recesses and reminds you of your darkest secrets.
That's when realization aches deep in my bones and I have to admit... I'm out of time.
I ease from the warmth of his arms, slipping into the bathroom, so I can pull myself together. I clinch to the sides of the sink, steadying myself as my heart pounds in my ears, throwing me off balance.
"Just do it, he deserves the truth and waiting any longer will only hurt you both in the end." I stare at my reflection in the mirror, imprinting the memory from last night so it will never leave me or my heart.
"Because as soon as I tell you, you're never gonna stay." Drying my face, I take one last long drag of air into my lungs. It may be the last time I get to breathe.
I swing the door open, looking toward the bed where I left him just moments ago. He's not there. Panic-stricken, I search the room quickly, only to find him in the chairs by the window.
He's facing the tree house, staring into the vastness. His elbows rest on his knees, hands clasped in front of him. As selfish as it is, all I can think of is losing him and what it's going to do to me.
Without a doubt, he knows.
"Were you ever gonna tell me, Harper?" His voice cracks on my name, breaking my heart into a million shared pieces.
I wrap my arms around my stomach, trying to hold myself together. "Yes."
"Didn't you think I'd notice? I know your body better than anyone. My hands have touched every inch of you." His voice is inaudible, quivering with each word.
Unbelievable! My only words about the mess I've put him in is, yes? What in the hell, Harper! Say something. Anything is better than one word. String together all the things you've wanted to say but couldn't find the courage.
I walk toward him, he's unmoving. As I round the seat, I'm wracked with the devastation written all over him. His face wet with tears, his body shaking with disbelief.
"I've wanted to tell you. I couldn't find the words. No matter how many times I tried, they wouldn't come, Ridge." I press my hand to my mouth, praying my sobs don't escape.
"And the words, I'm pregnant, never entered your mind?" His face contorts, followed by his breath hitching. I clutch my chest, willing my heart not to leap from it and run away.
I fall into the chair behind me, collapsing under the weight of it all. "I couldn't bring myself to say it. Uttering the words made it real, I had had enough of real for a lifetime, Ridge."
He turns on me, his face red with hurt and anger. "And you don't think I have?"
"Oh, God, no. I couldn't stop thinking about the way this would affect you. Please understand, I couldn't bring myself to hurt you again." I plead with him to see me, not only hear my words.
"But it's the exact opposite of what you did! Not just to me, but to us!" He hammers his chest with his fist, pummeling me with every hit.
My shoulders slump as my chest conclaves and I'm buried beneath the mountain I've built between us. "I couldn't face it."
"It or me? Because from where I'm sitting, you faced this every day and had every chance to talk to me! But that's the thing with us, we don't talk. Of all the things that connect us, I suppose talking has never been one of them." He runs his hand over his face, drying it.