His to Hold (The Malone Brother Book 3)

by S. L. Sterling

  She let out a small whimper. "Don't stop."

  "I'm not, but there is no way I'm letting you come that way," I said, spinning her around to face me. Pushing her up against the wall of the shower, I kneeled before her. Holding her in place, I raised one of her legs over my shoulder and buried my face between her legs, sucking and licking her clit, while I buried two fingers inside of her.

  Within minutes, her fingers were entwined in my hair and she was trying to stifle every sexy moan that came from her mouth, while her body was pressed against the wall of the shower.

  A few deep pumps, and I began to feel her tighten around my fingers, I sucked her clit into my mouth and ran my tongue over her. Her legs began to shake, but I didn't stop. I kept going until she exploded in my mouth, her screams getting louder and louder.

  Chapter 10

  Mia

  I could feel Bryce holding onto me as I stood against the shower door, my eyes closed, my body shaking from the orgasm he had just given me. I could feel his breath against my lips and opened my eyes.

  "You let go," he whispered, his lips meeting mine.

  His kiss was exactly how I imagined it would be, and as hard as it normally was for me to let go, for some reason, with him, it was easy. If I were being honest with myself, it had felt good to lose control and not think about anything for a few minutes.

  "Come on, let’s go." Bryce shut the water off and opened the shower door. He grabbed a large black towel and wrapped it around me, then secured one around his waist.

  My legs were still shaking as I took a step forward, so instead, Bryce picked up my sated body and carried me into his bedroom. The room was dark, and he lay me down gently on the bed, crawling in beside me.

  "Your sheets are going to get all wet," I said, smiling up at him.

  He bent down and met my lips. "Doesn't matter," he whispered, brushing strands of wet hair from my face. "Remember...letting go."

  He tugged at my towel and unwrapped it from my body, his fingers grazing the soft skin of my tummy. "You are beautiful," he mumbled, placing little kisses along my collarbone.

  I heard a loud grumble come from Bryce's stomach and began to laugh as he continued to trail kisses down my body. "Are you hungry?" I asked.

  "A little," he said, placing another kiss on my lips. "Nothing you won't fix."

  I traced his lips with my finger. "How about I go and get you something from the kitchen."

  "No, it’s okay." He kissed down my chest. He was just about to swirl his tongue around my nipple when his stomach gave another loud growl.

  "No, let me grab you something," I insisted, sitting up and wrapping the towel around my body.

  "Take my robe. I don't want you to get cold. It's hanging behind the bathroom door."

  I grabbed the heavy terrycloth robe and wrapped it around me and made my way to the living room first to get the food we had left, and then I wandered to the kitchen. I quietly pulled out the plate of fresh fruit and searched the cupboards for another plate. My hands shook with every move. I couldn't believe what we had done. I was not a spontaneous person by any means, and I could feel panic setting in. I had dated Don for almost a year before falling into bed with him, and my relationships before that took two years. I had never just jumped into bed with someone before, let alone a friend. I couldn't figure out what made this different.

  I took a deep breath, steadying my hand while I piled food onto the two plates I had just pulled out of the cupboard, when I heard a throat clearing behind me. I turned abruptly to find Bryce standing there leaning up against the doorframe in low-slung house pants, a sexy-ass smile plastered on his face as he watched me.

  "I told you I was coming right back." I giggled and continued loading the plates.

  "I was lonely," Bryce said, pushing off the wall and coming up behind me, wrapping his arms around my waist and kissing my neck.

  I placed the two plates down onto the island and watched as he grabbed a strawberry from one. He bit into it, and then I felt him run the cold berry over my neck.

  "What are you doing?"

  "Having a snack," he whispered as his mouth met the trail of strawberry juice on my neck.

  I couldn't help but close my eyes and just feel his lips trail over my skin. I could feel myself getting wet again and pulled out of his embrace. "You need to eat."

  He pouted as I stepped away and pulled down two mugs from the cupboard. "Tea?" I asked, switching on the kettle.

  "Please." He piled a few more meatballs and cheese onto his plate and sat on one of the stools that lined the island.

  The roar of the kettle whistled behind me as I popped a strawberry into my mouth. I filled two mugs with hot water and placed one in front of Bryce.

  "So, where do you practice?" I asked, munching on another strawberry. "You said you were still in Kings Cove."

  "Yep. Once Hunter graduated, he and Carter opened up a small law firm. By the time I graduated, they had more on their plate than they could handle, so I joined them. Chase did as well, eventually. I am currently working towards making partner. We sort of each studied and specialized in different parts of law so that we could have our own fully functioning family law firm."

  I walked around and sat down beside Bryce and ate a few more pieces of fruit, while he did the same.

  "So you guys are still pretty close then.”

  "Very. Aside from working together every day, we have family dinners every week. A time to put work behind us and just spend quality time together. They also share this place with me. This was supposed to be Hunter and Autumn’s vacation weeks, but they canceled. They are due to have their third baby any day now."

  "That is great to hear. Congratulations to them. Actually, I never thought Hunter would ever get married. I remember Grant always idolizing him."

  "Yeah, I remember. Hunter was always chasing tail."

  "So were you," I muttered.

  Bryce stopped, his hand halfway to his mouth. "What are you talking about? I never..."

  "Please." I let out a laugh. "You were too. I used to..." I stopped before I let it all out. He couldn't know.

  "You used to what?"

  "Nothing, never mind."

  "No, by all means, say it."

  "I used to hear the rumors," I lied.

  We both grew quiet. I couldn't believe I almost admitted that I was jealous of every girl he ever dated. There was no way I could let that slip, no way.

  We both sat quietly munching away and sipping tea. Bryce glanced at me every now and again, meeting my eyes. "So, I don't have to worry about this voice mail heart-breaker showing up here and kicking my ass, do I?" he asked, studying my face.

  "No." I laughed. "Seriously, we were never going to work out. I knew it, and he knew it. It just took us five years to figure it out, I guess."

  "I see."

  "What about you?"

  "Did I know it wasn't going to work out between the two of you?" He chuckled.

  I started to laugh. "No, do I have anything to worry about?"

  He looked at me and smiled. "Why would you be worried?"

  "Hey, if you give girls orgasms like that all the time, I just want to make sure she isn't going to come back and claim you." I could feel my cheeks heating. Claim was the wrong word. It sounded like I didn't want to lose him, when the truth was, I didn't have him, and I’d never had him. This was a week of letting go, nothing more, so I shook the thought from my head.

  "She isn't coming back to claim me. She may think she could, but it’s over for me. She gave up her right to me when she fell into bed with someone else and became a snarky bitch in the process."

  The room got quiet as we both looked at one another.

  "Have you had enough?" he asked, signaling to the plates of food that we had pretty much picked over.

  "I'm good," I said, placing my hand on my full belly.

  He busied himself cleaning up the dishes and condensing what was left over onto the same plates. As soon as the plates were
covered and back in the fridge, Bryce looked at me, his blue eyes giving away his thoughts.

  "What?"

  "I want to show you something. Come with me." He held his hand out to me.

  I placed my hand into his large, strong, warm hand and followed him out of the kitchen and down the hall. He stopped at the patio door and tied the robe I wore tight around me.

  "Stay here for a minute. Just going to open the hot tub."

  I watched him as he ran out, his arm and back muscles flexing as he opened the tub and then ran back to the door and took my hand. "I don't want you to fall again," he said as he carefully walked me over to the edge of the tub.

  Without even thinking, I dropped the robe, exposing my naked body to him, and climbed in. He then ran back and shut the outside light off, so we were bathed in darkness with nothing but the stars twinkling above us.

  "This is it isn't it? Now, after all we have been through, it’s going to come to an end. You’re going to drown me in the dark so that neighbors don't see." I giggled. "It’s over."

  Bryce let out a chuckle. "Not at all." He dropped his lounge pants and climbed into the tub, lying back in the reclining seat. "Come over here."

  I moved from the seat I was sitting on and slid my body between his legs. He slipped his arm around me, and I leaned back against his chest.

  "Just take a moment and look up."

  I did as he asked, seeing thousands of twinkling stars lined the night sky. They looked like millions of diamonds on a black background.

  "This is amazing," I whispered, seeing a shooting star travel across the sky.

  "Yes, it is. Honestly, this is my favorite part about being up here, coming out here and looking at all this."

  My body resting against his, he wrapped his arms around my waist and gently kissed my ear. I relaxed into his arms and studied the night sky with him.

  "You see that?" he asked, pointing to a grouping of stars.

  "Yes."

  "That is the Gemini constellation, Castor and Pollux. And that one is Orion's Belt..."

  "Where does this come from?" I asked, stopping him from what he was going to say next.

  "What?"

  "All this star talk?"

  "As a kid I loved astronomy. I would sit with my telescope and study the sky for hours on end."

  "Really? I don't remember you ever mentioning anything about that."

  "My brothers used to make fun of me for it, and once I hit my teens, I realized how much of a geek I really was. Girls really didn't like that stuff anyways." He grew quiet, and I could tell he was a little uncomfortable sharing this stuff with me.

  "You dated the wrong girls." Realizing what I had just said, I cleared my throat and waited for him to continue.

  I could feel him looking at me, and I closed my eyes quickly, hoping that he'd just continue. "What is that one?" I asked, pointing in the direction, hoping to distract him.

  I listened as he rattled off constellations and the stories behind them, reciting them as if he had written them himself. As I lay there, I couldn't help but feel things that I probably shouldn't be feeling. After a while, he went quiet and pulled me tighter into him.

  I could feel something inside of me that I hadn't felt in a long time, if ever. As I closed my eyes and listened to the sound of his breathing, I thought about my future. I could actually see myself marrying this man. How someone could throw him away and he now be single was beyond me. Maybe the universe was trying to tell me something by stranding me in the airport and strategically placing him there as well, giving us a chance to meet again.

  A little while later, I was standing on the deck, wrapped in Bryce's bathrobe, waiting for him to close the hot tub and go inside. It was late and we were both tired.

  "All right, let’s go," he whispered.

  I took a step toward the house when he gripped my wrist from behind, stopping me from moving any farther. He pulled me tighter against him and we looked into one another's eyes. He said nothing; he just held my gaze. I was about to say something when he leaned down and took my mouth with his.

  This kiss was different from the others we had shared today. It was slower, deeper, and contained a hint of emotion as opposed to the pure, lust-filled want the others had carried. My heart beat hard, as his lips meant mine, this kiss, his kiss taking my breath away.

  Chapter 11

  Mia

  "Here’s breakfast." Bryce placed a plate of waffles and fruit in front of me. Once we woke this morning, after an incredible night, we had just lounged in bed in one another's arms.

  "This looks fantastic," I said, reaching for the syrup and pouring the sticky liquid over the fresh homemade waffles on my plate. Bryce sat down across from me and I handed him the syrup. He did the same.

  "Okay, so, it has cleared up enough outside, and the roads are able to be traveled. How about we take a trip into town today? We can go to the market, visit some shops, have some lunch. What do you say?" he asked, digging his fork into the waffles.

  "Sounds great. I just have an email to respond to before..."

  Bryce looked up at me, his fork now halfway to his mouth. "No, Mia. No responsibilities. Vacation remember? Letting go of everything." He reached across the table and picked up my cell phone, pocketing it. "This will stay here today in the bedroom, along with mine. You can have it back when we get back. I'm on a mission to teach you how to have fun and let go," he said, winking at me.

  "I have fun!" I exclaimed, rolling my eyes and laughing.

  "When? Sitting in your pajamas at midnight doing reports? That’s not fun, Mia. That is work. Now, last night that was fun." He winked at me.

  He had a point. Aside from the last couple of days, I couldn't remember the last time I'd had a day without some part of work in it.

  "Don't you ever just go out and have fun with friends?" he asked.

  Somehow, over the years, the girls I hung out with had stopped asking me to join them. They would call, I would tell them I was too busy, and before I knew it, they just stopped calling. Those calls never came in anymore, and to be honest, I couldn't remember the last time I had spoken to any of them. "Not anymore," I mumbled.

  "Mia, life is way too short, babe. You got to have fun, so today, we are going to have fun! It will be like we’re sixteen again."

  I let out a laugh and dragged my fork around my plate while thinking of what he had said. Those fifteen years without a vacation went by in a blink. When Mom got sick, even though it felt as if time stood still, I think it went by even faster. Bryce was right.

  "Okay, I won't argue. Let’s eat and get ready."

  We lounged around for the rest of the early morning, cleaning the kitchen after the mess of breakfast, watching a little TV, our legs entwined together as we cuddled under a blanket and competed against one another while watching The Price is Right. After that, we had showers and got dressed. The taxi had just arrived when I emerged from the bedroom, and soon we were in the back of the cab driving through the downtown area. I looked out the window to see the area was bustling with people.

  "Sir, if you could just drop us in front of Lake Champlain Chocolates, please," Bryce asked.

  "Sure, thing, sir."

  "What is that?" I asked, taking in his handsome, strong features.

  "I guess you will have to wait and see, but I will give you a hint: they have the best hot chocolate in the world."

  Before we new it, the cab had pulled up in front of this cute, cozy little shop, and we both got out of the car. My mouth began to water as soon as I stepped onto the sidewalk. I could already smell the chocolate.

  I waited while Bryce paid the driver and looked around at the shops on the street. Bryce turned toward me and smiled.

  "Can we go over to that store over there?" I asked, pointing to a cute little antique store across the street.

  "Of course, anything you want, but first I am dying for some of this. Come on." He placed his hand at the small of my back and guided me through the door.
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  We stood in line, and I couldn't help but look at all the items in the display case. Everything looked so good.

  "Okay, so you have to try those," Bryce said, pointing to one of the desserts in the display case. “We will get those to go, for later tonight."

  "What is that?"

  "Heaven!" he stated, smiling at me, while pulling me close and kissing my cheek.

  After we had been served, we chose a quiet corner in the back of the little shop, away from all the people. I took a sip of the hot, thick chocolate and let it sit in my mouth, my taste buds exploding. It was the perfect blend of bitter and sweet.

  "Good isn't it?" Bryce asked.

  I nodded my head and took another sip, once again savoring the mouthful. We sat across from one another, a plate of chocolates between us. Bryce picked up one of the chocolates and held it out in front of me. "Open up."

  I opened my mouth and he slid the chocolate inside. I bit down, and a burst of orange mixed with the bitterness of dark chocolate rushed into my mouth, and I closed my eyes to savor the taste.

  "Well?"

  "It's like an orgasm in my mouth," I muttered, savoring the sweetness.

  He chuckled at my response.

  "Okay, your turn," I said as I picked one up and held it out for him to try. He took it from my fingers and bit down. I watched his expression light up as he swallowed.

  "My God, Mia, amazing choice. A mix of peppermint and chocolate, my favorite.

  We sat there, each of us going back and forth, taking turns feeding one another, trying the chocolates. I had just swallowed the last bite of my chocolate when an older woman sat down next to our table.

  "All right, only two more. Which do you want?" Bryce asked, bringing me back to our table.

  I hesitated, looking back over at her. I could see the woman was watching us, a slight smile on her lips. I did my best to ignore her and picked one of the chocolates, Bryce taking the other one. At the exact same time, we popped them into our mouths, our eyes lighting up at the taste, and we both broke out into laughter.

  "Raspberry!" we both exclaimed at the exact same time, continuing to laugh.