Winning With Him

by Lauren Blakely

  I don’t want to miss an inch of him, an ounce of him.

  I kiss him hard, needing to know his mouth again, his lips again, to taste him. To make him all mine.

  My hands grab his face, gripping his stubble-lined jaw. His palms curl around my ass, jerking me closer, our hard-ons rubbing together, our chests slamming.

  Breath comes fast and wild. Bodies grind. Lips fuse, and we are one.

  This is happening. Nothing will stop us.

  We kiss till we can’t breathe, till we have to wrench our mouths apart.

  It’s as if we both realize at the same time that we aren’t running out of time. That we aren’t trying to fit everything into an hour or so.

  We have the greatest gift of all.

  More days.

  I slow down. He follows my lead. We find a new rhythm, tender and tantalizing. Indulging in passionate, toe-curling kisses that make my mind go hazy.

  Then, we break apart, panting, staring, our eyes asking is this real?

  I give a quick smile and dive back in for more of Declan.

  I brush my lips across his, darting the tip of my tongue against the corner of his mouth. Teasing, playing. Drawing out the sexiest little shudders from Declan.

  A desperate sigh here. A euphoric moan there that floats on the night air, drifting out to the stars. It feels like dream kissing, like this is how I’d imagine him and me when my eyes are closed and I’m falling toward slumber.

  Sensuous, almost otherworldly.

  But so real at the same damn time.

  We linger in this in-between state, our lips sliding slowly, our tongues flicking gently, the sound of our soft breaths the only noise. It’s almost like we both know we can have it all. We can have the fire and the heat, the warmth and the tenderness.

  We can have it with each other.

  My thumb travels along Declan’s jaw, and I separate to whisper, “Love the beard.”

  The corner of his mouth hooks into a grin. “I had a feeling you might, so I grew it back for you,” he says, then hums appreciatively as he holds my face. “You shaved this evening, didn’t you? Right before you saw me?”

  “I did. I know you like my face smooth.”

  “I like you every way, Grant. But even that makes me happy. That you shaved for me.” He nuzzles his nose against my neck, inhaling me again like he did at the tapas bar, when he stole a whiff of me, like he was getting high. This time, he takes a long, deep breath. “My God, I’m so far gone for you,” he says, and I think this might be cloud nine.

  Right here.

  My heart kicks in my chest, my bones buzzing. Pretty sure I feel the way champagne tastes. I pull apart, needing his skin against mine. I reach for the hem of my shirt and tug it off, tossing it to the floor.

  A ragged groan comes from Declan. He stares greedily at me before he covers my pecs with his hands. Curls them over me like he owns me. He flicks at the barbell on my nipple, making me shiver, then making me moan as he drags those rough hands down my torso, spreading over the ladder of my abs, tracing the outline of one of my new tattoos.

  “You’re so fucking sexy,” he rasps, letting go and ripping off his shirt too. “Bedroom. Now.”

  After I toe off my shoes, I arch a brow, loop my fingers into the waistband of his jeans and tug him toward the stairs. “Gotta make it up another set of stairs if you want me naked in bed.”

  He kicks off his shoes. “Mmm. I do. Want you spread out on that bed. You sent me that pic to tempt me.”

  “And you have a problem with that?”

  “No. I fucking love it.”

  “Good. I’ll keep tempting you then.” I turn and head up the stairs, letting him enjoy the view of my ass.

  He whistles appreciatively. “Damn. Look at your ass, babe.”

  “Five years in the majors doing even more squats every day will do that to a rear end.”

  With a laugh, he curls his palms over my ass. “God bless your daily workouts.”

  Seconds later, we enter my bedroom, and I flick on the light, slide off my ring and set it on the nightstand, then spin around to savor the view. “Declan Steele. In the flesh. In my bedroom,” I say, amazed, utterly amazed, that he’s here for me. My hands take their sweet-ass time traveling over his chest, his abs, his arms.

  My lips get in on the action too, as I dip my face and kiss his pecs, licking his nipples, biting, drawing out harsh moans. His hands grip my head as I explore him with my tongue, then I lift my face, our eyes finding each other. His are shimmering with raw desire, and longing too.

  But it’s a new kind of longing. Like he can’t believe his luck. “No place else I’d rather be than with you,” Declan murmurs.

  “Be with me,” I say, and the double meaning isn’t lost on him.

  “I will,” he answers, in a voice stitched with truth.

  My eyes sail down his body, stopping at my favorite part—the hard ridge in his jeans. “Mmm. Hello, big guy. It’s been a long time. But it is nice to see you again,” I say to the outline of his dick.

  He laughs, as I grab the waistband of his jeans, my fingers sliding under the material, exploring his happy trail. I pull him close as I fall back onto the king-size bed, bringing him on top of me.

  I scoot up across the mattress, and we kiss again, rough this time, fevered, the kind of kissing that’s a prelude to fucking. “God, it’s all so good,” he hums. “I just can’t stop kissing you.”

  “Don’t stop,” I say as my hips roll and I seek his touch.

  Our eagerness has its own pulse, and it’s spiking as his lips roam across my face, over my jaw, under my chin. I shudder, my body nothing but a lightning rod for desire.

  Wrapping my arms and legs around him, I pant out his name, gasp out swears, murmur my Gods.

  It’s all so good, so right.

  But I need to get closer.

  As close as I can.

  I can’t stand it any longer—not fucking him.

  Breaking the kiss, I push up on my elbows. He raises his face, looking lust-struck, those brown eyes blazing with heat.

  “How are we doing this? I’m so aroused right now, I’ll top, I’ll bottom. Whatever you want,” I say, laying it out there for my guy.

  “Both,” he says in a burst of desire. “Let’s fuck each other, babe. I want it all with you. Want to feel everything. Just everything.”

  I nod savagely, my throat dry, my body an inferno.

  Everything is new again.

  Everything is a first.

  It’s heady and powerful, this night.

  Last time around, the sex felt like the start of my adult life. This feels like the start of the rest of my life.

  My heart thunders.

  My pulse races, powered by more than the physical. It’s powered by the future I can feel starting to unfold with him.

  We scurry off the bed, stripping down to nothing. I’m caught in a blur of lust and pure joy as we undress the rest of the way in seconds. Our clothes hit the floor, and I need a moment to admire the man standing in front of me.

  “You look so fucking good,” I growl as I stare at him, eating him up with my eyes, devouring the sight in front of me.

  Declan Steele dressed in nothing.

  My mouth waters as I gaze at his thick cock, hard, pulsing, a drop of pre-come on the tip like a filthy promise. “Missed you so much,” I tell him as I grip his cock, and my entire body shudders. Hell, my soul trembles as I stroke his throbbing dick. It all feels so right.

  “Yes,” he rumbles, his hips rocking into my fist. “Did I ever miss you.”

  For a few delirious minutes, I stroke his shaft, cup his balls, and get reacquainted with him in all the best ways.

  But soon, that’s not enough. He pushes me back on the white duvet. I scoot up to the pillows as he crawls over me, and it’s the best déjà vu of my life as he stares at me like he’s going to ravage me.

  I point to the nightstand. “Drawer. Lube. Now.”

  As he reaches to get it, I
push down the duvet to the foot of the bed, then lie back on the sheet. He kneels between my legs, spreading my thighs open. “Hello, perfect gorgeous cock I want to worship with my mouth and tongue,” he says to my dick.

  I crack up, loving that we can laugh in the middle of all this intensity.

  But I stop laughing seconds later, when he drops his lips to my dick. “Your mouth, Deck,” I groan as he sucks the head of my cock, flicks me with his tongue, then licks a long, ravenous stripe up my shaft.

  Then down.

  And he licks, oh holy hell, does he ever lick.

  It’s like a blow job from another world. A blow job from a man obsessed not just with my dick, but with me. He’s worshipping my cock with his mouth, and I have never felt so . . . adored.

  “Yessssss,” I rasp as I buck into his mouth, wanting to fuck his throat but wanting him deep in my body too.

  I’m aching to feel a brand-new intimacy with him.

  “Stop. Want you inside me so badly. I just need to be close to you,” I say, begging, my hands sliding over his shoulders, down his arms.

  He lets my dick fall from his mouth, then moves up so he’s kneeling between my thighs. “That’s all I want too.”

  Declan pops open the lube and gets me ready, lighting me up as he plays with my ass, my balls, my cock. The center of my body is my world right now, as lust roars through me from every stroke of his fingers, each grip of his hand. I bump my ass down on his fingers, hunting for more, like the greedy bastard I am with Declan.

  But I’m greedy to feel him too. “My turn. When we switch, I want you good and ready for me,” I tell him, and then we scramble around. I do the same to him, coating my fingers in lube, playing with him, spending my time getting him nice and open.

  My pulse quickens as I work my man. I can barely believe this moment is happening. That I’m touching him again. That we’re touching each other like this. That he’s in bed, naked, and open, and wanting.

  It borders on magic, the way we are together. How can I be this turned on and this joyful at the same time? But I know the answer.

  I feel it in my bones.

  It’s not just sex at all. It’s so much more and we both know it. It’s the new start of us.

  And I can’t wait to begin again with him.

  28

  Declan

  Grant Blackwood is naked underneath me. A bead of sweat slides between his pecs. His hair is a rumpled mess. His skin fucking glows. And his cock stands at attention, hungry for touch. Hungry for me.

  Did I imagine the night unfolding like this when I left my hotel room this evening?

  I sure hoped I’d find myself in this position with the man who makes my heart soar. Who challenges my mind. Who makes my soul feel calm.

  I don’t want this night to end. I don’t want anything to end with him. Ever again.

  “So sexy,” I moan, as I coat my dick in lube, then I settle on my knees, my hands sliding up the back of his thighs.

  Grant moves with me, our bodies in sync. Our needs clear. He lifts his legs and widens his knees in a perfect spread eagle, giving me access to his gorgeous fucking ass that I want to bury my cock in.

  I’m an electrical wire crackling as I work the crown into him, slipping past that first ring of muscles.

  Yes.

  Oh yes.

  Our breaths catch at the same time. Our gazes lock. Nothing else matters but this.

  “Give it to me,” he whispers, urging me on. “All of you.”

  “Take me,” I growl as I deliver what he wants, and it’s mind-bendingly good. My brain lights up with pleasure as I slide all the way in.

  Like that, I bottom out in my lover’s body.

  He takes me, and we fit.

  Grant’s eyes stay locked with mine as he breathes out an intoxicated, “Yes.”

  That one-word syllable lasts forever as I savor the tight heat of him gripping my shaft, as my hands press on the back of his thighs, as I bury myself in my man. “Mmm. You’re so open. You like this, rookie?”

  He grips my biceps, squeezing them. “You know I do.”

  “Tell me,” I demand. “Tell me how much.”

  Showing off how flexible he is, Grant hooks a foot over my shoulder, and I nearly spin out from the sharp, hot burst of bliss charging through me. “That much,” Grant murmurs. “Love the way you fuck me hard. Love it so much.”

  Grabbing his ankle, I go deeper. New ink lines the muscles of his calf but I don’t have time for that now. Pleasure twists and throbs in me as I drive in, never tearing my gaze away from the man beneath me, his muscles rippling, his lips parted.

  For me. For us.

  “God, it’s so fucking good,” I moan as my body becomes a torch with every delicious thrust.

  “Love looking at you like this, Deck,” he rasps, squeezing my arms, tugging me even closer, like he can’t get enough of me.

  My mind goes hazy as we move together. He slides his foot off my shoulder, keeps his knees up, and we find our rhythm.

  His body seeks me just as I seek him.

  We’re in a cocoon of erotic bliss.

  All of my senses are heightened, my mind recording every intoxicating detail. The so uniquely Grant-like smell of his skin. The take-me-now look in his eyes. Our mingling groans. Our noises too. Like when my breath comes fast, and his fans across my skin. When my balls slap against his ass and the sound of skin-on-skin electrifies me. When the bed groans, the headboard smacking the wall from our thrusts.

  The scent of sex fills my nostrils.

  There is nothing else in the world but us. This room. The two of us tangled together on his bed, slick with sweat, hot with longing, years unfurling between us, the endless days apart vanishing into nothing.

  As we reconnect in this primal, intimate way, all the aching subsides. As I fuck my man, the anguish of missing him burns away.

  Turns to ash.

  In its place, desire renews.

  Hell, the way we feel for each other is like a goddamn phoenix rising as we put the past to rest. There’s so much I want to say, but words are too hard to form when there is this.

  I may be the one fucking him right now, but it feels like we’re fucking each other. He’s letting me back inside him, and I’m doing the same. As our noises and grunts fill the air, a beautiful tremble rattles through me, tightening my balls, hardening my cock even more.

  “It’s better,” I rasp, finally finding speech again.

  “I know,” he gasps, reaching for my chest, sliding those big hands down my skin, making me shiver. “It’s even better.”

  “It’s so much better,” I choke out because . . . my God . . . the intensity. The connection. The heat.

  I’m not sure the two of us were ever having just sex.

  But this is loving and fucking. Fucking and loving.

  And it’s knowing.

  Knowing that your missing piece is here with you at last, if only you can hold on. If only you can do things right this time around. I’m so damn determined to give him everything he wants.

  Grant pushes up on his elbows, his lips parting, his voice a bare whisper of need as he grabs the back of my head with one hand. “Kiss me. Kiss me now.”

  As I bury my cock deep in his body, I dip my face to his, savoring his lips, tasting his mouth, swallowing his desire.

  We get closer and closer. We don’t stop kissing. I’m not sure that I ever want to stop. We keep up that rhythm for several long, hot minutes, sweat slicking between our skin.

  I’m sure—no, I’m positive—that I could come so damn soon.

  But I made a promise to him. It might just be a bedroom promise, but I’m not going to start over with Grant and break the first vow I made to him.

  As much as it pains me, I pull out, gasping as he groans plaintively, like a wounded animal. But I slide next to him and pull him on top of me, whispering against his lips, “I don’t want to come until you’re inside me.”

  He answers me with a hungry, gorgeous k
iss that makes my head hazy and my heart jump into his hands.

  Where it belongs.

  29

  Grant

  “How do you want me?”

  The question is laced with my desperate need as I stroke Declan’s cock, my hard dick next to his, wanting to keep close company. He stutters out a long, sexy sigh as I let go of his dick, then grip my own, then his again.

  Back and forth. A tantalizing, hot, back-and-forth jerk as we lie side by side.

  “I don’t know if I can think straight right now,” he says.

  “Do you want me to do the thinking and the fucking?” I tease.

  “Maybe,” he gasps as he hisses through his teeth, spearing his cock into my fist.

  But Declan is a man who knows what he wants. A man who relies on instinct, on split-second decisions. “Here.” He pats the space on the bed behind him. “Get behind me.”

  “Done,” I say, letting go of his cock, so I can lube up mine. Then I climb over him, press the length of my body to his, my chest to his back.

  I slide a hand along the back of his top leg. With his knee pushed up, I line up and find my way home.

  I groan the whole time as I sink into my man’s tight body, and he hugs my cock in the most fantastic welcome back greeting ever known to mankind.

  The sounds we make are carnal, and everything I ever longed to hear from a man. As we move together, I drive deep into him, my arm wrapping around him, gripping his pecs. My other hand curls around his hard shaft.

  When I grasp his length, his whole body shakes.

  “Yes, touch me, babe,” he rasps, sounding lost and found. He’s trembling with desire as he reaches back to grab my ass, guiding me deeper into him.

  We’re so close like this, skin to skin, bodies pressed tightly together, hardly any space. I don’t want any space between us at all. I only want connection.

  I kiss the back of his neck as I fuck him, I murmur yeses as I stroke him.

  And soon, we are reduced to the simplest state.