by Ava Claire
I leaned into his touch when his fingers curled around my chin and his thumb lifted my eyes from the floor to him. I shouldn’t feel so safe, so free when his gaze was mad with lust, but I knew that this man would never truly hurt me. And there was my stupid heart that whispered, And he’ll never leave you again.
“Lay down, Cat.”
I couldn’t help but smile when my name lost a few letters. I was back in his good graces.
“On your back, knees bent and spread wide so I can see you.”
I bit my lips as I slid onto the bed. The sheets were just right against my heated flesh. Cool, soft, caressing me as I obeyed. Showed him the world that lay between my thighs. Like some erotic flower, my pussy sighed as I dropped my head against the pillow and showed him all.
I shivered as a single finger drew a line from my ankle to my knee. I lifted my head, wanting to watch him tease me instead of just feel it, to watch him as he made me beg for it. One glare from him and I put my head back where it belonged. My little act from earlier? It was about me. This? It was about me showing him that I still knew how to submit.
His finger ventured inside my thigh, and I sank my teeth into my bottom lip when one finger became five. His other hand joined the first. He was stroking both thighs simultaneously and I knew that I was already shaking, that tremor usually a sign of a coming orgasm. That’s what he did to me. I couldn’t stop. I couldn’t hold back.
Just in case that wasn’t obvious that he didn’t know he still had the magic, the only touch that could make me melt, he reminded me of something.
“You don’t need to wait for my permission to come.”
I gasped when I felt the mattress shift. Even though I was looking at the ceiling and this wasn’t the kind of hotel that would have a mirror affixed to said ceiling, I knew he was between my thighs. I felt his breath on my sensitive flesh, my nerve endings exploding with what was to come. This was punishment? Maybe he’d forgotten that his tongue was like nirvana and hell at the same time. He knew how to use it and turned me into an oral junkie. Five hours, five day...I could live with his tongue buried inside me and I’d still want more.
“Twenty five seconds is all you get,” he sighed, blowing the words against my quivering skin. “And you’ll count every second.”
His tongue lashed out, tracing one side of me, then the other, and my eyes rolled back in my head.
I let out a whisper when my nipple exploded in pain. I almost looked at my breast, knowing that my swollen peak would be pinched between his fingers, but forgetting to count and stealing a peek would be a bad and painful idea.
“One,” I panted, squeezing my eyes shut. As soon as the number dropped, he released my nipple. Somehow, I said the other numbers. I didn’t skip any or lose count, even when he buried his entire tongue inside my body. When I hit twenty-five, I was levitating over the bed, the passion overwhelming me. He didn’t scold me for knotting my fingers in his hair. I couldn’t breathe. I couldn’t do anything but submerge myself in pleasure. More. More.
“Oh my God, I’m coming!” I hollered, a string of expletives following my release. I melted in his waiting mouth, still convulsing, delirious and shaking violently. I cried out again as he forced my thighs wider and I felt the mushroom tip I’d suckled at the opening of me.
“Look at me, Cat.” His voice was ragged, deep. He was giving me an order that I refused to not follow.
My eyes flew open and I drowned in the gray abyss as he thrust into my wet, shuddering heat. His face morphed with wild, ravenous need as he filled me, took it away, then gave it back to me and then some. This was the kind of sex I’d feel in the morning, the ache following me through the day and making me blush and get wet all over again.
This was the kind of sex I wanted, needed to have for the rest of my life.
Spinning, our bodies, our worlds colliding, I screamed “Again!” The other words were lost and wrapped in moans as I gripped his muscled ass and pulled him deeper. He didn’t announce his climax because I was sure the entire hotel, the entire block, heard his roar.
And if that wasn’t decadent enough, our sweaty bodies still entwined and spent, he lowered his mouth to mine and kissed me. Desperately. His tongue commanded mine, his moans breathing a new life in me. In us.
He collapsed beside me and just being this close, feeling his arm draped around me, answered my questions.
Is this real?
Are we gonna be okay?
Do you love me?
Still, I couldn’t resist.
“I have to ask you a question.” I started babbling, qualifying my question to make it easier to swallow. “Feel free to not answer, because there’s really only one right answer, but-”
“Ask the question, Cat.” He cupped my face, his strong and sure touch steadying me. “I’ll answer anything you ask. No more secrets.”
I squeezed my eyes shut, searching for the strength that usually came easy to me. The answer was already there. I saw it every time I looked at him. So I couldn’t look at him now. I needed to hear it. I needed to feel it. I needed him to show me.
“Do you love me, Lincoln?”
I expected his answer to be immediate, flying out of his mouth with all the weight and annoyance of ‘Duh.’ Instead, he lifted himself up and gazed deep into my eyes. I pulled myself up and brought the covers to my chin, my heart twisting in my chest.
“You know what? Dumb question. We’re barely back together and already I-”
“Shut up, Cat.” He hooked the back of my neck and brought his lips crashing into mine. His kiss was soft this time, like he was speaking directly to my soul. When the kiss ended, his mouth hovered inches above mine.
“I’ve never stopped loving you. I will love you until the day I die, you stubborn, naughty, beautiful woman.”
I could have made a smart ass comment or dredged up a past where he’d promised something similar, but I just stuck out my tongue, then leaned in and gave him a kiss to remember. A kiss to make up for lost time. A kiss to mark a new beginning.
*
Epilogue
I thought telling Ash that Lincoln and me were back together was scary. She’d screamed her head off for half an hour before she paused and commented that I was glowing. And not a fresh, post-coital glow, but a can’t-wipe-the-smile-off-my-face-because-I’m-in-love glow.
I knew we wouldn’t be having any double dates anytime soon, but she agreed that as long as he stayed in line and I promised to take things slow, she’d try to not barf when he was brought up in conversation...or assault him when their paths inevitably crossed.
Dad was another story.
I wasn’t worried about Mom or Josie. They were both romantics and were giddy with excitement when I said I was bringing Lincoln home for Sunday dinner. Dad had grunted his approval, which meant that he’d either be as quiet as the grave through the entire affair, or he’d get out the shotgun and put Lincoln in his grave.
Lincoln hesitantly unbuckled his seatbelt and I wondered if he was worried about door #2.
“Having second thoughts?” I asked, giving his hand a supportive squeeze.
He puffed out his chest. “Hell no. I want them to see I’m serious about you and this relationship.” He flashed me a peevish grin. “Just wondering if I should have worn a vest or hired security.”
I feigned shock. “I thought I told you to wear a vest! You know my dad is a hell of a shot.”
His eyes widened, then he winked and we laughed at the joke that was kind of true. I knew Lincoln would do anything for me, for us, including facing my father. The last time they’d seen each other, he’d practically eaten my father’s fist because he was calling off the wedding.
I lifted his hand to my lips and pressed a kiss on his skin. “You ready?”
He squeezed my fingers and nodded, a very familiar glow shining bright. It was love. He was ready to make our renewed relationship official. “Let’s do this, babe.”
~*~
Thank you for ta
king the time to read The One Who Got Away. Please consider leaving a review! xoxo, Ava
About The Author
Ava Claire is a sucker for Alpha males and happily-ever-afters. When not putting pen to paper or glued to her e-reader, Ava likes road tripping, karaoke, vintage fashion, and fantasizing about her favorite book boyfriends.
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