by Tessa Teevan
“I thought they were estranged,” he comments.
“So did I, but I was excited about the idea of meeting his family. When I asked if I could accompany him, he forbade it. ‘Absolutely not,’ he said, and when I pushed, that’s the first time he got angry with me, telling me he had no intention of even telling his father about us. He left shortly after, and things haven’t been the same since.”
“Do you think something happened with Theo?” he asks.
I mull it over. “It’s possible. I suppose it would make sense with the timing, but I don’t understand what could have happened.”
I tell him about how Adrian started working more at his office downtown. How the late nights became more frequent, as did his out-of-town business trips. He no longer took me with him. Every so often, Rafe chimes in with questions.
Did I know where he was going? Who he was with? Why type of investments he was involved in?
I don’t know the answer to any of his questions, and for some reason, he seems frustrated by my lack of answers—something that, in turn, frustrates me. I think he’s just trying to understand how I could’ve ended up on that counter with Adrian looming over me, claiming ownership. Hell, I’m trying to understand it, too.
The more I voice this out loud, the more mystery shrouds Adrian Morningstar. For weeks, I’ve been focused on Rafe, not caring about my ex or his motivations for the things he’s done. As I continue, the questions stack up in my brain, and Rafe remains a silent listener, enraptured in the whirlwind that was Adrian and me. It’s not until I mention the night I found the blood that he stills.
“Blood? What the fuck, Brie?” he asks, his voice laced with disbelief and anger. “Tell me everything.”
Racking my brain to remember it all, I tell him the best I can. “It was all such a blur, and I think my brain tried to rationalize it. It wasn’t until later that it all sank in.”
“When was this? Can you remember the date?”
I frown. “No. It was a couple of months ago. Why? Why does that matter?” I ask, wondering what’s with the third degree.
His expression softens. “It just worries me. What he’s done. What he might do in the future. I couldn’t bear it if he hurt you. Did he? Did he ever hurt you?”
“No, no.” I shake my head emphatically. “At least, not physically. I swear, Rafe.”
My words seem to calm him. “Is there anything else?”
“You seem awfully interested in Adrian,” I observe, wondering where this is coming from.
He shrugs and takes a sip of his drink. “I know his type. With my job, I’m surrounded by them constantly.” He pauses then coughs, clearing his throat.
His job? I’m about to question him when he continues.
“You know, with most of our construction sites being similar to Morningstar’s. They’re all the same. Rich assholes with wives they don’t know how to cherish or satisfy at home. I can’t wrap my brain around how a man like him could ever let a woman like you go.”
“A man like him?”
“Yes. Powerful, wealthy, charming, intelligent. And then I remember the arrogance. The smug sense of entitlement those men possess, never believing anyone could ever walk away from them,” he says, anger laced in his tone.
“You sound like you have experience.”
“I have the memory of how he was with you and that’s enough for me. Part of me still wants to kill him for that. The other wants to extend a handshake, because his loss is definitely my gain.”
“It most definitely is.” I smile at him. “Now, I think that’s enough talking for one night.”
He hesitates for just a moment before a devilish gleam fills his eyes. “I couldn’t agree more,” he says, rising from the couch, holding his hand out.
I place mine in his, and shivers run down my spine as he leads me back towards the bedroom. For the first time, this will be intimate, unhurried, and I know that my feelings for him will only blossom once we do this. But I don’t hesitate to follow him.
I could be on the verge of making the second-biggest mistake of my life by letting him in so easily. I hope to God I’m not, but if I’m wrong, I’ll suffer the consequences later.
AS WE ENTER HIS room, he lets my hand go and crosses to the stereo. It brings a smile to my face when he turns the music on low. He dims the lights just as smooth sounds of R&B flow through the stereo. Moving in the middle of the room, he holds a hand out to me.
“A dance?” he asks.
I raise an eyebrow as I lean against the doorframe, watching him. “Dinner, drinks, talking, and dancing? This may just be the perfect date. What more could a girl want?”
His eyes flick to the bed, and I laugh, gliding across the room and taking his hand, more than ready to move the night along. He pulls me tight against his chest, and his free hand caresses my neck before trailing down my spine to rest at the small of my back. As he does, I press myself tighter against him, smiling coyly when I feel his erection molding against my belly just as my breasts rest on his chiseled torso. We’re both so ready for each other yet unwilling to expedite this experience. This is the perfect foreplay, and Rafe is the most incredible partner.
We swirl and sway in time to the music, enjoying our close proximity. He slides his hand up my curve of my spine and then buries his hand in my hair before tilting my chin, capturing my lips with his. His hot tongue explores my mouth, trying to touch every part of me—inside and out. His kiss is demanding, possessive, and strong even though he treats me gently at all times. He gives and takes, and he challenges me to protest yet encourages me to give in to him. It’s a pure contradiction, and it drives me wild with hunger, wanting to experience both sides of him.
He presses his hips against me, proving that he’s undeniably male. Undeniably hard. Undeniably aroused and wanting. A soft moan escapes at the feel of him pressing against me. Desire flows through my veins, and I want to be his. It’s dangerous and risky, but opening up to him about my past, about Adrian, is freeing, and it makes me want him more than I ever thought possible. I’ve become fixated on him. He makes me tremble, takes all of my defenses away, and still, he puts me at ease with each tender touch and gently spoken word.
I want him. Touching me. Tasting me. I can’t get enough. I need him to wash all of my past transgressions away and give me new memories of him. The reverence he speaks of? I want it all.
More than want, I ache with a need that only he can satisfy. Desperate for him, I reach impatiently for his pants, but his hands catch my wrists.
“Brie,” he murmurs, his soft gaze meeting mine. “This is what I’ve wanted since I saw you with him.”
Brief shame fills me at the memory, but I push it back, refusing to allow anything to ruin this moment, this experience with him. “You have me,” I whisper, leaning forward and placing slow kisses along his rigid jawline.
He pulls back and puts his hands on my cheeks, cupping my face. His eyes are full of emotion, which astonishes me. “It killed me not to march in and take you from him. And then after kissing you? I was a fucking goner. I wanted you, to claim you, to take you rough and hard, until your body bore my mark. To fuck him out of your system completely.” His voice is rough and gravelly. “But you’re so much more than that now. I don’t want to just mark your body. I want to mark your soul. To dig in so deep, so engrained, that a part of me will always remain with you. So, tonight, as much as I want to, I won’t take. I’m going to give. You take me. Make me quiver. Your name will be a fervent prayer on my lips. Own me, Brie. Possess me and, in return, give me you. Let us own each other completely.”
Hot tears threaten, and I look away quickly as his words penetrate. He has no idea that I’m already a lost cause. I have nothing left to give him because he owns me already. But it’s an ownership I’m all too content with. His tenderness, his gentle pause, and the way he keeps his beast at bay if only for my sake—they all make me fall that much more easily.
“Rafe.” His name on my lips is reve
rent, even if he expected it to be the other way around. It’s soft, like an answer to all the prayers I’ve left unspoken out of fear they wouldn’t be heard.
His eyes search mine, his jaw tight and clenched as if he’s barely holding on to his sanity. One touch and he may unleash. Explode. And as much as I want that, I want to take what he’s offering.
Slowly, my hands slide up his chest, and with extreme patience, I unbutton his shirt, my hands grazing his warm skin along the way. I lean forward, and my tongue laves one nipple then the next. He shudders beneath my touch yet remains unmoving as my exploration goes south.
Just as he wished, I mark him. He’s giving, and I take, aware that this is exactly what I need. It’s compelling how still he remains while I take my time exploring his body. Touching, kissing, nibbling until he’s naked before me, not an inch of him untouched by my fingers, my mouth, my tongue. Even as I slowly drop to my knees and take him into my mouth, he stays stock-still. As I work him over, my eyes gaze up to see his firmly closed, his fists clenched tight at his sides. There’s no hand on the top of my head, pushing me until I gag. This is my turn to be in control, and it’s so completely liberating.
All too soon, his cock jerks, and I know he’s so close. As his head falls backward and his thighs clench, I bring my hands to his ass and suck deeper until he shoots his warm release into the back of my throat.
After taking it all, I slowly slide back onto my heels and free him from the confines of my mouth. When his eyes open and he looks down at me, I can’t help but grin at the glazed look in them. I lick my lips appreciatively, which causes him to snap out of his lustful haze. He leans down and scoops me up into his arms, carrying me to the end of the bed and gently setting me down on my feet.
“Slow and sweet isn’t in my nature, Brie. I’m not a patient fucking man, but I’ve tried. God, I’ve tried, but every damn day, I crave you. Your taste. Your touch. All I want is to devour you and make you mine. But you have to know that it’s so much more than that.”
“What . . . what are you saying?” I ask on a swallow, both wanting his possession and fearing giving myself over so freely to another man. One who I already know has the power to destroy me if this turns out badly. It’s too late, however. I’m too far gone and there’s no pulling back from him now. Not that I want to. All traces of caution have vanished.
His strong hands slide down my arms until they reach my hands. He grasps them then pulls our joined hands up to his lips, giving mine a tender kiss.
“What I’m saying is you drive me batshit fucking insane with your rebound bullshit. I tried agreeing with it, but fucking a, Brie. Every time I’m inside you, every fucking little moan of pleasure you give me, makes me want you even more.” He pauses for a brief second and lets out a deep breath. “I’m done being the guy who just screws you on a desk. I’m done with the quick, hard fucks. As much as I’m dying to screw your brains out until you’re coming around my cock, I need you to feel what I feel, to know I’m not going to break you. As much as I want to own and possess you, I want you to do the same for me—fuck, you already do. We will always be equals. I want to be the only one for you. The only one to please and pleasure you. And you will always only be the one for me. No one else will ever compare. As long as you want that, too.”
His expression is fierce and longing, his eyes pleading for me to trust his words. And with complete acceptance, I do. I trust him explicitly, so I nod, unable to voice it.
“Tell me, Brie. Say the words out loud,” he beckons, his hands tightening on mine.
“You’ll never be one of many.” Adrian’s previous lie floats in from the recesses of my mind, but instead of ruining this for me, it’s a reminder that, even on our best days, he never treated me this way. Any doubt dissipates as I meet Rafe’s expectant gaze.
“Yes, Rafe. I’m yours and yours alone.”
“Thank fucking Christ,” he whispers as his mouth crashes on mine, our tongues twisting and tangling, locked in a dueling battle of which we’ll both come out victorious.
His hands are frenzied as they cup first my ass, and then my breasts, wanting any and everything from me all at once, causing my body to come alive at his touch. My skin tingles, my nerve endings are on fire, and my thighs clench as I ache for him. I want him in me, on me, beneath me—and most of all, I want him inside me. To bury himself so deep, in a place no one ever has before.
“Make love to me, Rafe. Show me what you keep saying. Treasure me. Then, after”—I pause my request, looking up into his penetrating gaze—“take me.”
His eyes flare, and in those depths, I see the raw, primal man begging for release, if only for an instant. He masks it quickly, knowing what I need and more than willing to give it to me, even if it isn’t in his true nature.
It hits me light a bolt of lightning.
I’ve fallen for him.
Before I can catch my bearings, he lowers his head and kisses me, grinding against my pelvis with the evidence of his arousal, pleasing me that he’s ready for round two.
“I can’t believe you’re finally fucking here, Brie. I want to take this slow, to make this night perfect for you, but, Jesus, I can’t hold it in much longer.”
This whole night, our entire relationship, has been leading to this moment, and I don’t need any more foreplay. I’m burning for him, and I’m more than ready. “You don’t have to wait, Rafe. The whole night has been perfect, and I want to be with you. Make this complete. Take me to your bed and make me yours.”
His eyes flicker with delight. He drops our hands and places one on my waist, turning me away from him. He pulls me back against him, his hard erection digging into my spine. His head dips, and he finds that spot on my neck, his stubble roughly scratching it and causing me to shiver. It’s become his favorite spot, and mine as well. His lips press against my skin as he trails slow, soft kisses up my neck.
My breath catches when his hands slide up my back to my zipper. Slowly and devastatingly surely, he slides it down, pushing the material from my shoulders until it falls in a heap at my feet.
His sharp intake of breath signals his surprise when he spies my naked body. He moves in a slow, methodical circle around me as if taking in the sight and committing it to memory. Then he picks me up and gently lowers me on the bed. Adoration radiates on his face as he gazes down at me, his eyes raking over every inch of my bare skin. He sits back on his heels for a brief moment as if to worship my naked body.
And worship he does.
After everything we’ve done in the trailer, I never thought it could get better, but I’m now learning I was sorely mistaken. Hard, fast, rough, and raw is mind blowing, but this? Slow and sensual? It’s earth shattering.
As we come together for the first time in his bed, Rafe shows me what it means to make love. It’s a new sensation, one I’ve never experienced, and I know I will never be the same.
His eyes convey some unspoken emotion, and I tremble underneath him. He bends his head and gently presses his lips to mine as he stills his movements. I love the way he fills me to perfection, thrusting deeper but keeping the same unhurried pace. Our kisses are the same as we make love in the dark, no longer needing words to say what we’re feeling.
As we climb faster and closer to orgasm, Rafe slowly withdraws and gives me a languid smile when I whimper in protest. My dismay is short-lived, however, when he rolls us over and grips my hips, placing my entrance at the tip of his erection and waiting for my body to respond.
It’s my turn to ride, as this new position gives me complete control. I close my eyes and relish the feel of sliding down onto him. I hold still for a moment, savoring how deep he’s buried, before I rock my hips, circling back and forth in a delicious friction-creating move.
With a low growl, he thrusts up into me, swift and hard. His hands, rough and strong, roam my body, thrilling, teasing, tormenting, and, above all else, taking. I try to keep up with his feverish pace, but I’m no match for him. Instead, I relinquish all c
ontrol and allow him to do as he pleases. My hands come down to grip his shoulders as his forceful thrusts have pleasure coursing through my veins.
Suddenly, I’m flipped onto my back and Rafe’s over me, buried to the hilt. He grasps my hands and entwines our fingers, holding them over my head as he lowers his chest to mine. His eyes pierce my soul, as do his following words.
“Brie,” he moans, causing my insiders to quiver. As he promised, my name is on his lips in a fervent whisper, and it sends shockwaves straight to my heart as I realize that it’s not just words. This is his truth. His desire. His need to cherish and worship. His thrilling apotheosis, which is utterly confounding. “This is it. Just as I am yours, you’re mine, Brie. And I promise, I fucking promise, you’ll never be alone again.”
Hot tears prick my eyes and threaten to spill over, but I push them back and close my eyes as my orgasm starts to build.
As he drives into me, deeper and deeper, my world explodes in a beautiful array of colors. Even as my orgasm crests and I’m drowning in wave after wave, he continues to thrust into my core. After a few more deliberate pumps, his own orgasm has him crying out, and he buries his face in my neck, biting down as he rides the tidal waves of pleasure.
“Never been so fucking good. Amazing. My girl is so fucking amazing. You’re never leaving this bed,” he growls then tenses. He lifts up and looks down at me, his eyes softening. “I didn’t mean—”
I press a finger to his lips. “I know what you meant, and stop thinking about him, please. Especially in your bed. Which I don’t ever want to leave either.”
“What did I say? Fucking amazing.”
As he pulls away from me and goes to the bathroom to wash up, I stare up at the ceiling, completely overwhelmed by the way he makes me feel. My body tingles with the remnants of his touch, and my heart soars to terrifying heights. This is what I’ve been missing for far too long.
When Rafe returns, he pulls me into his warm, safe arms. He’s been completely open with me about what he wants from me tonight, and even though I’ve told myself to keep it physical, I’m a lost cause. I want to give him something in return.
