My fingers wander to her neck and I toy with her hair, lightly twisting her locks around my fingers.
Savor this. Let her stay as long as she wants. I did it. I’ve won.
“What if I don’t go back? What if I just stay here with you?”
“Think about what you’d be giving up if you do that.”
“Giving up?” she says, then snorts. “What would that be? My crappy cliquey friends and their bullshit? Cooking for my bitchy roommate who doesn’t even thank me?”
She glides across my lap and straddles me. “I’ve finally found someone who appreciates me. I want to be yours forever. In every way.”
It’s hard to think with all the blood rushing from my head. My hands want to do the talking. I start to wonder how I’ll get anything done if she stays. I can’t stop touching her. I lose myself in the softness of her hair, the heat of her body, the weight of her in my lap.
Pulling her close, I bring my mouth to her ear.
“I want more than a wife and children. I want you to be my wife, and have my children. I want this life, and you to be part of it. Think long and hard, Alexa. I’m not going to decide to move to a city loft or whatever else. I’m not going back to surrounding myself with frauds and con artists.”
She starts to speak. I silence her with a kiss.
“Come with me.”
She smirks at the double entendre as I take her by the waist and lift her off my lap. She presses close as I stand, my body gliding against hers as I rise to my feet. I don’t know how much longer I can stand it. She puts her hands on my belt. I pull her wrists away and caress her palms with my thumbs.
I need her now.
Taking her hand, I lead her outside. She gathers her hair behind her neck as she walks, tying a loose ponytail.
Leading her behind the cabin, I take her to the storage shed I built but never used. The padlock is rusted shut, and it takes me some grunting effort to get it loose. Alexa watches, her eyes guarded. I motion her inside.
I flick the switch and the bare lightbulb overhead shivers to life. The light is pale and harsh but Alexa is beautiful anyway. It makes her ghostly and ethereal. The image is haunting, another to inspire me again.
The work shed was built with a bench fixed to the wall, and there’s enough room for her to set up everything she’d need.
She looks around the room for a moment, then her eyes light up. She looks at me and claps. “Is this for me?”
I step forward. “It is now. You need a darkroom, don’t you?”
She nods, grinning. “It’s perfect. It needs some cleaning up.”
I eye her. “How about some gratitude?”
Alexa throws herself in my arms and twists, turning her back against my body. I lean on her a little.
“We can make this your place,” I tell her. “It’ll take a little work to get it in shape. Oh, and a red bulb.”
She wriggles against me. “Oh, we can work on it. I’m already picturing you all sweaty with tools in your hands.”
I take her hand, lightly rubbing her ring finger with my thumb.
“Stay with me. Marry me. Have my children.”
She takes a deep breath.
“I didn’t know how much I wanted someone to say that to me until I met you. Yes. Yes, Lucas. I’ll marry you, whatever you want.”
“I hoped you’d say that.”
She spins and grabs my belt.
“If we’re going to make a baby, we should get started,” she says, an eager grin on her face.
I cup her cheeks in my hands. “You should know by now, I like taking my time.”
She quivers, a small pulse of excitement against my palms. My hands fall down her arms, move to her sides. Alexa lets out a little yelp when I lift her bodily from the floor and set her on the workbench. Her legs reach out and wrap around me, drawing me in.
My hand slips inside her jeans, skimming along the inward curve of her firm stomach and between her legs to the stunning softness of her. She makes a small noise and hugs closer to me while my finger sinks inside her.
Fuck. She grips me as I slip deeper, slick and warm. The feeling of her body wrapped around me drives me insane, my heart pounding like a timpani.
Alexa grips my collar in her hands until her knuckles turn white, her eyes pleading with me as I pump my finger inside her, stroking her from within. She squirms and bucks in my embrace, her thighs squeezing my hand, trapping it.
“Just like that,” she breathes, her voice choked with pleasure.
Her fists shake against my skin. Her delectable wetness slicks my hand, her thighs. We find a rhythm, my hand and her hips, and she curls up against me and bucks, crying out so loud it shakes little streamers of dust from the roof over our heads. I swear she could break my fingers, she’s gripping me so tight, quivering pulses running down her body as she slumps in my arms.
“Lucas,” she says, my name a prayer on her lips.
“I’m taking you inside.”
I’m going to tear off her clothes. I’m going to make art, and I’m going to make love. When I’m done with her, Alexa will never want to leave my side.
She gazes at me with longing and I imagine holding her with a swollen belly, my seed taken root inside her. A life, a family, a future.
I can’t hold back anymore. I have to have her.
“I’m going to make you remember your first time forever.”
Chapter 11
Alexa
My skin tingles with a thousand needlelike sensations as Lucas holds me against his chest, lifting me in the air like I weigh nothing. My jeans are still undone, the fly unzipped when he shoved his hand down my pants and thrust his fingers inside me. It didn’t take long for me to come all over his hands. Part of me is embarrassed, but Lucas’ heated smile isn’t mocking.
“W-where are we going?”
He carries me out of the photography studio, which looks like an ordinary shed from the outside. He could’ve used it for a million different things, but he’s giving it to me. My own darkroom.
I bury my face into his neck against the sting of the cold.
“We’re going to make art, Alexa,” he whispers into the shell of my ear.
“Together?” I ask, heart beating fast. “Like, we’re going to draw?”
He chuckles a bit as he heaves the door to the cabin open. “Something like that.”
The grittiness in this voice leaves a lot to the imagination. I’m pretty sure he’s not talking about us taking turns sketching on a piece of canvas.
I curl my toes when we enter the warmth of his house. He carries me down the hall. I suck in my breath when we pass his bedroom, but Lucas keeps walking to a room I’ve never been to before.
Old bedsheets cover the floor of the small room, which is surrounded by four blank walls. There’s a white palette sitting on the floor next to a giant piece of canvas lying flat on the ground. Tubs of nontoxic paint are arranged in a neat row beside the palette.
“What is this?”
He sets me down gently but doesn’t remove his hands from my waist. “I set it up for you, Alexa.”
I gaze at the tubs of paint and the canvas. We’re going to make art, Alexa. His voice booms in my head, tinged with a sultry, deep growl. The breath catches in my throat when he steps back, a grin hitched on his rugged face when he pulls his T-shirt from his back.
Oh my God. He’s going to take my virginity.
Heat rushes to my face when I’m finally confronted with his plans. Excitement sparks up and down my spine as a half-naked Lucas approaches me, his bulge already thick against his jeans.
He slides his hands up my arms. “Ever since you told me you were a virgin, I’ve been thinking about how I’d make your first time special.” His touch becomes protective. “I wanted you naked on that canvas, covered in paint while I fucked you.”
Arousal rolls in the air, thick and heady between my legs. My lips part as Lucas lowers his face to mine. His mouth grazes my jaw. “How does that sou
nd?”
“Amazing,” I manage to whisper. “I can’t think of anything more perfect.”
“I can,” he says, eyes blazing. “Say you’ll be with me forever. Tell me you want to build a life with me. Promise me, and I’m yours.”
I think of waking up every morning, enclosed in these cozy walls, married to him. Lucas Wood. The man who inspires awe inside me every day. Who dotes on me. Supports my creativity. Loves me.
We’ll make art together.
Yes, we will.
I can’t get the words out fast enough. “Of course I’ll be your wife. It’s all I ever wanted.”
A real smile staggers across his face. “Then take off your clothes.”
I want him so badly my fingers are shaking as I take off the white T-shirt drowning my naked body. He looks at me with a man’s hunger, and a thrill hits my chest when he removes the last barrier between us.
His black briefs drop to the floor soundlessly, revealing his thick cock. He takes my hand and lets me wrap my fingers around him. God, it’s so rigid. Huge. A tiny sliver of panic hits me. How on earth am I going to fit this inside me?
He lets out a small chuckle, wrapping his huge arm around my back. “Don’t worry, Alexa. I’ll go easy on you.”
The air between us feels different—electrified. My skin tingles as his gaze wanders down my body, as if he can’t decide which part to claim first. I squeeze him, loving the way his eyelashes flutter against his cheeks. Sucking in a quick breath, he takes my wrists and guides me to the floor.
“Come here, Alexa.” I follow him to the stretch of canvas, and he kneels down beside me. I watch him as he selects one of the pots—a blue one. He unscrews the plastic lid, revealing a rich cobalt. “Don’t worry, the paint is perfectly safe.”
“I trust you.”
He smiles. Then he dips two fingers inside. The paint coats them thickly as he removes his hand and slathers one of my boobs with it. I gasp as the cool liquid touches my skin. A thick smear of blue spreads across the underside, and Lucas dips his hand in the tub for more. This time he pools it in his hand and gropes me, his thumb massaging my nipple in slow, sensual circles. He rolls the paint between his thumb and my skin, making sure it’s coating me, and doubling as an erotic massage. I lie flat against the canvas, my knees already open for him. He kisses my neck and I hear the sound of more liquid.
Shocking pink slathers my abdomen. His hand moves in broad strokes, soaking my hips with paint, my inner thighs, leaving my pussy untouched. My legs wrap around his waist as he works, nearly bursting with my need for him. “Lucas—”
“Hush, we’re almost done.” He offers me a tub of red paint. The playful grin dancing on his face couldn’t stretch any wider. “Tag me.”
I take it and color his biceps with red. Heart pounding, I slather it all over his chest and even run streaks over his muscled thighs. We’re both bright with colors by the time I’m done, and then I put it aside. A carnal look descends over his features.
This is it.
His breath comes out ragged as a broad pressure touches between my legs. “Alexa,” he breathes into my mouth. “I’m not wearing a condom.”
“Oh.” My heart pounds against my chest. “I’m not on any birth control.”
I expect him to pull away. To stand up. Instead he stays there, his eyes deepening with lust. “Good,” he says, and a thrill runs through me. “I said I wanted forever, Alexa. I meant it, and I want to start by making a baby with you.”
The question is there, burning in his gaze. He wants to empty his seed inside me, fill me up with his essence so it can hopefully take root and—make a baby. It sounds crazy, but something primal in my body wants it. Yes, even wants the vision of my belly swelling to come true.
“Let’s make a baby,” I whisper.
He touches my face, all tender. Then he pushes.
I gasp as the broadness slides an inch inside me, gripped tight by my muscles. He waits, watching my face intently, and buries himself a little deeper. I’m overwhelmed by the feeling. He’s warm, so thick that it hurts. Something deep inside me cries out when he pushes all the way in, anchored inside me. Soft lips touch mine, swallowing my gasp. He pulls out—God, I can feel myself gripping him—and then he sinks back inside. Each time he thrusts a little harder. My wetness coats him all the way around, and it starts to feel amazing.
This is what it’s like.
It’s incredible. Even when I listened to Jess go on and on about her boyfriends and rolled my eyes when she bragged about how good it felt, I had no idea. It’s better than chocolate. Nothing beats a real man’s throbbing cock, the smell of his hair, his sweat clinging to my skin, the way my body flames when he touches me. Nothing.
I cling to his neck, digging in as his hips wetly smack against mine. Then his tongue swirls in my mouth, and I’m jarred back with the intensity of his thrusts. Lucas pulls back, wildness dancing over his face. His cock slides out, and I’m left clenching at the air until he grabs my hips and flips me facedown on the canvas. My hands make red palm prints.
“Spread your knees,” he barks.
I obey him, legs trembling when his body seals against the backs of my thighs. He rolls his cock up my slicked pussy and slides right in. Lucas makes a primal sound, a grunt at the back of his throat. Rough hands curve around my hips, holding me against him as he thrusts hard. My knees slide over the canvas, spreading paint everywhere. I’m knocked to my forearms as he fucks me with an intensity that thrills me. He’s no longer a man—he’s a beast fueled by the need to fuck and impregnate his mate. His arm wraps around me, lifting my ass so he can drive in deep. My boobs make blue orbs on the canvas.
Every thrust satiates that need I’ve always felt aching inside me. His hand gropes for my pussy and then he pinches my clit, making the space tighter and amping up my pleasure. Oh my God. His cock glides inside me, rubbing against that bed of nerves I always strived to hit with my dildo. As my breathing rises to a hitch, he kisses my back and increases his pace.
“Come for me, Alexa!”
He presses down hard, rubbing my clit in a circle that finally shoves me over the edge. I cry out, my pussy clenching all over him. At the same time his grunts become more feverish and his hands more rough, jerking me back. Then I feel him come. It’s the most incredible thing in the world.
His cock stiffens inside me as he anchors in, and then he sighs long and hard. Hot jets fill me with his cum as he pushes it deep. Another thrust. Another release. I’m so wet and full by the time he’s done, his legs shaking with exertion.
Lucas wraps his arm around my waist and pulls out of me. Then he gathers me in his embrace, tipping my head toward his. His kiss makes my heart do backflips, and when we separate I see a glow in his eyes.
“You took my innocence,” I say with a laugh. “How does it feel?”
He brushes my cheek. “I doubt I could ever do that.” His lips touch mine and he squeezes me, making me melt all over again.
“Do you think I’m pregnant?”
I’ve never seen him look so happy. “No idea. It might take us a few tries to make a family.”
A family. The word hits me in the chest. “When can we try again?”
“I should probably leave you alone for a couple days. You’ll be sore for a while.”
I am, but that doesn’t mean I want him to hold off. “There’s no way I can stay away from you for days. I don’t care how much it hurts.”
A pleasant rumble echoes from his chest. “Be patient, Alexa.” His hand brushes my stomach. He looks at it in wonder, as though he can already imagine the baby growing inside it.
I can’t believe it. A baby. This is really going to happen. “You should probably meet my parents before we get married. They’re going to freak.”
“We can handle it together.”
Then I know that my instinct was right about him. The first moment I saw him, I was caught up in awe. Now I can’t imagine a life without him.
And I’ll never hav
e to again.
Chapter 12
Lucas
I’ve heard it said plenty of times that pregnant women glow. I have never known it to be true. I’ve met my share of couples with a baby on the way. In another life. It feels like a distant memory. Bellies would swell and babies would appear and the truth was, there was nothing magical about it.
Until Alexa.
She glows. She fills the room with her presence, makes the air crackle with her spirit and the presence of the child growing inside her. My child. Her hand never leaves her stomach.
Her radiance is undiminished. My desire for her has not faded. I feel a stir every time I look at her, and another every time I look at the canvas.
The creation we produced together that afternoon in the cabin is not the only work I’ve created since Alexa stumbled into my life. Half a dozen hang suspended from the ceiling. Mingled with them are Alexa’s photographs, elegantly composed, some in black and white, some candid, almost blurry, spur of the moment snaps. The gallery has become a tribute to our life together.
I stand beside her and sip champagne. It’s a shame she can’t have any. We have so much to celebrate. I thought the day she told me she was pregnant would be the happiest day of my life, but every day gets happier still.
That moment is etched in my mind. She looked like an angel, her hand pressed to her still-flat stomach, grinning from ear to ear before she pounced on me. Her lust hadn’t diminished at all.
I want her now more than ever. I shouldn’t spend our grand opening hovering over my wife, but the temptation is irresistible and I have to rest my hand on hers for a moment and kiss the top of her head.
The painting has a similar effect on her. She keeps looking at it and every time she does, a little more color enters her cheeks. She bites down on a giggle, her jaw quivering like she’s shaking the life out of the laughter before it escapes her lips.
A light buzzing fills the air. There are far more people here than I thought. They may have mocked me as a painter of cereal boxes and movie posters behind my back, but the art world has noticed Lucas Wood’s triumphant return. They turned out for the unveiling of Nude by Afternoon Light. There are a dozen photographers in front of us, crowding around it.
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