Dancing on a pier.
Another first.
With surety, I knew I was one hundred percent irrevocably in love with Chad.
“You’re mine, Leah.” He kissed me again as if there wasn’t anything in the world that could stand in the way.
Our feet stopped moving and I tunneled my fingers through his hair at the back of his head. “So you keep saying.”
I felt his body stiffen and I wondered for a brief second if my insecure self imagined it? I thought he was going to say something else, but instead he picked up the stuffed pink poodle I’d dropped onto the deck and tossed it onto the boat.
“We’ll be ready to sail in a few minutes.”
What happened?
Why did he tense up?
“Are we going back to the beach house?”
“No. We’ll find a great spot to spend the night on the water.”
A few minutes later we were out of the lagoon and into the wide-open waters. He had loosened up and talked about knots, winds, and coordinates which was like teaching me a foreign language.
I still wondered what had broken the moment on the pier but didn’t push him for answers.
Close to an hour later, he dropped the anchor and he seemed less tense and more at ease wearing a soft smile when he gazed my way. Across the waters, twinkling lights from a passing ship flickered, matching the sky filled with stars.
“This is what peace feels like,” he whispered.
“I could get used to it.”
“Your being here, makes it even better.”
He clasped my hand and pulled me from the seat into a hug. His words sank in and a rush of warmth spread through my veins. No one had ever given me the world. No one until Chad Mitchell.
I felt whole.
In the world of gray, the color I’ve know my entire life, was now painted in an array of happy bright colors. I wasn’t the same woman I was a few months ago, not even the same as two days ago. The way he freely showed me love without ever saying the words, made me whole.
My feelings were inevitable and ran deep.
And I knew he felt something deep for me.
He had too. Men didn’t go AWOL from billion-dollar contracts, a massive MLB franchise, and do sweet shit with a girl he didn’t care about.
Tilting my head to the side, I sank into the way he feathered kisses along my skin licking his way to my earlobe.
“You’re so beautiful, Leah… so fucking beautiful,” he whispered in my ear and I moaned sinking my fingers into his hair.
I lifted my gaze to him and barely heard my own voice. “You feel like a dream to me.”
He grazed his knuckles across my cheek and then ever so slowly leaned down and brushed his lips against mine.
“We’re not a dream. It’s all real…very real.”
I am so in love with you Chad.
Part of me wanted to blurt it out, but I didn’t—and I wouldn’t.
I wanted to wait for him to tell me first.
Closing my eyes, his presence alone enveloped me. I wanted to live forever like we were now. He led me down the stairs to the galley and as soon as I saw it had been cleaned, I stopped in confusion.
“Wait. This was still a mess when we left.”
“I had it taken care of while we were on the boardwalk.”
I furrowed my brows. “I would have taken care of it.”
“My plans don’t include either of us loading a dishwasher.”
“What plans would that be?” I whispered with a flush.
He retrieved a bottle of wine from the cooler, poured two glasses of sweet red and pressed a button on the wall to dim the lights. “Plans that include making you come again and again.”
The temperature in the room tripled and flutters flew into overdrive in the pit of my stomach. There was no mistaking the hunger in his heavy lidden eyes or the clenching between my legs.
Keeping my eyes on him over the rim of the stemless wineglass, I took a sip watching him drink me in over his own glass. I swallowed slowly hoping it would quench the thirst especially the ache at the juncture of my thighs.
Good Lord he undid me.
A surge of warmth flush spread up my neck and into my cheeks. With trembling fingers, I placed the glass a little too hard onto the granite countertop almost toppling it over. I wanted to kiss him, feel his mouth on mine. Sauntering toward him in a very feline prowl on a hunting mission, I stared into his hungry gaze watching my every move.
He reached for my hips and drew me roughly against him, crashing his mouth on mine in an explosive kiss. Heat pulsated through my veins faster than the speed of light. I tasted the wine on his lips, and the touch of his hands felt like fire.
In an urgent frenzy, I peeled his shirt over his head casting it across the room. The hard planes of his chest rubbed against my pebbled nipples and I desperately ground against his thigh for any friction to give me what I needed.
He let out a growl in my mouth and fisted my hair at the back of my head to my scalp.
Our clothes were scattered about, and I didn’t realize he’d backed me into the bedroom until the bed hit the back of my knees. Tumbling onto the duvet, we rolled until I was on top straddling his hips.
He sucked one of my rosy nipples between his lips and an inferno engulfed every fiber down to a cellular level. Going from one to the other, he cupped my breasts, flicking his tongue over the hardened nubs and my back arched upward in delight.
Slipping my hand between us, I found his velvety shaft hard and ready. Stroking and pumping him, I couldn’t help but smile in eagerness—for him to make me call out his name.
Lifting my hips, I guided him to my entrance and felt our emotions intertwine.
“Fuck, Leah,” he growled.
Slowly I lowered past the tip, then lifted up, using all my strength to lower myself in a way that would drive him crazy. I wanted to push him over the edge and watch him become powerless. Easing down a little further, but still only halfway down before sliding up, he groaned and clutched my hips in a vice-grip but let me stay in control.
It felt so damned good—so fucking good.
And I needed more.
I slammed down on him letting out a whimper, riding him hard and fast. His hands clutched my hips guiding the wild ride.
“Damn, you feel so tight,” Chad ground out the words.
Our mouths attacked each other, kissing, nipping, and moaning lost in the pleasure. Hitting all the right spots, I groaned, and my body melted in the heat.
“Oh… oh… my God… yes!” I gasped.
My body quivered and I clamped around him, slamming all the way down, giving him his own release. His head fell back in wave after wave of shudders until he stilled, and I fell against his dampened skin.
Several minutes passed before our breathing slowed to normal and exhaustion consumed me. I closed my eyes, snuggling in his arms cocooning me, the most soothing place the world had to offer.
“Let me hear you say it, Leah.”
“Say what?” I asked, peeking through my lashes.
“You’re mine.”
“Only if you mean you’re mine too.”
“I’m yours. Say you’re mine.”
“I’m yours.” I whispered and smiled my way into a dreamy sleep.
Chapter 25
The next day I leisurely stretched my arms above my head and crossed my ankles while lying back on the ivory seat cushions. The sea breeze whipped Chad’s hair as he stood behind the helm, and my heart tripped over its own beats taking him in. As if he’d heard the drum of my pulse calling his name, he gazed over his shoulder at me.
The smile he wore sent a rush of heat all the way to my center core and when he trailed his way down my chest all the way to my toes before making his way back to my lips, I felt the liquid heat between my legs.
Drinking in the way his shoulders filled out the tight navy polo shirt clinging to the defined mu
scles in his back, I licked my parched lips and drew my bottom lip in between my teeth.
Damn, he was gorgeous.
I am yours.
And you’re mine.
Even though Dad and Anita had left me in one hell of an emotional state, Chad had made me feel more content than I’d ever felt in my entire life. It was as if the once frozen muscle in my chest no longer pumped icy shavings, but instead something warm and gooey.
I am yours.
I was his. For as long as he wanted me and even after. I would never not be his, not even if he didn’t want this.
“You’re mesmerizing,” he flashed an incredible smile my way.
“When you say things like that, it makes it so much easier to use you for sex,” I said playfully running my eyes down his body and then back up mimicking the way he’d looked at me.
“Using me huh? Beautiful, your eyes tell a different story.”
“What story do they tell?” I baited with an arched eyebrow.
“They say you feel more and if you can’t admit that, then maybe I need to fuck you so hard, the truth slips from your sweet lips.”
What. The. Fuck.
Does he know I’ve fallen in love with him?
Was he saying he loved me too?
I wanted to blurt it out, but I knew from my entire life’s experience how gut wrenching it was to be let down. The people who you love the most have the power to hurt you the most. After everything, life lessons taught me it’s better to listen to the mind and not the heart.
He shoved his aviators on, covering the dancing cockiness and then changed the subject as if he hadn’t bordered a danger zone.
“Do you want to keep sailing around, or go back to the house?”
“As much as I love this, I would like to spend some time on the beach before we have to leave.”
“The beach it is.” He grinned sexily, “We’re not on anyone’s schedule but ours.”
Bam!
There was the reminder, letting everything ride on what I wanted. So many emotions ran through me, and unstoppable grin curled my lips.
“If only it could be the entire summer, but I can’t, and neither can you. Maybe one day… we’ll return.”
“You say when, and I’ll clear my calendar.”
“Your board of directors at Mitchell Oil might see things a little differently than you and then there’s the guys in the dugout not to mention the fans and reporters. Rumors might start running rampant.”
“Make no mistake. I’ve always done what I wanted, and I’ll never change. The Mitchell’s control the board, and I’m not worried about gossip. No one has the slightest idea I’m at the mercy of the sexiest woman on the planet.”
“In that case, we might stay through July.” I playfully giggled. “Want to finish off the banana pudding before we reach the shore?”
“I call dibs on all the wafers.”
“Not a chance, Captain. They’re the best part.”
Below deck, I grabbed two spoons and the bowl containing the last bit of dessert. Scrambling up the stairs, I almost missed the top step and clutched the rail to keep from tripping over my own two feet.
Holy hell.
A shirtless Chad with shorts riding low on his hips stood behind the wheel. I raked my eyes over his sculpted body locking on his incredibly sexy six-pack. His chest and back was a wall of muscles.
For the love of God, when does he have time to work out?
Goose bumps trickled up and down my spine and I ran my tongue over my lips as a powerful hot surge moistened my panties. Like a treat, I feasted on his body, taking him all in, from his lower body back up to his face. He stared directly at me and even behind those aviators, I knew he had caught me ogling and I didn’t care one bit.
Suddenly it dawned on me, maybe I should be thankful for all the fucked-up things that had happened to me—because the path of fate brought me to him. Tears stung my eyes, but quickly blinked them back.
He smiled a wicked sexy smile, before turning to make some sail adjustments and then joined me on the cushion. I spooned a bite of custard and offered it to him.
“Share the cookie,” he teased.
I rolled my eyes and dipped down for a small portion of the wafer and held the spoon up. It undid me watching his mouth close around the bite and his throat constrict when he swallowed.
“You’re turn.” He filled the spoon he held, and I took a big bite.
“This has to be the best I’ve ever eaten.”
“I tried to tell you.” He held up the last softened cookie from the edge of the bowl and held it out to me.
“I can’t. I’m stuffed.”
“Open up.” He was insistent.
Sealing my lips tighter, I shook my head and covered my mouth with my hand. A devilish playful grin flashed at me and in one smooth motion, he dragged the utensil over my chest, trailing the deliciousness across my cleavage spilling over the neckline of my tank.
Holy hell.
Watching me the entire time, he slowly dipped and swept his tongue along the sticky sweetness he’d drizzled over my flesh. As he licked and lapped up every drop, heat rushed through my veins. Breathlessly, I let my head fall back and moaned in approval.
“I like it when you pull your lip between your teeth.” He kissed his way to the top of my shoulder, then up to the lobe of my ear. “And I love how easy you’re turned on when you’re with me.”
“You have no idea what you do to me. I want you in every way.” My voice was laced with truth and I heard the clinking of the fork hitting the flooring. His hands slid down my waist and gripped my hips.
“Every way?”
“I’m yours to do whatever you want,” I whispered, intoxicated in the moment.
“Tell me again you’re mine.”
“I’m yours. Now kiss me, Chad.”
A flash of wicked hot desire burned in his whiskey irises. Hungrily, I tilted my head to the side, inviting his tongue to swirl with mine. In an almost rough manner, he clutched my hips in an overpowering grip drawing me flush against his hardness causing me to whimper and cry out another wanton please.
“I want nothing more than to be buried deep inside you. But seeing as how we are currently positioned in the direct pathway to the ship channel leading to the Gulf of Mexico, there’s too much traffic through here.”
“You gotta be kidding me? Now?” I frowned with ragged breaths.
He grabbed my hand pulling me with him to stand and backed me to the brass wheel.
“Turn around.”
I whirled around and he snaked his arm around my waist and splayed his hand on my abdomen, drawing my back into his well-defined chest. His hardness pressed into me and his nose slid against the shell of my ear.
“Chad,” I helplessly begged.
“Hold onto the wheel and be still.”
His hand moved to the snap of my shorts and his lip nipped at my ear. When he rolled down the zipper one tooth at a time, I closed my eyes and sank into him.
“Who do you belong to?” he whispered into my ear, grazing his teeth against the lobe.
“You.” I shuddered.
He worked his way into the top of my baby blue lace panties, and I cried out accepting his finger delving inside the slippery wetness. His tongue licked down my neck and my knees trembled.
Pushing deep inside me, he gently pulled out only to add another finger and shoving in and out in rhythmic strokes. I felt his chest erratically rising and falling against my back and gripped the wheel tighter as he finger-fucked me deep and hard.
“Tell me how much you like this,” he gruffly asked in the crevice of my neck.
“Oh damn. Oh, fucking damn. So much.”
“I feel how close you are. Come for me,” he growled, adding his thumb to the mix, rolling it across the sensitive bundle of nerves.
Pleasure began shooting through me and waves of passion washed over me like a tsunami.
“Chad! Oh God, yes, Chad!”
My hips bucked involuntarily, and I clenched my eyes closed riding wave after wave. My body hummed as I came down off the high. Little by little the aftershocks faded away and a sigh full of content escaped my lips. He held onto my languid body and I managed to glance over my shoulder at him.
He drew his glistening fingers inside his mouth. “I love how sweet you taste.”
I stared at his beautiful face and our eyes locked. “That was amazing.”
“Later, I’ll show you how good I’m going to make you feel.”
Leaning against his body, his hand pressed into my abdomen holding me in place, the shore was getting closer and I recognized Otis’s marina coming into view.
“I should take the dishes to the sink before we dock.”.
“Leave them. Sandy will take care of everything.”
“Who’s Sandy?”
“My housekeeper.” Flickers of amusement filled his expression. “Jealous?”
“Should I be?”
“I’m only into you. Plus, Sandy has three kids and a husband who adores them.” He winked.
“Only into me, huh?” I held my breath waiting for his reply.
“You’re mine, Leah. All fucking mine.” His eyes devoured me, and I could only gulp.
I didn’t know for sure if he meant in bed, or more, but it sure felt like something so much more. The air was thick with passion, need, and lust. But questions also permeated its way in the mix.
How deep did his feelings run for me?
We docked and by the looks of people scurrying about, Otis wouldn’t even notice our arrival until he figured out Chad’s jeep wasn’t parked on the lot.
We rode in silence along the way, and my thoughts carried me to my father. And it surprised me, but I didn’t feel the least bit sad.
My father and Anita.
The fear on his face the last time I saw him.
The hurt on Anita’s as I ran away.
Surprisingly enough, I didn’t feel pain stabbing at my heart.
I wanted to say I didn’t know why, but that would make me a liar.
It was because of Chad.
He’d given me a reason to be happy, to feel love, to breathe air that didn’t feel like poison, and the courage to overcome all the shitty things handed down to me.
Keeping Wicked (The Mitchell Brothers Book 3) Page 18
