Chapter Nineteen

Laia

 

Rett’s body thrummed against mine as he took me in, eyes roaming down my face and back up. His smile was gentle and joy-filled, making my heart flutter. Tracing my fingers down his face, I brushed them up and down his jaw. I wanted to see his handsome face every day for the rest of my life. Preferably like this—hovering over me.

A meteor streaked overhead, its tail a bright whirl of colors, and Rett turned as I gasped, managing to catch a glimpse of it. The night sang with beauty. All around us, little waves lapped to shore, the wind murmured in the trees, and the world enfolded us in a pocket all to ourselves.

“Good omen,” he said with a grin as he turned back to me. “But you’re the better view.”

Gone was the woman who played it cool, and I giggled. Actually giggled. It was amazing. I’d never felt so light and free. Why hadn’t I admitted I was falling for him sooner?

“What?” he asked.

“Did you think we’d end up here after last night?” I asked.

“I’ve wanted to end up here for so many nights, I’m still trying to process the fact that it’s happening,” Rett said, and my stomach did a somersault of happiness. “But no, not in my wildest dreams.”

“You really had no idea I…” I trailed off and let one of my hands smooth down his hair, then his neck, then move down to his sternum and across his chest. I stopped when I had his heart under my hand. “No idea I had a thing for you, Deacon?”

“What is this, high school?” Rett teased and squeezed my hip, his big hand spanning it. Suddenly, his thumb began to work circles on my hip bone, and I arched a little. “You like me or somethin’, Llary?”

I’d never been filled with such an intense hunger for something, nor with such a sense of rightness.

It was like flying.

“Why else do you think I’ve been hanging around football practice?” I asked, breathless.

“Looking for something to set fire to, I assumed,” he said, and his other hand drifted up to my face, a thumb tracing my smile. “So, it was me?”

“It was you. Gonna ask me to prom, or what?”

He threw his head back and laughed. “Sure. You’d be okay going with a jock, troublemaker?”

“I think my reputation can handle it.”

“You would have eaten me alive in high school,” Rett murmured, and the blue of his eyes intensified. “Hell, I’m not sure about now.”

“Big football guy like you needs protecting?” I teased.

“From you, yeah,” he said.

“Hello, look at the size of you,” I said in a voice that was almost a whimper. Then I cleared my throat as Rett smirked. “I mean, uh…yeah.”

“You noticed?” Rett asked before I could get my words together.

“Kind of hard not to.”

“And you don’t mind?” he asked, raising an eyebrow and trying to look casual.

I propped myself up and stared at him, unsure if he was kidding for a moment. “You’re serious?” He made a face and shrugged. “Mind? Rett, you’re every woman’s secret fantasy wrapped up with a perfect smile. I’ve wanted to sink my teeth into you ever since I saw you.”

Rett’s eyes crinkled up as he nodded, looking deeply flattered. God, he was too much. Then he ran a hand through his hair, genuinely nonchalant as he said, “Huh, I’ll be damned. For real?”

“Hell, yes!” I burst out and grabbed him. “These big shoulders, the giant biceps…” I slid my hands across them and sighed. “That firm ass—”

He let out a bark of laughter as my eyes went wide, and I fell back. “Wow, thanks,” Rett said.

I put my hands over my face. “Okay, I didn’t mean to blurt that out all at once.”

God, get it together. You sound like a fangirl.

Rett rolled over so that he was on top of me, pinning me down with his hips and that sculpted body. His hands squeezed my upper arms, and I sensed his face inches from mine.

“Laia,” he murmured and brushed a kiss on my lips. “Laia, hey, look at me.” I turned away, pretending to sleep, and suddenly his lips were on my neck. I gasped, and Rett laughed in my ear. “Why are you embarrassed? Don’t you know how much I appreciate it?”

“Hmph,” I muttered and slit my eyes open.

Rett wrapped his arms around my shoulders, pressing his knees into my side as he smiled down at me.

“Fine,” I said. I couldn’t keep up any pretenses with him anymore. “It’s embarrassing how flustered I get around you, and how I say stupid things because you’re so good-looking I can’t think straight.” Rett’s head tilted to the side. “What? Didn’t know you were that handsome, either?”

“I didn’t know you, Laia Llary, thought that," Rett said, and he grinned at me like an idiot. "That's all I care about. And I like all the stupid things you say, although I’d never call them that.”

“How are you so perfect?” I muttered.

“I’m not,” Rett said and gave me a look, making me laugh. “You know I can be as grumpy as you are outspoken.” He shrugged. “I like it. It’s fun. I never know what’s coming next.”

Tears pricked my eyes. “God, you’re such a big lug of a heart-melter.”

“Honestly, I never thought a beautiful woman like you would want to be with a big lug like me.” I gaped at him. “Not that I’m not a good-lookin’, muscular guy, as you say…” He winked, and I giggled again. “But, Laia, I mean…” He blew out a breath. “You’re so brave, so brilliant, and absolutely stunning.”

The intensity of those words, especially the last, had me spinning through the stars. My chest rose and fell, my throat filling with a dizzying pressure, and I had to close my eyes. Tears slipped free, and Rett let out a rough laugh.

“Don’t cry,” he murmured, sitting back a little and cupping my face with one hand. Carefully, with the kind of care I’d never have associated with an Alpha once upon a time, he wiped them away. “C’mon, Laia, I wanted to make you happy, not blubber.”

“I can’t help it,” I wheezed, half-mortified that this was happening now, and half-delirious from those words. “You make me so damn happy.” I sniffled. “And thank you.”

Wrapping my arms around his neck, I kissed him, trying to show him what clumsy words couldn’t. How he’d remained steadfast in spite of all the chaos I’d brought. How he’d stuck by me.

How he’d, just by being himself, gotten me to open up my heart again.

I’m falling hard, I thought as I kissed him and tasted the salt of my tears. Or I already did.

No one had made me feel so strong and precious at the same time.

Rett’s rough hands were sliding up my calves again, and I trembled against him, filled with the need to be filled. His hard body reacted in kind, and a heavy pressure pushed into my stomach.

He broke off with a reluctant laugh, and I whimpered.

“Laia, we should go back…” he said.

“Is there anyone around?” I asked, in a breathless, mischievous voice.

Rett blinked rapidly at me, then grinned. He lifted his head, closed his eyes, and listened. Then he reopened his eyes onto my grin. My hands were already on his waistband.

As I slid my hands under the hem of his shirt, tracing the soft hair on his solid abs, Rett’s hands gripped my bare thighs. Our lips met, muffling the frantic gasps we were both making, and our tongues clashed, mimicking the meeting of our skin.

Rett was nudging my legs apart, my skirt pushing itself up as broad fingers slid between my legs. I mewled into his lips as he found my warmth. Trying to keep quiet was getting harder and harder.

Almost as hard as the length I now held in my hands.

Rett groaned into my mouth as I stroked him, enjoying the silk over the steel. Meanwhile, he was curling and pumping his fingers, making my toes curl. Our lips were still locked, both of us breathing heavily through our noses, and then I fell back as Rett hit a deep, dark spot of pleasure.

The world scattered as I orgasmed. I had to bite down on my lips to keep from screaming, it rolled over me with such force.

Rett leaned down, kissing the insides of my knees as he slid off my panties and pocketed them. Then he shoved his pants down a little, and I caught a quick glimpse of his giant, hard, and throbbing length. Instantly, I was ready again, and I reached for him.

But Rett caught my wrists and pinned them overhead in one hand. I whimpered as he positioned himself, meeting my eyes, and I nodded.

“Rett, please,” I begged, and the tip jumped against me. “Rett.”

“Trying to savor this even if we are actin’ like rabbits, firecracker,” he murmured. His other hand lifted my hips, and he began to ease in. “Damn, you feel incredible, Laia.”

Immediately, I bit my lips and let out a stifled moan of pleasure. Inch by inch, Rett slid in, never stopping when I thought he would. When he was finally, completely in, I was filled to the hilt and brimming with hot sparks of pleasure. Eyes closed, I listened to the hard panting of his breath in my ear and squirmed helplessly in his grip.

“Laia,” he murmured and kissed me, hard, then broke off and said my name again.

Over and over he kissed me, then said my name, all while filling up every inch of me. I was almost insensible. Then he pulled back and thrust in again. A cry of pleasure escaped me, one captured by his lips, and he let go of my hands. Instantly, I wrapped my arms around him as our bodies came together and apart, finding an indulgent rhythm with ease.

Satisfaction blazed with each movement, peaking a little higher each time. My cries were now muffled by Rett’s shoulder as he held me, his lips at my ear, kissing my neck or whispering my name. Or telling me what I did to him, what he wanted to do to me, and more.

All sorts of sexy secrets, between us, in this moment just for the two of us.

My orgasm hit me in a spiral, where I looped deeper and deeper into bliss.

It was a sky full of meteors—it was Rett’s scent, his voice in my ear, his promises, his skin against mine—a perfect loop. When he followed, I knew we were complete.

When we came back down and could speak again, Rett was still inside of me when he panted out, “We need to get back to the house.” I laughed, and he shook his head. “No, you don’t understand. I want you to be able to scream my damn name without it echoing off the mountains.”

“I would think you’d like that,” I teased, then my eyes went wide as Rett stared down at me, already growing hard again. I squirmed without meaning to, and he let out a groan.

Finally, he slid out and tucked himself into his pants with difficulty. I giggled the whole time and began to pick up. But Rett shoved it all into the bag, grabbed my hand, and tugged me towards the trail. At one point, he heaved me over his shoulder and sprinted back to the house.

Jostled against his shoulder, I laughed the whole time.

“Rett, who knew you were such a caveman?” I asked as he put me down at the back door. He let out a grunt, and I laughed, then gasped as he pulled me inside, pushing me up against the wall.

“You set off a fuse in me, firecracker,” he growled and rolled my skirt up.

He nipped and bit at my lips, his hands roaming down my sides and then gripping my ass. I gasped and tilted my head back, Rett’s lips now on my neck. The world seemed to fall away, and then I realized he was lifting me, holding me up against the wall.

“Oh,” I gasped as his hard thigh pressed up against my bare warmth. “Rett, what are you—”

My words were cut off as he kissed me and stroked his tongue inside. It was a wild and deep kiss, one that liquefied my bones. I clung to Rett, and his big hands were now gripping my ass underneath my skirt, kneading it and making me arch against him. I kept squirming on his thigh, trying to find release, and Rett would squeeze my ass harder.

Finally, we broke apart, and Rett’s rough voice was in my ear: “I want these clothes off.”

I nodded and panted out, “Maybe. Upstairs…?”

“Quick,” Rett said, and we rushed upstairs. Once in my—well, his—room, he slammed the door and spun me around. “Where’s the zipper?”

“No zipper, it’s…” I laughed and Rett lifted my skirt, slapping my bare ass once on each cheek. Twin jolts of pleasure went through me. “Oh, someone’s impatient.”

“Yes,” he growled.

I pulled it over my head, leaving me in a bra, which Rett made quick work of. He ran a hand over my ass and then turned me around. A flutter went through me as he took me in, the blue of his eyes molten, and his breathing ragged. Moonlight crept in through the window and turned my skin silver.

“Laia, you’re even more stunning than I…” His throat worked, and he pulled me close, his hands running up my spine like I was made of spun sugar. “I…”

“You’re gonna take that damn shirt off now,” I said and grasped it.

Rett grinned as I pulled it up and strained to get it over his head, then whipped it off. I reached out, hesitating, and then traced my fingers across the highlights and shadows of his body. When my hands slid down, Rett stopped me, even though I could see the monster bulge in his pants.

Instead, he put his hands on my waist, turning me and backing me into the side of the bed, before bending down and kissing me. A soft, sensuous kiss that left me dazed when he pulled away.

I watched as his head bent, and his lips found my shoulder, his scruff tickling the curve of my collarbone. Then I arched, and he gripped my waist, lifting me onto the bed.

Sitting upright, I stroked my fingers up and down his spine while Rett worked his way down to the swells of my breasts. Two big hands found them, lifting, squeezing, and teasing. I moaned as his lips latched onto one, and his fingers onto the other. Nipples tight with pleasure, I pressed my thighs together as it dove down between my legs, too.

“Rett,” I gasped out as his tongue flicked and tasted. “That, oh, yes.” My voice was ragged and awed. “Damn, you’re good.”

A chuckle escaped him, and he switched. His other hand had slid down, finding my warmth again, and slowly he teased me to the brink of coming. I was insensible, forgetting about the bed, the room, the rest of the world—there was only him. And he was right, I was crying out his name, begging for him to—

My body arched up into a blaze of light, and I fell back on the bed, limp with bliss.

Sitting up, stretching and smiling, I saw Rett had stripped down. I’d felt him—he’d been inside of me, but seeing him now… My lips parted.

Before I could take him in and really savor the moment, Rett had moved forward, pulling down the blankets. Next, an arm looped around me and swung me down, as he followed. It was all warmth, silk, and steel—his hard body pressing me down into the softness.

Closing my eyes as we kissed, I smiled, remembering this was Rett’s bed.

A spark of excitement went through me.

Maybe he did plan this.