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Using both hands, I moved in tandem, working him through the waves until he shuddered a final time.
Letting him go for now, I rolled to lie next to him, pulling the blanket over both of us as I cuddled against his side. We'd need to get up and clean off soon but it could wait.
It didn’t take long before he recovered himself, his eyes hazy but warm when he chuckled.
“You sure you’re done marking me? I’ll happily stay still for you.”
Heat crawled over my cheeks as I got my first look at the one bruise I’d left on him. It was in plain sight on his neck, too high to be hidden by a shirt but without a doubt, I regretted nothing.
That must have been clear on my face because he grinned. “Feeling a little territorial today?”
Embarrassment added itself to the mix and I looked away with a huff. “Says the one who growled at a ranch hand for asking me to dance.”
His finger tucked under my chin, gently bringing my eyes back to his as he soothed. “Yeah, I’m a possessive bastard, which is why I get it. I’m already telling all the women I’ve previously slept with that it isn’t happening again. The marks will just back that up.”
He added after a beat, his mouth sliding to rest against the junction of my shoulder. “Only if I’m allowed to do the same, of course.”
The words vibrated against my skin and I shivered, leaning into him with a nod. “That’s fair.”
He hummed, teeth lightly scraping the area before he sucked. It was nothing in comparison to what we’d just done, but the touch lit me on fire all the same. Squirming against him, I felt as he let go before moving lower, leaving marks every so often.
When he’d had his fill he pulled back with a grin, satisfied eyes trailing over me. “Gorgeous as always.” Then he rolled onto his back, tipping his head in invitation. “Your turn.”
I didn’t waste a second before returning the favor, leaving a few around his shoulders, a smattering of them across his chest, then just for fun I added one by his hip. He smiled, curiosity burning behind his eyes as he nodded to the last one.
“I thought you wanted others to see?”
I shrugged, trailing a finger over it. “I like the sight of them on you. The fact that others can also spot them is just a bonus.”
Biting my lip, I considered how to word this next bit.
“I like knowing I’m the only one allowed to do this, if that makes sense?”
His eyes softened and he nodded, pulling me tight against him in a hug. “Yeah, that makes perfect sense since I feel it all the time. Bea?”
I hummed and he continued, almost hesitantly. “If I could go back and change things, shake my younger self into seeing you earlier, I would.”
It didn’t do any good to think about what ifs, but the quiet way he admitted this, as if he was still getting used to the idea of being vulnerable with someone, squeezed my heart.
Curling onto his chest, I stole a kiss and smiled against his skin. “I know, but you were well worth the wait.”
A light dusting of pink worked over his cheeks, and he cleared his throat. “If you say so.”
The urge to keep praising him just to see how red I could turn his cheeks was nearly too much to ignore, but I managed. He was being open with me right now and I didn’t want to discourage that.
Beating back the impish part of me, I rested on his chest and asked.
“I’ve been meaning to bring this up, but what made you move back? I know you left because you wanted more opportunities than the town offered, which is fair, but last I heard you loved the big city. So why’d you leave?”
I had a guess, one that Devin all but confirmed, but I wanted to hear it from him.
William cleared his throat, one of his hands running through his hair as he answered. “To be honest, I missed this place and the people. I got so used to how things were in the city that when I heard something awful on the news, it didn’t really faze me anymore. I…didn’t like that, how removed I’d become from things. Here, if there’s a storm, we all band together and do our best to help the people who got dealt the worst of it, but there?”
He grimaced. “It’s basically every man for themselves and when I realized-.” He looked away again.
I smiled, twining our fingers and giving him a squeeze. “It bothered you.” It wasn’t a question, but he answered it anyway.
“Yeah, it did. Between that and missing Alice, I decided enough was enough. My job wasn’t worth staying for, and I couldn’t really think of another reason, so I came back.”
