“I shouldn’t be, no.”
I plucked a condom from my nightside table and tossed it beside her on the bed. She reached for my belt buckle as I bit the inside of my cheek. I had imagined this moment countless times over, but none of those fantasies could ever hold a candle to the reality of it.
With my jeans unbuttoned, I pushed them down my legs and peeled my socks off. The only barrier left separating us was my black boxer briefs.
Ari’s fingers toyed with the elastic band, and my resolve teetered.
“Remember when I said you were made for me and that I wasn’t the playboy you thought I was?”
“Yes.” Her brows pinched as she looked up through her lashes.
“Tonight is about firsts. No one’s ever had me, not the way you’re about to either.”
The confusion in her expression subtly turned to one of mischief, a dare almost as she pulled my boxers over my erection and audibly gasped as the eight rungs of my Jacob’s ladder filled her sightline. While her eyes blinked back her surprise, she wasted no time curling her fingers around me before running her thumb through my release from minutes ago on the living room floor.
“Shit, sorry, I should wash up first.”
Her hand tightened in response. “No need.”
I watched, wholly enraptured, as she ran her tongue up my length. I was already harder than granite, but the second she enveloped me in her mouth, I was enraptured by the pure pleasure.
It was like going from zero to a hundred in the blink of an eye. The world around me blurred, and every fiber of my being ignited my senses. It was the perfect combination of adrenaline and excitement tangled in a wicked web of gratification dancing down the length of my spine.
Knowing I wouldn’t last another second, it took everything in me to pull back and shift her upward on the bed. The reward was picturesque. Her hair fanned out like ribbons of fire against my white sheets adorned with peppermint swirls. I reached for the clasps on her heels again, and she didn’t stop me this time. Once I had her where I wanted, I ripped open the condom and sheathed myself.
“There’s no going back from here, Ari; you know that, right?”
“I do.” She nodded eagerly.
“Good, because I’m never letting you go. You’re mine.”
My one hand brushed up the apex of her thighs while my other stroked my cock before lining myself up.
“Yes, Jameson . . . make me yours.”
I took it slow at first, allowing her time to adjust but also willing myself off the edge because fucking Christ, the feeling was unimaginable. She was impossibly tight, squeezing my tip like a vise.
My eyes bounced between watching as I pushed inside her silky heat and her response to each rung of my Jacob’s ladder. The views were earth-shatteringly mesmerizing: her skin flushed with rosy blemishes across her chest and up her neck, her teeth that bit down on her lip let go as her mouth formed a perfectO, and her essence that coated the condom as we became one.
Once I was fully seated, she curled her fingers around my neck. Her hazel eyes were soft and longing. I leaned over and claimed her mouth with slow, languid strokes of my tongue.
As I quickened my pace, she lowered her arms to my back, her nails digging into my skin as we chased our united pleasure flawlessly in sync.
“You’re my everything, Ari.”
I had never spoken truer words; in that instant, I knew I had been irrevocably changed for all of eternity.
Chapter Seventeen
Arizona
My eyes rebelled against the sunlight seeping through a small gap in the blackout curtains, casting a harsh light across the room. As I changed my position, muscles I never realized I had ached while a whirlwind of emotions surged inside me. The overwhelming bliss that had washed over me was recognized by every aspect of my being, knowing that it wasn’t solely the result of the abundance of pleasure Jameson had bestowed upon my body until the early morning hours. Instead, the realization that I had found a rare, once-in-a-lifetime connection intensified the feeling—a bond most people long for, yet few ever truly encounter.
Mindful not to disturb him, I turned and observed his peaceful slumber. The man before me was undeniably attractive and genuinely one of a kind. He had a remarkable ability to dominate any room he walked into, and to be honest, it had always driven me somewhat crazy. His confidence and assertiveness shined like a beacon whenever he took the lead at work. Saving lives was in his DNA, and he made no apologies for it.
He took a similar stance regarding his intentions toward me. He had been clear and direct; he wanted me and committedhimself to that belief despite years of my indifference. Had anyone ever suggested that Jameson was my future, I would have thought they were certifiably insane. Yet, there I was, in his home, lying in his bed, and nothing had ever felt more right.
I had spent so much time pushing him away that now all I wanted was to discover the man who had burrowed so deep in my heart, leaving an indelible mark I knew would last forever. Last night had been a first as I stood before him with my heart open, vulnerable and exposed, yet trusting and safe under his touch. The way his eyes held mine captive, with all his focus on me, was empowering. Just the memory of the way my body responded to his had me pressing my thighs together.
