Page 49 of I’ll Find You

Alex groans, leaning forward. “I can’t help it. You make me wild, baby,” he whispers before he introduces me. “Everyone, this is Rose. Rose, this is June.” She waves her fingers in the air, similar to Raven, but I notice her nails are a pale pink, barely there in color, which is a stark contrast to Raven’s, with the red, pearly shine. “Over there is River,” he holds his hand up, and Alex continues, “Raven’s twin brother, and June’s older brother, Kaden, is standing next to him.” He also lifts his hand in a small wave. “And of course you met Ezra…” He trails off.

“Who doesn’t need any introduction,” he finishes, making us all laugh.

Raven walks over. “We have some beverages chilling in the buckets there, and a charcuterie board if you’re hungry,” she points over at this large harvest-looking table that is placed off to the side before you get to the kitchen. I notice there are also barstools on the large island that sit eight people. I nod, looking over to Alex.

“Do you want to get some food or get settled first?” he asks. I look over at the food, and he laughs. “I’m hungry too. Let’s grab some food, and then we can get ready to go out.” He motions over to Ezra, who walks over. “We’re going to grab our stuff from the car, and I’ll put it in our room. You okay if I leave for a bit?” he asks, not looking at anyone else but me. For some reason, I feel comfortable here with his family, so I nod. As soon as they leave, Raven and June walk over, pulling me toward the food.

“Come on girl, you have to tell us everything about how you met our cousin, who swore off romance,” she laughs. I glance at her, curious, as she pours herself a glass of champagne and offers me one. I hesitate, studying it for a second. Then I take it because I feel safe here. A small smile forms on my lips. I’ve never liked drinking. Not really. Especially when I didn’t trust the people around me. Some drinks make things slip loose, pull me somewhere I don’t want to go, back to memories I’ve worked hard to keep buried. I’ve worked hard to keep my father and everything that came with him contained. Locked away where it belongs and I’d like to keep it that way. Still, I nod, accepting the glass as the others lift theirs, and we share a quick toast.

“To family,” Raven says first, as June brings hers to meet Raven.

“To being besties,” June adds, looking at me as I raise my glass.

“To champagne for my real friends, and pain for my sham friends,” I say as I clink my glass to theirs. June’s eyes go wide, and Raven tosses her head back, laughing so hard tears spring to her eyes. I take a sip of my drink, letting the bubbles roll off my tongue and rise to my mouth.

“Um. That’s good.” June is laughing and looks at me, just about to say something when Alex walks in with the bags.

Ezra disappears while Raven calls out to Alex, "You gotta keep this one," she says, pulling me in at her side as she guides us around the beautiful spread of cured meats, cheeses, fruit, crackers, and spreads arranged across wooden boards. Then I hear the reply behind me.

“Oh, I plan on it,” Alex says from behind me. “Whether she likes it or not.”

My eyes find his, and I see nothing but certainty there. For the first time, I let myself believe I might be capable of loving someone, despite the caution tape still wrapped tightly around my heart.

Chapter

Twenty-Eight

Alex

Watching her fit so seamlessly with my family is more than I ever let myself imagine during those months I spent searching for her. Finding her was one thing. Watching her belong here is something else entirely.

After she gets a little food in her, I take her to the room I keep here at the downtown high-rise our families bought years ago. Back then, it was meant for the girls. A place of their own while they went to school, and somewhere safe in the middle of the city.

I close the door, locking it behind us. When I turn around, I find her quietly taking everything in, and I can't help wondering what she thinks. Before we got here, I asked Raven and June to make the room feel a little more like home for her. Nothing extravagant. Just fresh bedding, a comfortable duvet, a reading chair with a lamp, and a small table where she could drink her coffee if she wanted a little peace and quiet. My family can be a lot, and I wanted her to have somewhere she could retreat if she needed a moment to herself. Though, judging by the laughter coming from the living room earlier, she seems to be fitting in better than I ever imagined.

She walks to the curtain that hangs in thick custom drapes floating on the floor, effectively blocking out any light and view into my room. I like to sleep in the dark, and this is as pitch-black as you can get with these curtains pulled tight. She pulls one back and sucks in a breath. I watch her looking out over the cityscape with wide eyes and parted lips. My breath picks up as my cock twitches against my jeans, the material becoming increasingly tighter as I take in the sight before me.

“It’s such a beautiful view.” She presses closer to the glass, rising onto her toes as though another inch might reveal even more of the city below.

I grab my throbbing cock, palming it over the taut fabric of the denim, as I walk over to her. I wrap my arm around her waist and kiss the side of her neck, as she hums in contentment, leaning into me. “I think I have the better view, baby.” I lick up her neck, tasting the salt on her skin as I pepper her with feather-light kisses up and along her jawline.

My hands drift to her breasts. One thumb brushes over the thin fabric of her shirt while my other hand slips beneath it, pushing her bra aside so I can touch her bare skin. She arches into my touch, her soft breath catching as I tweak her nipple with one hand and palm her pussy through the fabric of her pants. She turns her head to the side, and our lips meet in a kiss that turns into something more urgent and demanding. I tug at her lip with my teeth, pulling it into my mouth until I taste the copper of the cut I must have given her, breaking skin. Instead of pulling away, she grabs my hand and pushes it inside her pants.

The warmth of her pussy greets me as I ease the damp fabric back from her slick folds and one finger slips slowly inside. She moans, her head tipping back, but a soft whine leaves her when I pull away, leaving her flushed and breathless. Her eyes find mine as I step back, licking the finger I just had inside her with a smug smile on my face.

“Oh, don’t worry, my little Rose. I plan on taking care of my sweet girl.” I suck the entire finger in my mouth, savoring the flavor that is salt and musk and all her. I pull my shirt over my head and toss it across the floor before unbuttoning my pants and pushing them down along with my boxer briefs to the floor, and step out of them. I grab my weeping cock in my hand and fist it, twisting when I get to the tip and spreading the leaking precum around as I stroke, adding extra lubrication as I increase my pace. She watches with rapt attention. “Take off your clothes,” I say, my voice raspy with need.

She doesn’t look away, just briefly as the shirt comes over her head, and she tosses it near mine. She pulls her pants down as she steps out of them. She’s standing in nothing but her lacy thong, and I almost come watching her. Her desire for me leaks down the side of her thigh. I approach her with my cock red and angry because it’s been denied what it wants. She watches me. “Turn around, baby. Put your hands on the glass and lean forward.”

She does as she’s told and fights a shiver as my hand traces the path of her spine, pushing her over and palming her round ass as I kick her feet apart. I drop to my knees, ready to worship every inch of her.

“Lean more, baby. Let me see you,” I say as I spread her, removing her thong, and angling my face so I can have better access. I lick a path that glistens down her thighs to the source. Slowly, I lick between her folds. She moans, pushing herself into my face as I wrap my arms around her legs, locking her in place. My tongue delves deep inside fucking her as I swirl it around one last time before standing.

She shudders, her head tilting to the side to look at me as our eyes meet. My face is coated in her juices. Kissing her neck, I leave traces of her as I make my way to her mouth. One hand rests on her abs, and the other tugs her hair back, as I shove my cock deep inside her in one thrust.

She tries to cry out, but my mouth is on hers, my tongue fucking her the same way I’m thrusting my cock in and out of her tight pussy. Her hands are still on the glass, leaving her mark there. I touch her everywhere, my hands roaming from her neck to her breasts and down to her sensitive clit as I strum her into submission.

“Look out there, Rose, see all those people out there, watching me fuck you, letting them know who you belong to.” Her walls grip me tighter, and I know that the thought of it turns her on, so I continue. “Let them see, baby, that only I can give you what you need. Only I can fuck you this good because we were made to fit so perfectly together. Destined to find you, and I’ll be damned if I don’t love you in this world and in the next. I’ll always find you, baby.” She cries out, and with a few more pumps, I come in long thick spurts, coating the inside of her and marking her as mine.