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Once he let go of my wrists, I wrapped my arms around him and held on for dear life, warning him with a call of his name when I was just about to tip over the edge again.
“Come on,” he said between gritted teeth.
He was so close, and he was waiting for me.
The next thrust snapped the headboard against the wall, and it was the violence of that sound—knowing we’d done this to each other—that was the last shove I needed, something bright and borderline painful unfurling inside me. I shook from the force of it, my whole body racked with rolling trembles of pleasure as it coursed through me.
My breath came out in small sobs, and for a moment, I worried I’d burst into tears because of how good I felt—how desperately, completely, soul-shakingly good.
Burke shouted my name, guttural and deep and wonderful.
His movements slowed as he took us down from that mutual high. My hands slid over his back, damp from sweat, and we rolled onto our sides, him still inside me.
It was messy and glorious.
I kissed him, my fingers tracing over his cheekbones. My heart felt too big for my chest with the feel of this man against me.
“We should’ve been doing that the entire time,” I whispered against his mouth.
And with the sound of his laughter, I realized I’d never been happier in my entire life.
If I’d known what the next day would bring, I never would’ve fallen asleep.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
BURKE
Locked in the hotel room, it was like Charlotte and I had hit the pause button on all the unanswered questions that waited outside those four walls.
It was a space meant for one thing, and one thing only.
Muted were all the questions that had yet to be answered.
We muted them with hands over skin and endless kisses, even as her eyes drifted shut. We managed to clean ourselves up—her back in my jersey, me in only boxer briefs—and slide under the covers.
“Thank you for inviting me,” she said. Our faces were close together, her legs tangled between mine. Charlotte gently scratched her nails through the stubble on my jaw, and I tugged her fingertips to my mouth.
“I’m glad you were here,” I told her. “I would’ve left, and it was good to watch the game.”
She smiled in the dark. “You would’ve marched out with Liam.”
I exhaled a short laugh. “He’s ... something else. I never really got to see him and Chris together.”
Gently, she traced the outline of my lips. “Maybe Chris had a soft spot for grumpy loners.”
I narrowed my eyes, and she laughed.
“Do you think I’m a loner?” I asked.
Immediately, Charlotte shook her head. “I think you just keep your circle small.” She snuggled in closer, and I smoothed a hand up her back. “And once you decide someone is in, they’re in forever.”
Where did that leave her?
Charlotte was settled smack-dab in the middle of that circle, whether she realized it or not. Had been there for longer than I was willing to admit, especially in light of the lifeline she’d been to me through the event. And if she’d be there forever, then I was in for a world of heartache once she left.
“Did you really get on a plane to punch your brother-in-law’s nose?” she asked.
I smiled. “I really did. Tansy wasn’t overly pleased with how I handled it, but fuck it felt good.”
