whine, still clutching his wrist to my mouth.
He’s in my ear again, and I feel the heat of his breath before he whispers a familiar command. “Come for me, Southside.”
How the fuck does he do that? Make my body submit to his authority?
Whatever this power is he has over me, all it takes is me hearing those words and, not even ten seconds later, I’m calling out to him again. And not in the quiet whisper I let out before. This time, anyone walking past this suite definitely knows his damn name.
There are no actual words that leave my mouth after that, only nondistinctive murmuring as the drawn-out climax has my soul reaching out for him. It’s almost as if he feels it, that a part of me just became his. Because when he stares down on me, I’m certain that exchange just went both ways.
His hips maintain their steady, controlled rhythm, but there’s growing tension in his forearm and back as I grip both.
He leans toward my ear again and presses his lips to it. “Fuck.”
A deep groan leaves him next and my eyes roll into my head. I get drunk off the sound of the heavy breaths puffing from his lips, lasting well after he comes, and his body goes still on top of me. Neither of us move with any kind of urgency. There’s a sense of wanting the moment to last as long as it possibly can.
The side of my neck warms when he kisses me there. The long, sensual kind that makes a girl fall. Only, it’s too late for me. I fell for him a long time ago.
“Stay with me,” he says against my skin.
It isn’t until I nod, agreeing to his request that the kissing starts again. I feel his once-racing heart beginning to slow where it beats against his chest and mine. Like we’re one in the same.
Eventually, he’s content to put a small measure of space between us and rolls to the side of me, but already this feels different than the first time. Then, as soon as we’d finished, I remember feeling the moment when that switch of his flipped. But laying here now, with his hand lazily resting on my stomach, and my forehead pressed to his chest, I’m not worried about the aftermath.
“Mind if I use your shower?” I peer up to ask.
“Long as you have your ass back here in twenty minutes or less,” he teases.
Smiling, I kiss him once when I just can’t help it. “Be back in ten.”
Chapter 31
WEST
I let her slip away to clean up and she keeps her word, making it back to me in just shy of ten minutes. I disappear in the bathroom to do the same, but take half the time she did.
We’re naked in this bed again and she leans into me, pressing her back flush against my chest. She breathes deep when I aimlessly push some of her hair behind her ear. There’s something about touching her like this that has me wanting to drift off, but I’m determined not to let the moment end so quickly. Not when I only just convinced her that we might be able to make this work.
“I’ve never wanted anything, or anyone, more than I want you,” I admit, finding it pretty damn hard to believe I just said that out loud, but… there it is.
She peers over her shoulder, killing me with the smile she flashes.
Instead of responding with words, she turns in my arms to face me. We kiss again and it’s sweeter than the lust-fueled ones that came before it. Then, she finally pulls away and I can’t take my eyes off her.
“Almost drove me fucking crazy watching you with those other guys tonight.”
Her brow quirks. “What guys?”
Of course, she didn’t notice them trying to push up on her while she danced. Sort of like how Dane accused me of only being able to see her.
“Doesn’t matter,” is all I say, knowing it truly does not matter. I am, however, thinking about my brother’s words now.
Well, that one word he used, in particular.
Relationship.
Those things that are supposed to be built on trust. Honesty.
“There’s something I need to tell you.”
As soon as that statement leaves my mouth, Southside tenses against me.
“Okay.” She sounds skeptical, so I don’t prolong explaining.
“I met up with Ricky Monday,” I admit.
“How? Why?” she asks, only sounding curious. Not angry.
“Because I needed to make sure you’re safe,” I say gravely, not wanting her to worry, but