Page 97 of Wicked & Wildflower

Finally, her entire body stills, pussy gripping my cock impossibly tight, almost as if she’s swelling, that pressure readying to burst. “Everett!” she screams, and that’s when I feel it happen. The gush of her release is so intense, it pushes me out of her as she climaxes. Her body erupts in quivers, going slack as she sinks into the bed.

White hot pleasure explodes at my base, and my cock pulsates. I grip my base, a groan flying from my throat as I pump myself, spurting across her ass and her lower back. I keep fucking my hand, expelling every last drop of my release across her skin, reveling in the way it looks to mark her. “Fuck. Dahlia. Yes, baby.”

Her body shakes beneath me, the vibrator still going off inside her. I pull it from her ass, and she lets out a long sigh as I click it off and toss it on the floor. Both of us are panting, attempting to catch our breath. I drag my lips across her sweat-slicked shoulders, kissing the base of her neck.

“Are you okay?” I whisper against her ear.

She nods. “I think I’m dead.”

“No, baby.” I laugh. “Just thoroughly fucked.” I kiss her shoulder a few more times, still coming down from the high offucking her, the unreal feeling of being inside her, of watching her come undone around me. I sigh contently against her skin before pulling back and standing from the bed. Darting into her ensuite bathroom, I grab a washcloth from the shelf above the toilet and step back into her bedroom, wiping off the remainder of my release from her back and ass.

Dahlia rolls onto her side as I toss the towel inside the bin in the corner of her room. She gives me a soft, sated smile, and the look on her face has my cock stirring again. In the low light of her room, with flushed cheeks and swollen lips on display for me, I think she’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever fucking seen. Still, I notice that she keeps an arm draped across her chest, hand tucked beneath her breast and covering herself.

“Why are you hiding from me?” I ask, nodding at the way her arm is positioned.

She swallows, shrugging shyly. “They’re all droopy when I lay on my side without a bra on. I’ve got to hold them up.”

I cock my head. “Are you doing that because it’s more comfortable for you, or because you think I won’t like the way they look naturally?”

Her eyes drop, answering the question for me.

I don’t respond. I simply walk up to the bed and bend down, scooping one arm beneath her knees and the other around her back. She looks at me with a confused expression, but I haul her into my arms anyway. She wraps hers around my neck as I carry her into the bathroom, flipping on the shower before setting her down inside the tub. She stands in the corner, arms hanging in front of her body, hands clasped together, studying me as I wash my hands then test the water, making sure it’s warm enough before stepping inside with her and drawing the curtain behind me.

I softly press my hand against her shoulders, guiding her beneath the running water. “Is it too hot? Too cold?”

“Perfect,” she murmurs.

I smile, standing behind her. I pull her hair back behind her head, letting the shower wash over her. Grabbing the shampoo from the shelf next to me, I pop the cap and squirt some into my hand. Rubbing my palms together, I begin massaging my fingers through her hair, lathering the product until it foams.

As we let the shampoo rinse, I kiss her shoulder before following my previous step with conditioner, keeping to her ends. Next, I grab her body wash, and I realize it’s the thing that always has her smelling like coconuts and my personal paradise. I spin her around to face me before dripping the soap into my hand. Starting at her shoulders, I softly run my hands along her collarbone and down her arms, spreading the bubbles across her skin. “You know what I love about your body, Dal?” I ask.

She hums, seemingly transfixed on all the places I touch her, but when I lift my head to meet her eyes, she does the same.

“Everything,” I say quietly. “You know blue is my favorite color?” She shakes her head, and I nod. “I love blue because it’s so varied. There are a thousand different shades of it in the ocean alone, depending on the depth of the water and the color of the sand, the way it reflects the sun and sky. It’s ever changing, always beautiful. I love the color blue because I convinced myself I’ve seen all its shades. Living on the beach, in a place with as much sunshine as is found here, I’ve seen every variation of the sea and sky.” She blinks at me, and I dissolve beneath the intensity of her gaze. “But the shade of blue staring back at me right now?” I let out a breath. “That shade only exists inside your eyes. It’s my favorite one.”

Her breath catches, but I continue, sliding my hands down the center of her chest. “I love your lips because when they touch mine, I’m reminded of what it’s like tofeelsomething. I love your mouth because it says such sweet things to me.” I smile. “Such filthy things.” She blushes. “I love your mind because itchallenges me and intrigues me and makes me think about the world differently. I love the way your brain works. I love the way you speak and think and feel.”

Next, I cup her breasts in each hand. “I love these,” I say. “Because they’re beautiful and full and they make me hard as fuck.” She dips her head, hiding a bashful laugh. “But I also love them because they fed your daughter. They made her healthy and happy, and that’s important to me. I understand why you struggle with the way your body looks now, but I need you to know that I find every piece of you perfect, even the things you see as flaws. When you feel like you have to hide from the rest of the world, I don’t want you to feel like you have to hide from me.”

When Dahlia looks at me, there is emotion shining in her eyes, but she only nods.

I slowly move down her body, squatting to my knees so I’m face to face with her navel. I run my thumb across the puckered scar at her abdomen. She shudders at the touch. A few faint stretch marks run along the length of her torso. “I love this because it grew one of my favorite people.” I flutter my eyes up to her, and she’s staring down at me with tears in her gaze. “I admire so much about your body, Dahlia, but most of all, this.” I touch the scar again. “The strength and bravery it took to carry her, to birth her, all on your own. You deserved better. You deserved love and support. But even without it, you’re an incredible mother. She’s an incredible kid. I’m in utter awe of you every day. These scars only add to that.”

Her mouth falls open before clamping shut again, as if the words are lost on her.

“I love these legs too. I love the way they feel wrapped around my face.” I smirk. “I love that they carried you into that dive bar— right into my life.” I press a kiss to her thigh. “When I look back on that night, I realize I think I’d been waiting for you allalong. I just didn’t know it yet. I was going through the motions. Living, but not thriving. No direction. No purpose. Then, you walked in with that fucking guy, and my world flipped on its axis. You’re the only thing I’ve seen ever since.”

“Everett,” she whispers, her hands finding their way through my hair.

“I knew your name. Years ago, Darby talked about you all the time. Her wild and free older sister. Her best friend. She talked about how much you’d love Pacific Shores and all of us. How much she missed you.” I bring my hands to her hips, holding her tight against me. “I knew your fucking name, Dahlia. You were so goddamn close, and yet so far away from me. If I had asked more questions, asked to see a picture, would it have clicked?” I breathe against her soft, sweet skin. “Would I have seen your face and known instantly what you would become to me? Could I have been the one to save you from that house? Help you escape it?”

I voice the thoughts that haunt me in the deepest darkness of the nights when I can’t sleep, when I listen to the sound of her breathing on the phone and revel in the peace my presence brings her.

“What have I become to you?” she whispers, as if she’s afraid to ponder those questions too.

I lift my head and find my whole world in that sapphire gaze. “My purpose.”

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