Page 72 of Rivals & Revenge

"Lean back," I gently commanded.

She obeyed immediately. The strong give-no-fucks woman, surrendering herself to my control.

I understood the impulse. I needed to be in control—everywhere. Still, those few small moments where I could release and allow things to just happen were freeing. Relaxing in a way I couldn't get anywhere else.

I finished rinsing her hair, swiping the shampoo across her neck and shoulders, removing the last traces of grime.

"All clean."

She turned to face me, her eyes alight with expectation.

Reaching behind me, I swatted my hand until I found the knob and flipped the water off, taking her lips in a bruising kiss.

Her arms snaked around my neck. Fuck, I love this woman.

I froze. Her eyes opened slowly, drawn with worry.

I tried to smile, to reassure her. But the truth was, I wasn't sure I was ok. But as I sank deeper into those soulful blue eyes, the same ones that surrendered to me in the grove, and lit up when I gave her a new rifle. The same eyes that swept the hillside for threats today and now silently pleaded with me not to reject her.

She was mine.

I had been coming to terms with that for a while now, but love—There had not been a second I had regretted my solitary existence, not one. Yet, the idea of her sharing my space—my life—filled me with the kind of warmth I couldn't get from three fingers of Wolfsbane alone.

Images flashed into my head unbidden, today's events replaying like a movie in my head. Only this time, it was Tierney, not Jax, who lost their head. Cold fury raced through my veins at the thought of her being taken from me.

My eyes softened, and I offered her a soft smile, pressing my lips to hers again, more gently this time.

Her legs immediately wrapped around my waist as I lifted her from the ground.

Was this love? Did it matter now? I decided it didn't. My only intentions were to give her as much pleasure as her body could handleand take as much as she would give me. Beyond that, it didn't matter—not tonight.

The lads' tails thumped against the hardwood as we entered the house.

"Stay." I commanded.

Connor had, thankfully, correctly read the room and made herself scarce.

The trek up the stairs felt like forever, a piece of me longing for the moment in the hopefully not too distant future when we would have the house to ourselves and could christen the stairs, the dining table or my favorite chair by the fireplace and not need to bother climbing these dreadful things when we were this fucking horny.

I climbed onto the bed, laying her gently against the mattress before pulling away. Still close enough to share the same breath, I whispered, "I want you so fucking much."

She pressed her lips against mine in a lingering kiss. "I want you too. Your fingers were amazing in the shower, but I want more."

"Are you sure? Because we can wait if you're not—"

Her finger pressed against my lips, shushing me. "I. Want. You. Now."

A deep groan rumbled in my chest as her fingers closed around my dick, squeezing firmly. "I want this." she bucked her hips for emphasis.

"Patience, Kitten." I murmured, brushing my lips across hers in the barest whisper of a kiss.

I scooted onto the pillow and motioned for her to join me. "Come here." I rasped, suddenly ravenous.

She rolled onto her knees, slowly crawling toward me. Fuck. Kitten was the perfect nickname for her.

The second she was in range, I grabbed her waist and pulled her up to straddle my face.

"Grab onto the headboard. Fuck. Pull my hair. I don't give a fuck. But hold on to something." I smirked, snaking my tongue out and swiping a line from her ass to her clit.

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