Page 32 of Culmination
He swallows hard before bringing a callused hand up to cup my cheek. This time, with him, I turn into it, basking in the way he holds me close.
“I will do everything in my power to always keep you safe. To keep our child safe. You’re everything to me. I can’t lose you, Brie. I can’t lose either of you, not when we’re only just getting started.”
The rollercoaster my heart’s been on today takes a final turn and comes to rest on steady tracks, smooth and unfailing. “And you won’t have to. You never will, Rafe. We’re yours. Always.”
Unspoken relief calms the tempest in his eyes. I don’t have to ask why it was there to begin with. It’s because of my time with Adrian. Sure, Rafe heard everything and he trusts me, but at the same time, he knows how easily I was swayed by the man before. But I’m no longer that girl. Pretty words mean nothing when they’re empty. And that’s all Adrian’s ever given me. I don’t mind that Rafe needed that reassurance from me. Hell, I can’t even blame him.
“Rafe,” I whisper, hoping to draw him out of his mind, “take me to bed.”
I don’t have to ask twice. Without hesitation, he scoops me up and holds me against the solid wall of his muscular chest. Butterflies swirl about in my belly as he swiftly crosses the room, gently lowering me down on the luscious mattress.
Rafe covers my body, gliding his hard cock into me the moment my back hits the fresh sheets. His hands find mine and he entwines our fingers, holding them over my head as his weight bears down on me. His eyes don’t leave mine as he makes love to me. The way he moves—cautious, gentle—feels as if it’s his first time in forever. As if we hadn’t just made love this morning. As if he’s trying to remind himself of what I said. That I’m his. That I always will be.
Or perhaps he’s trying to remind me.
With all the strength I can muster, I pull my hands out of his grasp, brace them on his hard chest, and roll us over until he’s the one flat on his back and my hips straddle his waist. He’s still buried deep inside me, but he’s peering up at me in confusion. I hold my hips still and take hold of his hands. Then I kiss each fingertip before tracing my lips with one finger.
“This,” I tell him, “is yours. My mouth will only ever kiss you. Will only ever taste you.”
He swallows hard and watches with hooded eyes as I place his hands on my breasts. His thumbs slide across each nipple as he remains silent.
“These breasts will always be yours to do with as you please. Only you will ever kiss, taste, lick, or suck them.” I pause before I slide one hand down to where he’s tightly locked inside me. “And this, Rafe?” I lock my eyes on his. “This connection? Us joined in the most intimate way? It will only ever be you. No one will ever have this part of me again. So when I say I’m yours? Believe it. Because it’s true. You own all of me. You always will. I love you and I promise to spend the rest of my life showing you, starting now.”
The words barely leave my lips before Rafe knifes up from the bed and wraps his arms around me. One around goes my waist, and the other tangles itself in my hair. His lips capture mine in a heated kiss that has our tongues sealing the deal in a passionate dance, both of us vying for the number-one position. He rocks his hips, surging up into me, and I match his pace, our frantic thrusts in perfect rhythm until I feel him swell inside me. I know he’s ready to burst.
Just as I feel my orgasm begin to crest, Rafe tears his mouth from mine and locks our gazes. The hand in my hair comes down and rests around my neck. Not squeezing, but gripping just enough to send shivers down my spine when he growls, “Mine.”
And on that one word, we not only find release together.
We find us.
Hours after Brie and I made love, I’m still awake, even with her sprawled out on top of me. We’ve made loved, fucked, screwed—whatever you want to call it—hundreds of times in many different positions and places. But this was different.
It felt like the first time all over again. Yet I feel like a shit about it. I shouldn’t have cared that she was with Adrian. She wants answers, and he’s a legitimate source. But the more I uncover, but more unsure I am that he’s the bad guy in all of this. He’s a product of his father, but I can’t deny that he cared for Brie in whatever way he could.
For so long I’ve wanted Adrian to be the bad guy. I’veneededhim to be the bad guy. If he wasn’t, then was it possible he truly did love her? I told myself I didn’t care, that it didn’t matter what his motives were, because he hurt her regardless.
And in a few short hours, everything I thought I knew flew out the window with three fucking words.
He’s your brother.
For hours, it fucked with me. Through listening to the jackass plead with my woman, to her wrapping her arms around me and reassuring me we were finally well and rid of him, to walking back to the hotel and spending an hour in bed to talk it all out, I was still in a fucked-up head state. No matter what good had come from their afternoon spent together, I couldn’t shake the truth from my brain. So, when we finally returned from his apartment, I was nearly panicked. I couldn’t lose her. I couldn’t lose our baby.
It was dumb to think that was even a possibility, and Brie read the situation, albeit only mostly correctly. Yeah, I’d fucked up about everything Adrian had told her. Especially when he’d brought up our mother.
Does he know about me?
I mean, he obviously knows about the baby she had, but does he know it was me? Hell, does Theo? Or, most likely, he believes the baby she carries is Adrian’s. No wonder he doesn’t seem to care whether his son survived the accident.
The thoughts consumed me from the moment I left Helene in my hotel room and went in search of Brie, and they didn’t stop even after I knew she was okay. Yeah, I was preoccupied wondering what the hell Adrian’s deal with her was, but even after she was safe in my arms, my mind couldn’t stop racing with questions.
I hadn’t even realized I was freaking out until she calmed the storm raging inside me. But even with Adrian out of the picture, there was still so much we had to uncover. So much more I had to tell her.
God, I’ll be so glad when this is all over.
The next morning, I awake to the sound of Brie leaping off the bed and rushing to the bathroom. A groan echoes across the hall, and I rise quickly, feeling sympathy pains for her. When I find her hunched over the toilet and moaning, I wince and make my way to her. As she empties the contents of her stomach, I hold her hair behind her head and gently rub her back.
When she’s finally done, she sits back on her heels and gives me a weak smile. “Give me one good reason why I shouldn’t hate you right now.”
