Page 44 of Rivals
He moves faster, chasing his pleasure. He brings me across the edge again, and we fall together. Tears slip from my eyes as a knowing, deep, edged with agony settles into my bones. Our razor-sharp edges cut us, but we ignore the blood. It’s painful and exciting, and I just want more of it. I want more of him and this feeling. For once, it isn’t constantly misery— it’smore. It’sgood. It’sbliss.
“Lach,” I gasp. He frowns as he drives into me and wipes my tears with his thumbs. He groans and stills. His hand goes to my heart and stays there like he’s trying to commit the rhythm to memory. I am in awe of us. My body aches in the most exquisite way, and I am speechless.
He lowers his head to mine and kisses me deeply with a fervent desire. His expression is furrowed in concentration, making my body sing, and it’s all I can do to stay present in this moment. His hands slide to my lower back and lift us so we’re face to face. He leans back with me in his lap, and we stay like that until the sun disappears behind the skyline. I etch him into my mind, and he draws me into his.
Hours later, I trace the tattoos on his arms and the beautiful hands across his chest. I trace every curve and line I can find as he outlines the dips and curves of me. He sighs and says, “We need to get a shower.” I groan into his chest, and he sits up, kissing my forehead, and then gets off the bed.
I start to cross my legs as embarrassment threatens to burst the bubble we created around ourselves. But he leans forward and grabs my ankle, yanking me to the edge of the bed.
I move to get to my feet, but he lifts me up, whispering, “Come here muse.” And carries me into the bathroom.
Chapter 31
Revna
Ididn’tpaymuchattention the first time I was in here, but his place is so nice. It’s not surprising that it has a pretty tiled walk-in shower. The perks of being from one of the New York elite families, despite the fact they don’t speak.
He flips the shower on and I try to stand on my own two feet as he grunts. “I don’t want to let you go.” The spray falls over his back and sprinkles my face. I tilt my chin up, silently asking him for a kiss. He leans in, but all I can taste is paint now. I pull back and look for something to wipe it off.
Grabbing the shower head, I spray it in his face, and he almost drops me. “Hey!” he shouts, squeezing his eyes closed. Once he regains his grip on me, I spray the water on his face, using my hand to scrub the paint off.
“There, all gone,” I murmur.
“Thanks, my turn.” He sets me gently on the floor and takes the shower head from me, sinking to his knees. My chest flutters, making me wonder if I can create that feeling with paint as I spread my legs a little wider. He glances up at me, the corner of his mouth tipped up.
He covers my body in soap, washing me down and lingering in places he doesn’t have to until I am pulsing with need. His hand grazes my inner thighs as he suds my skin, washing the paint down the drain. Those green eyes brighten with a smirk on his face because he knows exactly what he’s doing. Then he stands and rubs my shoulders, down my ribs, grazing the edge of my breasts as I melt in his hands.
“You’re needy, little bird. Aren’t you?” I glance down and back up to his eyes.
“You’re one to talk.” He grunts and reaches for the shampoo. I watch him wash his hair, ignoring the pulse between us. He rinses the shampoo and then puts some in my hair. His long fingers massage my scalp, and I close my eyes, tilting my head into his grip. I’ve never shared this kind of intimacy with someone before. I’ve never let anyone get so close, not like Lachlan.
I groan as the tension bleeds from my muscles. He finishes massaging and rinses it out. I look around for conditioner, but he doesn’t have any. Men. I frown at him. “If you want me to stay here, you have to get conditioner. Otherwise, this isn’t going to work.”
“That’s all I have to do? I’ll buy you ten bottles of conditioner, then.”
“That’s ridiculous” we just need one.” He smiles and presses a kiss to my lips. I lift to my tiptoes and wrap my arms around him, bringing him down to my level. “Again,” I murmur against his lips.
“Mmm, I don’t know. We have work to do.” I pinch his nipple, and he grumbles.
“Give us what we both want,” I command.
Lachlan’s tongue dips out over his lips, and I lean in, licking the water off his chest. He shudders in my arms and grabs my neck. “I hope you understand this won’t be enough for me.”
“What?” I ask, even if it’s a dumb question. I understand exactly what he means, but I’m not partial to explaining those emotions.
“No more pretending, Revna,” he murmurs on my lips and brushes them over mine, toying with me.
My lungs pinch because he’s right. He knows me like we have been friends, maybe even lovers, for years. He holds me like he has discovered everything about me. I grab him, and he groans, slapping his hand on the wet tile beside my head. “Revna,” he grumbles in warning.
He grips my thighs, and I lock my legs around his hips. Then his hand snakes from my hip to between us. His thick finger drags through me, and I whimper, tilting my head against the wall. “This conversation isn’t over,” he says, slamming into me. His hand grips my hip and braces his other hand against the tile. I am nothing but at his slippery mercy. I yank on his hair, drawing his lips to mine, moaning into his mouth. It takes him no time to find that perfect spot within me, and stars dot my vision.
“Look at me,” he commands. Water pelts over both of us and splashes around us. I can’t hold onto his slippery skin, and he sets me on my feet and then flips me, pressing us against the glass. My hands spread against it, and he pulls my hair, exposing my neck to him as he trails kisses down my neck, and I can see the barely restrained beast within him.
“Let go for me, little bird. Give me all of you. I know you want to. I can see it in your eyes. Let me give you what I know you need,” he growls. My jaw drops, and our moans echo in the shower. “That’s it, baby.”
His hand at my hips slides to my front, and like a switch, I detonate on contact. “Lachlan,” I moan long and low.
He grunts against me. “That’s my girl.” For some reason, those words bring me to the end of myself, and I lose control of my body. Lachlan has to hold me up as we explode together. He stays like that, his front to my back, arms wrapped around my ribs, and pivots us so the water falls over me, now lukewarm.
