25. Ray

The feeling of something warm and damp against my neck roused me from sleep. Cloudy sunlight filtered in through the massive floor-to-ceiling window across from the bed, bouncing off the snow and lighting every inch of the world.

"Morning," Wade rasped, his morning voice rough and rugged. His arm tightened around my bare torso, pulling me closer against his chest, his mouth on my neck. I sighed into him.

We'd come back a day early. Instead of staying three days after the wedding, we'd stayed only two, coming back to Boulder to get away from the intensity. He'd convinced me to stay over at his home instead of going back to mine. He wanted an evening where it was just the two of us, no prying eyes, no family nearby, no one but us.

I'd been just as insatiable as I had been back at the resort. Still was.

He was getting better at reading my body language, his hand sliding down my stomach, dipping between my thighs. "Fuck," he sighed, his warm breath ghosting the skin of my throat and setting me on fire. "You're so wet."

I giggled, gasping as he found the little bundle of nerves. "I was dreaming about you."

"Is that right?" He pulled my leg over his, opening me up for easier access. His finger dipped inside my entrance, just briefly, teasing me already. "Tell me about it, Raven."

My hips moved on their own, grinding against his palm as he circled his fingers across where I so desperately wanted them to enter. "We… we were in your shower. The one in there," I swallowed, pointing a finger toward the en suite bathroom. He'd let me use it last night, and it had been a heavenly experience, to say the least. There were two rainfall shower heads, and all I could think of while scrubbing myself down was what it would be like for him to take me on the shower bench, the water dripping over us, our moans becoming one with the steam. My subconscious mind had told me exactly what it would be like.

"What was I doing to you?" he asked, and just as I opened my mouth to answer, two fingers slid inside of me.

"Fuck," I groaned. I let my head fall back against him, already aching for him, needing him.

"What else?"

"Smart ass," I bit out. "You… fucked me on the bench. One leg up, one off. I can still feelmy back rubbing against the tile wall."

"That all?"

His tongue grazed the length of my neck as his thumb met its match against my clit. "Your fingers were in my mouth," I muttered. My heart thundered as I felt the arm beneath me move. "And you… you didn't stop when you made me come. You kept going, even though I was squirming and it was overwhelming. Kept fucking me. Didn't let me calm down."

"Overstimulation," he chuckled.

"Yeah," I breathed. His fingers moved faster, harder, and I dug my nails into the side of his thigh.

"I didn't know you wanted that," he hummed, the arm beneath me snaking forward. His fingertips grazed my lips, daring me to let them in. "Doyou want that?"

I nodded, and within a second his hands retreated, leaving me desperate and aching for his touch. He rolled me onto my back and whipped the covers off of my bare body, exposing me entirely as he repositioned himself above me.

"Open," he said. His fingers, covered in my wetness, pressed against my lips. "Clean them for me, Raven."

Parting my lips was too easy when he was the one asking for it. Heavy-lidded, dark eyes met mine as they slid into my mouth, coating my tongue in the sickly sweet taste of myself. I sucked them clean, driving my tongue between them, gathering every last drop.

"So fucking sexy when you do that," he whispered. "Do you even know what you do to me?"

I sunk my teeth into his skin lightly, playfully, and grinned up at him. "No," I said around a mouthful.

"No?" he laughed. He situated himself between my thighs as he removed his fingers, slick with saliva. Hands gripped the backs of my legs, lifting them up around his waist. "Look at my cock, baby," he said. "Look how fucking hard I am."

I slowly dropped my gaze. He was stiff enough to cut diamonds, a little bead of precum dripping from the end. It was built for pleasure, girthy and long, and I couldn"t help but wrap my fingers around it. They didn't even touch.

"It aches and it's still raw from last night. I shouldn't want this again already, but somehow, it's all I want." He wrapped his hand around the base of it, wincing. "From the first time I fucked you, this is how it"s been. I've needed you more times than I can count. I can't think straight until I'm buried inside of you, and even then?—"

"That's not normal for you?" I chuckled, shifting my hips up in a silent request for stimulation.

"God, no."

"Me neither."

"Good," he laughed. Lining himself up with precision and poise, he pressed the tip of his cock against my entrance, his precum mixing with my own juices. Slowly, achingly, he slid himself inside until there was nowhere else for him to go. "Fuck, how does it feel better every time?"

"I don't know." I reached up, grabbed him by the shoulders, and pulled him down to me. "Don't ask questions."

He kissed me as he started to move, pleasure mixing with pain after countless times of doing this exact thing last night, the night before, and the night before that. I couldn't get enough of him. I could never get enough of him.

Every touch felt more real than anything I'd had before. Every breath, every sigh, every moan. I'd had my fair share of partners, and at least half of them had gotten me over the edge. But none of them, absolutely none, had ever come close to this level of intensity. I wondered if it was the same for him. It had to be, seeing as I was all he could think about, by his own admission.

"Ray," he moaned, the singular word spoken against my lips.

He cupped my cheek with one hand and got to work with the other. Delicate, quick motions against my clit lit my body on fire, and all I could do was hang onto him for dear life and hope I could breathe through the inevitable outcome.

I didn't want any of it to end. Technically, the completion of what I'd agreed to was in sight. He had a meeting with Dom's father tomorrow evening, and conversations between the two seemed to be leaning toward a deal on the investment. Once that was done, well, my job as his partner would be over. That's what we'd agreed to. But the thing that I was most afraid of—falling for him, getting sucked into him—had happened. When it first started, I couldn't wait for it to be over but now I found myself dreading the end. I was terrified of it.

"I don't want to stop," I whimpered. I didn't think about the words, didn't care to. The walls were down and that"s where I wanted them to stay. "I don't want to go back to how it was before."

Every movement of his body stilled at once. "What do you mean?"

"I want this to be real, all of it." My fingers trembled as I slowly let go of him, letting him sit up slightly so he could look at me. "After the deal is done. I don't want to stop. I know how you feel about me and you know how I feel about you."

He released a shaky breath. Back and forth, his thumb rubbed against my cheek. "Ray…"

"I'll understand if you don't want the same." A knot formed in my throat, too much emotion threatening to overflow. "If you can't, I get it. I know you've been burned before. I just… I want to be with you." Please don't turn me down. Please don't make me go back to how I was before. Please let this be real. Words I wanted to say but couldn't get past the lump repeated themselves in my head.

His lips crashed against mine, hard, demanding, longing. I could feelthe need in him, could taste it on my tongue. I gave him everything I had, matching his ferocity and fueling the burning fire.

Please.

"I want that too," he whispered, and he was moving again. Hips thrusting, fingers touching, breath heaving against my lips. "I want you. I don't want to stop either."

Relief flooded through me. I dug my fingers into his hair, holding him to me, trying to keep my eyes from getting too watery. It felt like everything I had ever asked for, everything I had ever dreamed of, had just been handed to me. It was too much yet just enough. I could have him. I could keep him in my life.

He was mine, and it wasn't an act.

————

"There's my favorite girl!"

I dropped my bags in the entryway and looked across the living room. Mom stood, fully dressed and clean, looking more herself than ever. A good day for both of us.

"Where've you been, Stingray?" she asked, crossing the room and hoisting my bag up onto the dining table. "Dani said you'd gone out to Colchester Resort for a wedding. Why didn't you call me?"

"Wow," I said, realizing too late that I'd spoken it out loud. "Sorry, it's just… your memory is really good today. Normally you struggle with the current stuff."

She grinned but didn't say anything, baiting me for a response.

"Yes, I was at a wedding," I chuckled, rolling my eyes at her impatience. "The sister of the guy I've been seeing got married."

Her eyes bugged as her mouth dropped open. "You've been seeing someone? Wait, his sister got married at Colchester Resort? Isn't that place insanely expensive? Gosh, I have so many questions."

I wrapped my arms around her neck and hugged her close. How well she was speaking, the questions she was asking were so unlike the last five years with her that I didn't know what to do with myself. It was like the old Mom was back, even if it was short-lived. I could hold her, talk to her, treat her like my mom. "Let's, uh, sit down."

"Jane, is that Ray?" Dani, her nurse for the day, called from the kitchen.

"Sure is!" Mom said.

I took her hand and led her to the couch, saying a silent thank you to anyone listening because re-runs weren't playing today. She took her usual seat and I sat next to her, my hand still in hers, ready to tell her anything and everything I could before her cognitive state went away.

"I'm seeing a man named Wade," I said. "Wade Colchester."

She blinked at me before the realization dawned on her. "Oh my God, his family owns the resort."

"He owns the resort. Hence his sister getting married there," I chuckled.

"Goodness. That is, I don't even know what to say," she breathed, eyes wide in wonder as she looked me up and down. "Is he nice? Is he treating you well?"

The backs of my eyes burned, threatening tears. "He's treating me more than well, Mom. And you, too. He's the one paying for your care right now."

"He's… what?" she asked, her voice breaking on the last word. Her eyes glistened, and she covered her mouth with one hand while clutching mine with the other. "Is he really?"

"Yes. Those pills you"re on are insanely expensive," I laughed, breaking up the emotion as best I could. "He's more than I could have asked for. It's all happening really fast, and I'm not entirely sure of the plan going forward since I technically work for him, but I…"

The words were there. Sitting on the tip of my tongue, daring me to say them. Begging me. Tempting me.

"I think I'm falling in love with him," I said, and holy shit it was too easy to say.

Tears spilled over in Mom's eyes and I quickly wiped them away. "Oh, honey. That's all I've ever wanted for you, for you to live your life and be happy, for you to find someone like I did. I hope this works out, sweetheart. I really do."

"I just feel like it's all finally coming together," I said. I wiped my nose with the back of my hand and sniffled. "A good job. A relationship. You having such good days. I don't know how it's happened but it's been a fucking great month."

Mom laughed and wrapped her arms around me, pulling me in close, holding me the way she used to when I was little and could fit in her lap. I could stay there, in that moment, forever. I wasn't entirely sure what the future would bring, but as long as I had stability, Mom, and Wade, I would be happy. I could handle life. I could have the things I wanted while looking after Mom. I could breathe.