CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

“ G o to sleep, Willow.”

“I can’t.” She flipped over for the hundredth time. “Maybe it was all the sugar.”

“Maybe I need to wear you out some more.”

“Ah no, I am quite worn, thanks.”

Brayden had pulled her into the shower when they’d arrived home and taken his sweet time washing, kissing, and running his hands over her entire body. Only then had he slipped his fingers deep inside her core.

“Beautiful,” he’d whispered against her lips, and she had melted.

It had felt more intimate than with anyone she had been with before. He’d lifted her leg and slid his extremely hard cock into her, one hand on the tiles above her, the other on her hips as his silver eyes burned into her. He took her breath away.

Then he had begun to pump, pulling her against his pelvis to deepen his reach. It had been as if he owned her body, mind, and soul.

“Braaaayden,” she had gasped, unable to look away from him.

“Come for me, baby.” His voice dark and masculine. And oh God, she did. Her orgasm had been long and had rolled out in waves of pleasure.

Curling her toes, she could still feel the echoes of it throughout her body. She nudged her bottom into Brayden and slid her fingers in between his, where they rested on her stomach.

“Bray.”

“Yeah, baby.”

She could feel the words on her lips, and tried to hold them in, but they were like a prisoner facing an open door.

“I’m going to miss you. Like, really miss you.” She frowned at the emotion leaking into her voice. He half sat up and leaned over her, arms on either side of her head.

“Hey.”

“I’m sorry. I realize this wasn’t the deal, but I wanted to tell you. No biggie.”

She couldn’t see his face clearly, but she felt the possessive way his body covered hers, the feel of his thumb as it rubbed the side of her face, his cock hardening. She sensed he felt similarly, if not quite as deeply. Now she’d broken the silence, and it had suddenly become awkward.

Trust her to wreck everything. She squeezed her eyes shut.

“Willow...”

She stopped him. “Can you just tell me how you feel about me? Then I’ll stop talking. Promise.”

“Where?”

“What?”

“Where do you feel it?”

She frowned. “I, well...I’m not sure.” She didn’t know where he was going with his questioning, but if it got him sharing his feelings, she figured she’d run with it. “My heart. No, my body. No. Here, in my gut. Yes, like instinct, but it’s more than just a thought. It’s tangible.”

He kissed her lips gently.

“I feel everything you do, Willow. I feel a lot of things I never expected to.”

Oh. She smiled. “Thank you for telling me.”

She was grateful he had given her that gift. Soon he would leave to return to Maine, to continue running his family business weighted down by all his responsibilities. Her life was here.

It wasn’t impossible. They could try long distance for a while, but it wouldn’t be her that brought it up. It had to be him.

“How did you feel when you thought you wouldn’t see me?” he asked.

She remembered the ache in her chest, feeling hollow, and how it had surprised her. “Sad.”

He ran a finger down the arch of her neck. “How else?”

“I’m not sure what you mean,” she said.

He palmed her breast then suddenly got up and walked across the room, leaving her feeling abandoned and her body needy of his touch.

She sat up abruptly. “What are you doing?”

“That,” he said, pointing at her.

“What?” She looked down at her naked body, frowning.

Brayden stood on the other side of the moonlit room. The desire to climb out of bed and feel his touch was intense.

“That feeling. The one you’re feeling right now.” Willow closed her eyes. “Is that how it felt?”

She chewed her lip. “Yes.”

He climbed back into bed, pulling her into his arms. The instant he did, she felt warm from the inside out. She sighed and snuggled into him. Great, he was her own personal drug.

“This can’t be good.”

“What if I told you I want...no, need you to want me more than anything else in your life?”

She knew he had a possessive streak, but the question still surprised her.

“I’d say it sounds like you want to take our relationship to another level.”

He kissed her lips.

“Yes.”

“Then we need to clarify what that is. I can’t get hurt by assuming something you don’t mean to back up.”

He ran a hand over her cheek. “We will. Tomorrow. Your body is very tense after...a late night. You need to relax and sleep.”

She snorted. It hadn’t been that late at night. She hadn’t figured him for a lightweight. “Fine. Tomorrow.”

Pushing Brayden never worked, but she would make sure they had that conversation. He was right, though. Her shoulders were tight, and her ankle felt sore and achy.

“Maybe I’m getting sick.”

“You’re not sick, baby.” Brayden’s hand ran down the side of her body, over the arch of her hips, and nudged her legs slightly apart. Gently, he massaged her inner thighs, fingers grazing over her pussy.

“Not sure that’s going to help.” She raised an eyebrow at him.

Ignoring her, Brayden slid under the sheets and positioned himself between her thighs, his tongue taking over. She groaned, her head tipping back.

“Relax, baby, let me pleasure you into sleep.”

Huh. No way she’d be falling asleep now, but who was she to argue with the talented man? His tongue lapped away, hands holding her thighs wide as he hit all the right spots.

All of a sudden, she felt something foreign. Cooler. The vibrating began next. He had her vibrator. She tensed.

“Relax.” He pressed it against her core as heat and anticipation flashed through her body. She’d never had a man use a vibrator on her before. His hand lay across her pelvic bone. “Open for me, Willow.”

She relaxed her muscles as he pressed the buzzing device in. She cried out. “That’s it, oh yes, good girl.”

He expertly moved it in and out of her, trying different angles, stimulating her pussy, pushing her to the edge.

“I love fucking you like this.” Brayden spun around and lay alongside her, continuing his penetration. Then he gripped his cock and guided it into her mouth. “Suck me off while I fuck you with the dildo.”

She closed her lips around him, tasting his pre-cum. Groaning, she felt full at both ends as her mind faded and her body relinquished control to the large masculine man who seemed to be dominating her life.

“I need to be inside you.” He groaned after a while, removing his cock and flipping around. Then he was inside her, the mood shifting from erotic to intimate. Tucking a hand under her head, breathing together as their rhythms aligned, he kissed her.

A moment later he threw his head back and cried out her name. She grasped his strong, muscular arms and let her body join in the ecstasy.

Collapsing to the side while pulling her on top of him, Brayden whispered, “Sleep, mi amore .”

Willow nodded gently, aware he was still inside her, as she replayed those words over and over.

He’d just called her his love.

Not that she could speak Italian.