Chapter 22

Chapter Twenty-Two

Blythe

T he mood shifted the moment we entered Rhodes’s bedroom. The atmosphere grew thick, the air crackled with electricity. The playful version from only a second ago disappeared, replaced with the serious Rhodes I knew all too well.

He lowered me to the floor, dragging me down his body at a torturously slow pace, teasing my painfully hard nipples by making sure they felt every single ridge and dip of muscle in his chest and stomach before brushing up against the steel rod of his erection.

His eyes had grown so dark they were nearly black as he stared down at me while holding me so tightly against him I could feel the thunderous beat of his heart as it banged against his ribs and rattled through my entire body.

His rough hands skated up my arms, his long, thick fingers toying with the thin spaghetti straps of my sundress before sliding them down my shoulders, pushing them down farther until the dress slipped free and the loose material pooled at my feet, leaving me standing in nothing but my lace thong.

Rhodes licked his lips as he stared at my tightly puckered nipples before dragging his gaze back up to my own. “No bra?” He quirked a brow.

The breath I released came out stuttered and choppy. “It didn’t really work with the dress.” There weren’t many times I appreciated my smaller chest. Most of my life I’d wished the B cup I’d been given was a C. However, the fact that I could go braless more often than women who were more endowed was a silver-lining.

He let out a gruff hum of approval as his gaze returned to my breasts. “Fuck me, I never forgot how beautiful your tits were.” As if to show how much he appreciated them, he cupped the one on the right and lowered his head, sucking the stiff peak between his lips and pulling so hard he wrenched a gasp from deep in my chest.

My head fell back at the delicious sting, my hands flying up so my fingers could tangle in his hair and hold him tightly while his sinful mouth continued to work. A sharp hiss slithered through my teeth when he bit down on the tip, but before it could really hurt, he laved at the sting with his tongue, soothing it before moving to the next and giving it the same treatment.

My core throbbed and pulsed, my walls fluttering around nothing, desperate to be filled as my hips began to rock forward, rubbing up against the erection pressed into my lower belly.

“Rhodes.” My voice came out high-pitched and needy. “Please.”

He released my nipple with a pop. “Please what, Angel?”

“I need more,” I panted, my desperation so acute it bordered on insanity. I yanked at the material of his shirt like it had personally offended me, hating the layers of clothes he still wore while I stood in front of him, practically naked. “I want to see you.”

An arrogant smirk pulled at his full lips as he reached behind his head and grabbed the collar of his shirt, yanking it off in a single motion. My pulse thrummed like the flutter of hummingbird wings at the sight of that tattoo, but my attention was quickly diverted when his fingers worked the button of his jeans free and slid the zipper down. He made quick work of kicking off his boots and toeing his socks off before shoving his jeans down and stepping out of them. The prominent bulge behind the tight black fabric of his boxer briefs made my mouth water. I wanted to drop to my knees and slide his cock into my mouth to see if he still tasted like I remembered.

But that would have to wait for another time. Right then I needed him inside me more than I needed my next breath.

I looked back up at him and quirked a brow. “All of you,” I said, the command dripping from those words.

“Tit for tat, Angel. You wanna see all of me, you have to return the favor.”

I didn’t hesitate. I simply took a step back, slipped my fingers into the fabric at my hips, and pushed my thong down until I was completely bare to him.

“Fuckin’ hell,” he grunted, the amber of his eyes nearly swallowed up by his black pupils. “Still the prettiest pussy in the world.

I raised my chin, my chest swelling proudly. “Your turn,” I challenged.

In less than a second, he shoved his underwear down and kicked them free, leaving him buck naked in the blink of an eye. His cock stood proudly between us, long and hard and thick, a pearly bead of pre-cum glistening from the very tip. I couldn’t help but lick my lips at the sight of it.

“Baby, you keep looking at my dick like that and this is gonna be over before we really get a chance to start.”

I forced my eyes back up to his and said the first thing that popped into my head. “I need all of you.”

He reached down and took my wrist, guiding my hand up to settle on his pec, right over the pair of angel wings he had permanently etched into his skin. He pressed my palm against his heated skin right above his heart. “You have all of me, Blythe. Forever.”

“And you have me,” I whispered through the tightness in my throat. “Now I need you to fuck me like you’ve spent the last twenty years missing me.”

At my command, he hooked his hands under the backs of my knees and hefted me up, forcing my legs to circle his waist as he put one knee, then the other, into the mattress and moved us to the center of the bed.

He laid me down, my head resting on the mound of pillows, and hovered over me. “Tell me you’re safe, Angel, so I can take you bare. You have my word that I’m clean.”

After Ainsley, I was done having kids, so I had my doctor put in an IUD. “I’m safe,” I told him. And I had a checkup a couple months ago. I’m clean.” I lifted a palm and caressed his cheek. “You can take me bare, Rhodes. I don’t want anything between us.”

He rested his forehead against mine for a moment as he closed his eyes and breathed deeply before shifting his hips so the tip of his cock bumped against my entrance. “Watch me,” he ordered as he slid the first inch inside me. “Watch me take you, Angel.”

The breath stuck in my chest as I trailed my eyes down between our bodies and watched as he slid into me until he was fully seated, taking me completely for the first time in twenty years.

“Oh my God,” I cried out, fighting against my body’s reaction to drop my head back as he filled and stretched me. It wasn’t just his cock filling me. It was him. Filling those places inside me that had felt hollow and cold for so long.

“Jesus,” Rhodes grunted, pulling out, his length glistening with my arousal before sinking back inside me. “You feel so fucking perfect. Like your body was made to fit perfectly with mine.”

“I’m so full.” My words were followed by a whimper as he pulled out and glided back in. I lost sight of his cock when he slammed his lips down on mine, forcing my lips apart so he could thrust his tongue into my mouth in time with his hips as he picked up the pace, driving into me harder and faster. “Yes,” I hissed as his long cock stroked against that spot deep inside that made every muscle in my body clench.

“That’s it, baby,” he coaxed, his gaze locked with mine as he lowered down onto his forearms, giving me more of his weight. “Jesus, you feel so perfect. How hot and wet your pussy is. How tight you’re squeezing me. You’re taking me so good, baby. Such a good girl.”

He hit that spot again and again as he moved his mouth down my neck, trailing kisses in his wake. The tension in my body snapped when I felt the drag of his teeth against my collarbone followed by a sharp sting when he bit down. That brief stab of pain, coupled with the delicious pressure building in my core, set me off.

My mouth dropped open on a wordless scream as every nerve ending in my body sparked to life. I felt everything so acutely, the drag of his chest against my nipples, the whisper of his breath on my skin, the pulse of his cock against the throbbing walls of my pussy. Everything pulled in, gathering in my center and building higher and higher until it could no longer be contained and burst outward, exploding like an unstable star.

Rhodes kissed me through every roll and peak of my release, swallowing my moans and unintelligible words until his cock swelled even thicker and his movements became uncoordinated and jerky. He tore his mouth from mine. “Fuck, fuck ! I’m gonna come, baby.” With that, he buried his face in my neck on a primitive groan as he came deep inside me.

He collapsed on top of me, banding his arms around me before rolling to his back with me draped on top of him. I nuzzled into his chest, letting out a sigh of deep, boneless contentment as I settled against him.

“I love you so fuckin’ much,” he breathed a few minutes later.

I turned my head, burying my smile against his skin. “I love you too,” I whispered against his skin, joy building so large in my chest it felt like it would burst from the tips of my toes and fingers any second.

What Grace said earlier reverberated in my brain, and I lifted my head, propping my chin on the backs of my hands so I could look up at him. “Are you happy?”

He lifted an arm and folded it behind his head, propping himself up so he could see me. His brows pinched together as he reached down with his other hand and brushed the hair back from my face. “What?”

“Are you happy?” I repeated.

His features smoothed out, his expression growing tender as he traced my hairline with the tip of his finger. “Yeah, Angel. I’m very happy. Are you?”

“I am. Because you make me happy, Rhodes,” I confessed. “And I want to make sure I give you the same. I—I don’t want you living half a life.”

Understanding filled his eyes. “I know it might have seemed to some people like all I’ve been doing all these years is existing, but I’ve had a good life with a family who loves me and I’m surrounded by good friends. I found my purpose in the Army, then again when I came back here. And I think we can both agree that I have the smartest dog in the world.” He grinned as I let out a giggle. “No, I didn’t get married or have kids because you were the only woman I ever wanted that with, but that didn’t mean my life wasn’t complete. I had everything I needed. You coming back into the picture gave me more . And this time around, I have the added bonus of those kids. I’ve lived a good life, baby. You’ll never hear me complain. You make it even better.”

Hearing that soothed the jagged pieces inside me. It settled the turmoil I’d been feeling since my run-in with Grace. Twisting my head, I pressed my cheek back into his chest and let out a happy sigh. “That was a really good answer,” I said quietly, my body slowly succumbing to exhaustion from the workout it just had.

Rhodes’s cheek shook on a silent laugh as he hooked an arm around me and hugged me tight. “I’m glad you approve. Now get some sleep, Angel. You need to rest up, because I’m nowhere near done with you.”