My breathing became erratic. White lights exploded behind my eyes. He moved faster still until he hit every spot exactly the way that I needed him to.
My sex pulsed. “James.”
I went flying over the edge with his next stroke. My entire existence was reduced to pleasure. Wave after wave of it crashed into me, spreading from my core to every nerve in my body.
“God, that was beautiful,” James growled, moving faster, chasing his own release. His eyes still burned into mine. His thighs trembled, and the muscles in his back tensed under my palms.
His eyes fluttered clos
ed, and he groaned. His moans ran into one. There. His cock twitched deep inside of me as he came undone, my name on his lips.
When we finally stilled, James rolled onto his back and cradled me to his chest. We were lost in our thoughts as our heartbeats returned to their regular pace. One of his hands stroked my hair. The other intertwined with mine on his taut stomach.
“James?” My voice was barely more than a whisper.
“Hmm?”
I lifted my head to look into his eyes. “Thank you.”
His eyes widened. He seemed genuinely puzzled; then puzzlement gave way to mischief.
“You never have to thank me for that. Trust me.” He smirked.
I swatted his shoulder gently. “That’s not what I was talking about.”
“Thank me for what, then?” He stopped playing with my hair.
I took a breath, trying to formulate the right words. “For what you did today. For coming clean to my father. Just… all of it.”
“I should have done it right from the start. I was just being an oblivious asshole. It took almost losing you to realize that I love you. And how much I love you.”
I nestled into him. “I love you too, James. I have never felt this way about anyone.”
“Neither have I, Gabbi. Neither have I.” Then he tugged me into his lap and kissed me until all rational thought fled my mind.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
James
“I’m not going to lie to you, son. I was more worried about you and my Gabbi than I was ready to admit at first.” Richard swirled scotch around in his tumbler and took a deep swig.
It was late afternoon, I was leaving soon to surprise Gabrielle at the examination center, so I stuck with water. I wasn’t sure that it would be much of a surprise, though. We’d been practically joined at the hip for the last month unless she was with a study group or I was in the gym.
She stayed over at my house most nights, and on the nights that she begged off to study late, I stayed up until she let me know that she was winding down for the night, and then I’d be at her door before her pen hit the desk.
“You and me both, then. I was fucking petrified.” I chuckled. “We’re good, though. I think Gabrielle will be much better after she sleeps for the entire time that she waits for her results.”
Gabbi was taking the bar that day, and the stress of the exam had weighed heavily on her narrow shoulders. Especially for the past week or so.
She’d jump up in the middle of the night to check some note or another. I’d even caught her sighing names of cases in her sleep. It was adorable, but I was really fucking happy that it would be over soon.
I hated that I couldn’t take the load off her shoulders. It killed me, but I’d soldiered through somehow. It helped that I could ease the tension by promising her orgasms as rewards when she hit her target for reviewing for the day.
Other than that, I had kept my hands strictly to myself, even if I was dying to spend at least a couple of days getting lost in her. I’d known that she had a difficult month ahead of her when I’d come clean about how much I loved her, and it wasn’t as if I’d been abstaining. She had a lot of targets, but damn.
I had more of a surprise planned for her than just meeting up with her at the exam center. We were headed to a small private beach I knew nearby for a couple of days. I had packed her bag. She had toiletries, lingerie, and bikinis in it.
Mrs. W.’s kids and grandkids were busy, so she’d agreed to stay with Harper while I whisked Gabbi away. In her words, that girl deserved a month on an island, not just a few days at a nearby beach. I tended to agree, but that wasn’t an option for either of us at the time, so I settled for the best that we could do.