“I love you. No more stalling.”
He winces. “I don’t want to hurt you.”
“The only way you can do that is if you friend-zone me again.”
“That’s not possible anymore. You’re mine now.”
He fits his lips over mine, plumbing the depths of my mouth as he thrusts into me with an urgent press of his hips and tunnels deep with one sure stroke. I gasp, both at the tinge of discomfort and the new sensation of every inch of Hayes Elliot filling me.
Oh, my god. The two of us are one now.
“Shortcake,” he groans, gruff and gravelly. “Jesus, you feel good. You okay?”
“Yes.”
He breathes hard, struggling to control himself when he cups my face. “Still hurting?”
“A little.” Maybe more than that, but I know it won’t last long. Hayes won’t let it.
He frowns. “Let me make you feel good.”
I have no idea what he’s planning until he grabs a pillow from the bed, shoves it under my hips, then eases back, almost withdrawing.
Panic bites at me. “Don’t stop.”
“Never.” Between us, he settles a thumb over my clit and circles the hard bud. A bolt of shocking pleasure shoots through me, settling right where we’re joined. Then slowly, he fills me again with a moan that rips from his chest. “Ever.”
This time, the pain is nonexistent. Instead, friction fills me with a flurry of tingles, and when he cants his hips forward, pressing even deeper into me, he rubs a spot that has me gasping. My eyes go wide and zip up to his. I grip his shoulders. “Do that again.”
He grins. “My pleasure.”
Hayes does. The sensations grow. I suck in a shocked breath as more sensations impale me.
“Better?” he asks, sounding strained.
“Hmm… Great.”
“Thank god.” He surges deep again and again and again, settling into a rhythm that compels me to rock with him.
We move as one, and desire floods every nerve in my body. Desperate to be closer, I kiss my way up his neck to nip at his lips and I wrap my legs around him, silently begging him to never stop.
With every thrust, he scrapes a nerve-filled spot I never knew existed. The ache between my legs coils tighter. Hayes’s exhalations become guttural sounds of agonized pleasure. The bed squeaks. Sweat forms at his temples. My whole body tenses, poised on the edge of something amazing. My nails find their way to his shoulders and dig in needy supplication. He doesn’t disappoint, just fills me harder and faster.
“You’re tightening,” he grates out.
“I’m close.” So close I can hardly find my breath.
He surges even deeper as if he’s never had anything sweeter and he intends to consume me whole. I lose myself in him, to him—for good. “Oh…yes!”
Ruthlessly, he settles his thumb over my clit again. With the other hand, he digs his fingers into my hair and forces me to look into his eyes as he shoves inside me, pervading every inch of my body.
“Echo.” His dark eyes delve into mine.
The connection is like nothing I’ve ever imagined in, even my wildest fantasies. It trips me into the sort of ecstasy I’ve never, ever felt. I let go, screaming, my pleasure liquid until I’m boneless putty in his hands. Hayes falls into the abyss with me, driving the rapture up another shocking notch with rapid strokes as he crushes me in his possessive embrace.
The pulsing and shuddering seem to last a blissful forever before my brain slowly returns. I open my eyes to find Hayes staring down at me with a love I never dared to believe I’d see on his face.
“Oh, my god. That was…everything, shortcake.”
I offer up my lips for a soft kiss as tears of joy sting my eyes. “More than I ever imagined. I love you.”
“I love you, too.” He thumbs my damp temples with a reverence that propels more tears to fall. “You know you’re never getting rid of me now.”
“We’ll need to leave the bed occasionally to eat, drink, and shower. You have the final mixer on Friday night, right?”
“I’ll skip it.”
“I might need a break by then.” In fact, I fidget because I could use one now. The pleasure is fading into a lovely, mellow glow, but my girl parts are a little tender.
“If you’re sore, shortcake, I’ll kiss it and make it better,” he promises, but his sly grin flattens into something serious. “But I didn’t mean this week. I meant for the rest of our lives. You ready for that?”
His question lights me up all the way to my soul. “With you? That’s what I’ve always wanted.”
Epilogue
Los Angeles
Sunday, May 20
It was an amazing week in paradise. So much has happened, I can barely believe it.
After Hayes so sweetly plucked my V-card on Tuesday, we barely made it out of bed for days. We managed to tear ourselves away from each other long enough to have dinner with Xavian and his newfound family on Thursday evening. He seemed so happy, and he fits in with the Reed clan as if he was born there. I’m thrilled for him. His decision to stay seemed sudden at first, but I think it was the right one.