“Chase.” She punctuated his name by using her feet at the backs of his thighs to pull him into her welcoming warmth.
He sank deep and moaned right along with her.
Shelby wrapped her arms around his neck as he pumped in and out of her in long, slow glides. They lost themselves in the steady rhythm until she whispered in his ear, “Harder,” and he lost all semblance of slow and gentle and let loose his overwhelming need for her.
He kept a firm grip on her ass. She steadied herself with one hand clamped to the back of his neck, the other planted on the counter. She rocked her hips into his and he pumped harder and faster until her inner muscles locked around his cock and they both climaxed with a quick intake of breath as they were caught in the moment and a slow exhale as the aftershocks subsided.
He ended up holding her close with his arms wrapped around her back, his ass hanging out of his sweats, and her arms draped around his shoulders, her cheek pressed to his.
“That was a damn good ‘good morning,’ sweetheart.”
She giggled at his ear, and he smiled. She always made him smile. “Are you trying to make up for lost time?” she teased.
“Just showing you what we’ve been missing and what we can have from now on.” He felt her smile against his rough jaw. Then he admitted a hard truth. “I know I’ve given you a lot of reasons to think us being together isn’tthe best idea right now, but I hope you feel how much I want to make this work.”
She leaned back, placed her hand on his face, and brushed her thumb across his cheek. “I know you’re working hard on healing, Chase. I see how much you like having me with you. I feel the way you relax when we’re together. That my presence... eases you in some way means a lot to me and also makes me feel like it’s more than just... sex.”
“Amazing sex,” he corrected her. He leaned into her, touching his forehead to hers and looking her in the eye. “But it is so much more than that.” He wished he could explain that, yes, having her near eased him. Hearing her voice drove out the negative thoughts in his head, and her touch anchored him in reality and made him feel good when he’d felt nothing but pain for so long.
“You make me believe that one day the past will have faded to nothing but a memory, and everything will be happy and normal in my life again.”
“If I inspire you to do the work, it makes me even happier to be by your side with a front row seat to you taking back your life.”
“Your support and understanding help so much, but it’s your way of pushing me without judging me that’s helped the most.” He kissed her softly and reluctantly separated their bodies.
Just in time, it seemed, because he heard a sleepy voice from down the hall call out, “Mama.”
Shelby squeezed his shoulders, then hopped off the counter. “Last night...”
“Yeah?” For some reason, he held his breath, waiting to hear what she had to say.
She put her hand on his chest. “It changed things for me.”
“How so?”
“I thought maybe the first time we were together, it was just two people looking for a distraction and sharing a connection they both knew was one night only, so why not go all in?”
“Now you know it’s a hell of a lot more. What we have is something special. My feelings for you are real.”
“Yes. And I’m sorry I didn’t see that when you came home. I’m sorry I held you at arm’s length and wasted so much time.”
“You had good reason to protect your heart. And Eliza’s.”
“I trust you, Chase.”
Coming from her, that meant everything.
And it felt like a lot of pressure. The last thing he ever wanted to do was hurt or disappoint her again.
“Mama!” Eliza had become impatient. Little footsteps padded along the hardwood, coming their way.
Shelby snagged her underwear off the floor and shimmied them up her hips. “Alone time is up.”
“Until tonight?” He hoped she’d come back and stay over again.
Her lips pressed together. “About tonight...”
“What?” He didn’t want to hear her say they needed to slow things down.