They didn’t talk about where this was going. They didn’t talk about her staying with him every night. It just seemed to come together like it was always meant to be.
Which made him think of the night this all started. Three years ago today.
The anniversary of the day they met had hung in the back of his mind since he returned from rehab. He wanted to make today special.
And since he’d risen early and they had time before Eliza woke up, he’d start right now.
He rolled over and faced Shelby, who immediately tried to get close to him again by burrowing into his chest. He reached one hand behind his neck, grabbed his shirt, and tugged it up and off, tossing it to the end of the bed.
Shelby’s hand slid over his skin, her cheek pressed to his chest, and she sighed with pleasure even though she hadn’t really woken up. Yet.
He dipped his head and kissed her neck, sliding one hand up her side to cup her breast. Her back arched, and her breast pressed into his palm. She combed her fingers through his hair.
“Good morning, sweetheart.”
She rocked her hips into his swelling dick. “You’re up early.” He heard the smile in that innuendo, but he didn’t see it. He was too busy pushinghisT-shirt that she wore up so he could lick her tight little pink nipple and make her moan.
“Mmm.” Just like that. One of his favorite sounds, especially when it was followed by “I like that.”
He palmed one ass cheek, pulled her snug against his hips, and slid his hard cock along her soft folds. “I’m supposed to ride with Max this morning, but I think I’d much rather go for a ride with you.” He sucked her nipple into his mouth, slipped his hand between their bodies, down her panties, and slid one finger into her wet core as she rocked into his hand.
He loved that she was always so giving and in the moment with him. Whatever shyness she’d had in the beginning had evaporated as the trust between them built and she figured out anything she wanted, he was willing to give.
And that went both ways, because she never failed to make him feel every ounce of pleasure she poured over him. Like right now. Her hands slid up his back, rubbing taut muscles, and her fingers splayed wide and raked down again, sending a wave of pleasure through his system. She squeezed his ass and rocked her hips into his hand again as he plunged two fingers deep, then brushed them softly up her soft folds to her swollen clit. He kept his fingers there as she rolled her hips, her clit rubbing softly against his fingers until she was panting and moaning.
He hated to leave her wanting, but he needed her naked with his cock buried deep inside her. He hooked his fingers in her panties, shifted his weight, and dragged them down her legs. She tore the T-shirt off over her head and sent it sailing across the room. Her hands came back to his chest and slid up to his shoulders as he kicked his boxers off and settled between her thighs again. He took one breast into his mouth, her tight nipple hard against his tongue as he sucked and laved the pink tip. He gave her other breast the same attention as her hips shifted, seeking what she wanted deep inside her.
He gave it to her, lifting himself above her, the head of his dick nudging her slick entrance. She pulled him down for a kiss and raised her hips just as he thrust home. The wave of pleasure that came over him being seated deep inside her nearly had him coming right then and there, but he clenched his jaw and held back because he wanted her right there with him when ecstasy took the reins.
Her hands mapped the scars on his body, the same way they did every time they made love. Her fingers slid along the scar that made a half circle from his ribs, around his side, nearly to his spine. Then her fingers trailed up and over one bullet wound near the center of his back, and the other high on his shoulder. Her hands trailed down his spine to his ass, and she pulled him close as he thrust deep. Her leg hooked over his and another bullet wound scar there. He didn’t think she even knew she did it, but in his mind he heard her unspoken,You survived this, and this, and that, all of it, and you’re still here.
The wounds had all healed, though most not even close to what he’d been before the bullets ripped through flesh and muscle and whatever else on their path of destruction. He’d deal with the aches and lack of mobility and nerve damage the rest of his life. And yet her touch, her caring made it all seem better.
He took her mouth in a deep kiss, sliding his tongue along hers, tasting her on his lips and tongue and needing her to feel all that she made him feel.
Her hands came up to cup his face, and she whispered his name like a prayer as their bodies moved together, their lips touched, and their hearts beat as one.
That connection they shared cocooned them. It lived and breathed around them. It was up to them to keep it alive just like this, both of them open and honest and giving everything to each other.
He pressed his forehead to hers, stared into her eyes, and saw everything in his heart reflected back to him. Love. So overwhelming and impossible and wonderful and frightening and perfect.
Her eyes went bright, and he knew she saw it and felt it, too.
And in the wonder of it, her body tightened around his, and he moved in and out in deep, long thrusts. They never took their eyes off each other as the pleasure overtook them.
He brushed his thumb along the slope of her cheek, held her green gaze, and said the thing he’d never said to anyone outside his family. “I love you.”
Her eyes went wide with surprise, then softened as she placed her hand on his scruffy jaw, her thumb pressed to his bottom lip. “I can’t believe it.”
“It’s true,” he assured her.
“I know.” She surprised him, because she’d always had such difficulty accepting how much he wanted her. “I love you, too. I think I have from that first night three years ago, exactly from today.”
“Happy anniversary, sweetheart.”
“And a very happy birthday to me, too.”
This time he was shocked. “What? It’s your birthday? Today?” He should know this. He meant to ask her when her birthday was when he celebrated his six months ago, but it had gone to hell because he’d taken a few pills and downed a couple shots, and the next thing he knew she was slamming the door in his face instead of letting him see his little girl.