Chapter 10
He lifted his palms and cupped my cheeks gently—holding them between his palms as his eyes roved over my face. He held me as if I were something precious—as if I were as valuable as a rare gemstone. Perhaps, more so. I let my eyes slide shut when he bent forward.
“Harlow…” I expected the feel of his lips against mine, but when they never came, my eyes shot open and my lips turned down. Eyes the color of thunderclouds bored into me. I jerked, nearly tearing myself from his grip. “Do you trust me?” he asked. I licked suddenly dry lips and nodded. “Can you say it?”
“I trust you, Marv,” I said.
“Good,” he replied. “Then trust that no matter what happens, we’ll find Jenna and we’ll work out everything else.”
“You can’t promise something like that,” I warned him. “There are always going to be things beyond your control.”
“Are you kidding me?” One corner of his mouth lifted into a rueful grin. “I’m all powerful, Sunshine.”
I groaned. “You sound like Texas or Grayson.”
His eyes flashed—lightning behind the clouds. “I guess they’re finally rubbing off on me,” he said just before he swooped down and took my lips. I sucked in a breath, my lips parting automatically and he took full advantage.
His hands cupped the sides of my head, holding me still as he invaded my mouth. A moan worked its way up my throat as that low simmering heat came to a fast boil. I reached for him, snaking my hands over his shoulders as I gripped fistfuls of his shirt and tugged upward.
Marv broke the kiss and quickly ripped off the shirt before nudging me up on the bed, his hands going to the waistband of my shorts. He took them and my underwear down, pulling them until they were free from my legs and sandals. Chuckling to himself in a deep reverberation, he gently slid fingers beneath the straps of my shoes and removed them as well.
Tossing them away, he put one knee on the bed. I stopped him with a hand on his bare chest. “If you get on this bed,” I warned. “I’m going to want you. Take off your pants.”
Marv’s eyes widened at my daring, but when my fingers went to the hem of my own t-shirt and I whipped it over my head throwing it to the side, he quickly moved to follow my commands. He shucked his jeans down his legs and crawled onto the bed as I fiddled with my bra—struggling in my haste to get it off.
He moved over me, pressing a soft kiss to the bare skin of my shoulder as he reached behind me and deftly flicked the snaps of my bra open and pulled the straps down my arms. “As sexy as I think you are in your underwear,” he whispered against my skin, sending goosebumps trailing up my arms and down my chest, “I like it even better when you have nothing separating us.”
I spread my legs, letting him settle between them as I reached up and cupped his jaw, nudging him gently with my nose until I could kiss him the way I wanted to—slowly, reverently, torturously. I was practically vibrating with my need for him. I wanted him as I wanted nothing else. His love was my drug—an addiction from which I never wanted to be cured.
“Harlow...Sunshine…” His rough voice shivered along my spine. His fingers sank into my hair, holding on as he angled my head back and licked at my bottom lip.
I sighed into his mouth and pushed up with one hand flat on the bed, the tips of my breasts brushing against his chest. One of the hands against my face left and trailed down to feather across one of my nipples as he cupped me and leveraged himself more firmly against me. The heat of him burned up the inside of my thighs as he nudged my entrance and then slipped inside.
I whimpered at the feel of him, tearing my lips away as I panted. “Hold onto me,” he urged, reaching for my wrist and tugging it up to his neck. I moved as he commanded, wrapping my arms more tightly around him until I clung to him. Only then did he roll and swing me so that I was on top and he sank even further than I thought was possible as I sat up.
Pleasure rolled through me, heating my skin and bringing a light pink flush to my cheeks. Marv’s eyes glimmered with something I couldn’t discern as he fingered the ends of my hair and gazed up at me through hooded lids. “Move, Sunshine,” he said, tilting his hips so that he slid out just a bit before he canted them up and shoved inward once more.
My muscles tightened. “Marv.” I gasped his name, reaching for something to hold onto. He put his palms out. Our fingers connected lacing together and I used the grasp I had on him to lift up and drop down.
The first thrust made my mouth pop open and shape into the form of an ‘o.’ “Do that again,” I commanded, drawing a low chuckle from his chest.
But he acquiesced to my demand and pulled out slightly only to surge back in with a rough force. We repeated the motion, letting the swell of pleasure rise and rise until it crashed over us. I heard the depth of his groan as he went rock hard and froze. All the while, my muscles clenched and unclenched in jerky, spasming movements. My skin came alive with sensation until it felt as though I were overwhelmed by everything from his touch to the sunlight coming in from the windows.
I sighed once it had passed and sank down more fully, resting my head against his chest as we both breathed hard. Our breaths came heavy and panting, puffing out in long drags. “How can it feel like that every time?” I asked, wonder in my tone.
I felt Marv’s smile against my forehead. “Because it’s you,” he replied. “It’s never been like that with anyone else and I don’t think it’ll ever be. I’ll hazard a guess that it’s the same for the others. The common denominator is you, Sunshine.”
“I’m not special,” I protested.
Marv tugged a lock of my hair in retaliation. “Lies,” he hissed between his teeth as I shifted and he slipped out. “I...shit,” Marv cursed as he realized something I already knew. “I didn’t use a condom,” he said. “I’m sorry, Sunshine. I didn’t think, I—”
“It’s okay,” I said, pulling back. “Bellamy and I—we...the other night, I mean—we didn’t either.”
Marv’s expression darkened. “I should have thought—we both should have, him and I. It won’t happen again.”
I frowned and thought about it. “Why?” I asked, tilting my head. “I mean, I’m on birth control now, but even if I wasn’t...I mean, we’re married. Would it really be the worst thing in the world?” Marv looked dumbstruck and my stomach sank. “I mean, we should be fine, so there’s nothing to worry about,” I rushed to say. “Birth control—”
“It wouldn’t be bad at all, Harlow,” he interrupted me with a shake of his head. “Seeing you—having a son or a daughter with you—it’s...I can’t even describe the feeling...Harlow, if you get pregnant, it would be the most magical thing in the world. I love you.”