Across the Vanishing Sky (Starlight Grove, #1)(114)

I felt the wetness, and my eyes fell closed. “Fucking weeping.”

“For you,” she whispered.

“I don’t have a condom.” That would stop it. Protect us both.

“I’m on the pill.”

Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.

My hips arched into her, meeting her hand but wanting so much more. My eyes flew open. “Got checked,” I ground out. Received all my results just yesterday. Nothing was keeping us apart now, and I knew I would break. No force of will could keep me from her now.

“Let it out, Dex. Release it all. Let me take it.”

Those brave words from delicate lips were all it took. My hands moved to her waist as I kicked off my shoes and pants. I swore only the fury still burning snapped them free. I flipped our positions, pinning Brae to the desk.

But her legs encircled my waist, meeting me there like always, her eyes not moving from mine as my tip bumped her entrance. Her fingers dove into my hair, pulling it taut. As she pulled harder, I drove into her.

Brae’s back arched, a moan leaving her lips as I slid in. The way she moved, the way she met me…so fucking beautiful. And goddamn, she gripped me like a vise. I pulled back, thrusting home again, deeper this time.

A buzz lit beneath my skin, a high that was only her.

Brae’s head lifted as her fingers found my shoulders, gripping so hard her nails nearly pierced my skin, even through my tee. “Let go,” she commanded.

As though she knew I was still holding some part of myself back.

But not now. Not anymore.

I let go. I took her. Like the animal I was. Powering into her, over her.

Brae’s legs trembled around me, and her mouth fell open. “More.” The word was a plea.

I thrust impossibly deeper as she met me there, battled with me, for me. That buzz intensified, a tingle starting low on my spine. My fingers tightened in her hair as I took her. “Need you with me,” I growled. “Always with me.”

Her inner walls trembled, fluttering. “Almost.”

“Get there.” It was an order and a prayer. I needed it with her, not alone.

Brae’s nails bit into my shoulders as her eyes flared, and she clamped down on my dick—waving pulses that set me free.

I arched into her, moved through the waves. Losing myself as I spilled into her. That last wall between us crumbled down. There was nothing left. She had all of me.

We rode out the waning waves together until I collapsed against her, against the desk, trying not to crush her but having nothing left.

Brae’s hands found my cheeks as her eyes searched mine. “Even your rage is beautiful.”

“Hellion,” I croaked.

“Not scared of you, Dex. And I never will be. I see you, and it’s nothing but endless beauty.”

No more defenses, no more holding back. She had it all. Everything I had to give. I rested my forehead against hers, knowing I loved her, would always love her, and hoping like hell we could make it through whatever lay ahead.





47





BRAEDYN





Dex reached over, his hand lacing through mine as his other remained on the wheel. The contact was steady, grounding, just like the man himself. His falter two days ago had brought us closer, as if whatever barrier he’d put up between us had been demolished.

Neither of us had put that fact into words. We’d simply enjoyed being together. With Owen and Yeti. My dog had fallen head over heels for Dex. Literally. Every night, she ended up sleeping on top of his head like some sort of doggy halo as I cuddled into him. We’d been careful to set an alarm, so he was out of my room before Owen woke, but neither of us had wanted to sleep apart.

“What are you smiling about?” Dex asked as his gaze flicked from the road out of town to me.

“How much Yeti loves you.”

Dex grunted. “You mean how she’s trying to smother me in my sleep?”

I laughed. It was the last sound I thought I’d make on a day like today—one where I was returning to the spot where everything had fallen apart. But with Dex, it was somehow possible.

“I told you. She’s got a crush,” I argued.

“Last night, she jumped in the shower with me. That’s just wrong.”

“She was probably worried you were drowning.”

“She’s trying to get me to break my neck. Your dog is a secret assassin.”

Another laugh bubbled out of me. “We gotta get you on one of those funny home video shows. Do they even still have those?”

“Don’t you dare,” Dex warned.

I just grinned.

His fingers tightened around mine. “How are you feeling?”

I wasn’t sure I had an answer for that question. Not in its entirety. “I’m gonna make it through.”

Truth. Because with Dex and so many people who cared about me, there was no way I wouldn’t.

“You will. And I’m with you. The whole time.”

“I know.” And that was the ultimate gift. Not knowing that someone would fix everything in your life—because that was impossible—but knowing they would face whatever came with you, that you’d never be alone.

“Good.” The word sounded more like a grunt than anything else.

My lips twitched. “You don’t have to be grumpy about it.”