“Make me come, Reese.”
Dropping his hand between us, he picks up his movements and brushes against my clit, in the way only he does. He knows exactly what to do with my body, and he does it better than anyone ever could. Not that I have any desire to test that theory; this is the only man I’ll ever want. I’m falling fast, clenching around him and softly chanting his name.
“Dylan,” he growls, crashing his mouth down on mine. I pull his tongue into my mouth and suck on it slowly, swallowing his moans as he gives me his release. Our lips brush against each other’s, tasting and teasing as we both come down from our high. He lifts his head toward the direction of the nightstand.
“Seven days,” he says before looking back down at me. “You know this is hard for me, right? To be this damn close to having the whole world know you’re officially mine.”
I slide along his cheekbone with my fingers, studying his face. “I thought I was the only one struggling out of the two of us. You’re always so quick to silence my quickie-wedding suggestions.”
He shakes his head slightly, leaning into my palm that’s resting flat against his cheek. And then I see it: the shift in his eyes, the possessive, hungry glare he does so well. “It fucking kills me to wait, but I want this to be perfect for you. I don’t ever want you to regret the way you gave yourself to me, and I’ll have no problem moving that preacher along. That ceremony will be brief.”
I laugh softly before planting a kiss on his jaw. “I love you,” I murmur against his skin.
He drops his forehead to mine and closes his eyes. “I love you.”
He always says it like that when I say it first. It’s never I love you, too. Never. It’s as if he’s stating it as a fact, not giving me an automated response to my declaration. The way Reese says ‘I love you’, I feel it more than I hear it.
He lets his weight press me firmly into the mattress as he collapses down on top of me, tucking his head next to mine. “Seven days,” he whispers, and I barely make it out. It’s as if those words are just for him, the reassurance he gives himself.
I kiss his shoulder and hold him against me, not wanting him to move. I could wake up with the worst cramp in the morning, but this closeness would be worth it. I press my lips to his ear. “We got this. Seven days is nothing.”
And with those final words, I feel his body relax.
I feel the bed move and hear the soft creaking sound of the mattress. Peeking one eye open, I see the back of Reese as he sits on the end of the bed, facing the bathroom. He’s shirtless, his broad back covered in tiny water droplets. His hair is wet and fuckably messy and his scent is overwhelming me, blanketing me and causing me to purr as I stretch. At the sound of my noise, he turns his head and lets his eyes roam freely over my body, which is barely covered in the white sheet.
“You are impossibly beautiful. Do you know that?”
I hold my hands out, reaching for him. He drops the towel he is holding and crawls toward me in a pair of shorts, settling on his side and pulling me against his chest.
“You showered without me,” I state as I press soft kisses to his chest.
“I had to. Ian and I went for a run.”
I lean back to look into his face. “You’re that disciplined to work out on vacation?” My eyes take in his hard body, and I realize the absurdity of that question. “Never mind. Look at you. The term ‘rest day’ is not a part of your vocabulary.” A knock on the door prompts Reese to grab the sheet and cover me up to my neck.
“Hold on,” he yells over his shoulder.
He shifts quickly and straddles my waist, moving his hands along the side of my body and tucking me in burrito style. I squirm underneath him. “Reese, I could’ve just grabbed a T-shirt.”
He smirks at me before turning toward the door. “All right, you can come in.”
The door opens and Joey pops his head through. He smiles at the sight of the two of us on the bed. “Well, look who’s finally awake.”
Finally awake? I quickly turn toward the alarm clock. “Oh, my God. It’s after twelve o’clock already?” I gaze up at Reese. “You tried to wake me, didn’t you?”
“Of course I did. Multiple times.”
I shake my head at myself with a grimace; I’m in New Orleans, and I’m spending my time here in bed. Of course, if Reese promised to stay with me, I’d never leave this bed. What girl would?
“The party bus is leaving at three o’clock. And no boys allowed,” Joey says with a smile. He looks almost devious in my doorway, no doubt thinking of everything he and Juls have planned for the evening. “And I have two rules for you, cupcake: wear the sexiest outfit you have in that suitcase, and hand over the cell phone.”
“What? No way. I’m not giving you my phone.” Reese shifts above me and grabs my phone off the nightstand before getting out of bed. “What are you doing?”