I want him. Touching me. Tasting me. I can’t get enough. I need him to wash all of my past transgressions away and give me new memories of him. The reverence he speaks of? I want it all.
More than want, I ache with a need that only he can satisfy. Desperate for him, I reach impatiently for his pants, but his hands catch my wrists.
“Brie,” he murmurs, his soft gaze meeting mine. “This is what I’ve wanted since I saw you with him.”
Brief shame fills me at the memory, but I push it back, refusing to allow anything to ruin this moment, this experience with him. “You have me,” I whisper, leaning forward and placing slow kisses along his rigid jawline.
He pulls back and puts his hands on my cheeks, cupping my face. His eyes are full of emotion, which astonishes me. “It killed me not to march in and take you from him. And then after kissing you? I was a fucking goner. I wanted you, to claim you, to take you rough and hard, until your body bore my mark. To fuck him out of your system completely.” His voice is rough and gravelly. “But you’re so much more than that now. I don’t want to just mark your body. I want to mark your soul. To dig in so deep, so engrained, that a part of me will always remain with you. So, tonight, as much as I want to, I won’t take. I’m going to give. You take me. Make me quiver. Your name will be a fervent prayer on my lips. Own me, Brie. Possess me and, in return, give me you. Let us own each other completely.”
Hot tears threaten, and I look away quickly as his words penetrate. He has no idea that I’m already a lost cause. I have nothing left to give him because he owns me already. But it’s an ownership I’m all too content with. His tenderness, his gentle pause, and the way he keeps his beast at bay if only for my sake—they all make me fall that much more easily.
“Rafe.” His name on my lips is reverent, even if he expected it to be the other way around. It’s soft, like an answer to all the prayers I’ve left unspoken out of fear they wouldn’t be heard.
His eyes search mine, his jaw tight and clenched as if he’s barely holding on to his sanity. One touch and he may unleash. Explode. And as much as I want that, I want to take what he’s offering.
Slowly, my hands slide up his chest, and with extreme patience, I unbutton his shirt, my hands grazing his warm skin along the way. I lean forward, and my tongue laves one nipple then the next. He shudders beneath my touch yet remains unmoving as my exploration goes south.
Just as he wished, I mark him. He’s giving, and I take, aware that this is exactly what I need. It’s compelling how still he remains while I take my time exploring his body. Touching, kissing, nibbling until he’s naked before me, not an inch of him untouched by my fingers, my mouth, my tongue. Even as I slowly drop to my knees and take him into my mouth, he stays stock-still. As I work him over, my eyes gaze up to see his firmly closed, his fists clenched tight at his sides. There’s no hand on the top of my head, pushing me until I gag. This is my turn to be in control, and it’s so completely liberating.
All too soon, his cock jerks, and I know he’s so close. As his head falls backward and his thighs clench, I bring my hands to his ass and suck deeper until he shoots his warm release into the back of my throat.
After taking it all, I slowly slide back onto my heels and free him from the confines of my mouth. When his eyes open and he looks down at me, I can’t help but grin at the glazed look in them. I lick my lips appreciatively, which causes him to snap out of his lustful haze. He leans down and scoops me up into his arms, carrying me to the end of the bed and gently setting me down on my feet.
“Slow and sweet isn’t in my nature, Brie. I’m not a patient fucking man, but I’ve tried. God, I’ve tried, but every damn day, I crave you. Your taste. Your touch. All I want is to devour you and make you mine. But you have to know that it’s so much more than that.”
“What . . . what are you saying?” I ask on a swallow, both wanting his possession and fearing giving myself over so freely to another man. One who I already know has the power to destroy me if this turns out badly. It’s too late, however. I’m too far gone and there’s no pulling back from him now. Not that I want to. All traces of caution have vanished.
His strong hands slide down my arms until they reach my hands. He grasps them then pulls our joined hands up to his lips, giving mine a tender kiss.
“What I’m saying is you drive me batshit fucking insane with your rebound bullshit. I tried agreeing with it, but fucking a, Brie. Every time I’m inside you, every fucking little moan of pleasure you give me, makes me want you even more.” He pauses for a brief second and lets out a deep breath. “I’m done being the guy who just screws you on a desk. I’m done with the quick, hard fucks. As much as I’m dying to screw your brains out until you’re coming around my cock, I need you to feel what I feel, to know I’m not going to break you. As much as I want to own and possess you, I want you to do the same for me—fuck, you already do. We will always be equals. I want to be the only one for you. The only one to please and pleasure you. And you will always only be the one for me. No one else will ever compare. As long as you want that, too.”
His expression is fierce and longing, his eyes pleading for me to trust his words. And with complete acceptance, I do. I trust him explicitly, so I nod, unable to voice it.
“Tell me, Brie. Say the words out loud,” he beckons, his hands tightening on mine.
“You’ll never be one of many.” Adrian’s previous lie floats in from the recesses of my mind, but instead of ruining this for me, it’s a reminder that, even on our best days, he never treated me this way. Any doubt dissipates as I meet Rafe’s expectant gaze.
“Yes, Rafe. I’m yours and yours alone.”