Falling Forward ✔

Chapter Thirty-Six - Bastien

This girl...goddammit, this girl. I've never wanted anything the way I want Reece. The way I crave Reece. Having her soft body twined against me repairs all the jagged edges of my heart. Kindles the wounded embers of my being.

That catalyst crackles through me like a firework. I never thought she'd let me hold her like this again, let me taste the sweetness of her mouth. Yet here she stands, declaring the words I've so desperately needed to hear. Forgiving me. Wanting me. Loving me.

Then she goes and makes that demand, all fire and passion, and I'm gone. Nine days of agony disappear. I can't remember a time when she didn't claim my tongue with hears, own me with those big brown eyes and gorgeous soul.

Drawing a ragged breath at the pressure of her thigh against my desperate arousal, I separate. She looks furious, like she's about to kick my ass for breaking the kiss.

I smirk, emitting husky laughter. "If the lady insists."

Then she's up in my arms bridal-style with a soft squeal of alarm. Hands go around my shoulders, clutching me. I kiss her damp hair, the shell of her ear, savor her weight. She's here, she's real, and I'm the luckiest man alive.

The doorknob to her apartment is just within reach as Reece latches onto my lips anew, drowning me with soft, tantalizing strokes against my tongue. I moan into the sensation, balls tightening when her teeth snag on my piercing and suck. It will be a miracle if I manage not to combust before we make it into her apartment.

I manage the door clumsily, still focused on keeping my hands full of her smooth skin. Vaguely, I'm aware of a woman's shocked yip, the excited shuffle of a puppy. Hard to focus with Reece climbing me like a tree, shimmying that little body all over my torso while I struggle not to just say "fuck it" and ravage her against the wall.

Reece manages to shift so her arms twine around my neck, chest to chest with me while her legs lock in the small of my back. I kick the door shut and she loses her towel. Fuck if I can care, though. More skin bared to me, more scars and ink and Reece to admire. Damn winter and the three layers separating my flesh from hers.

"Down the hall and to the left," the owner of the yip directs.

By some bizarre luck, I manage to find Reece's bedroom. The moment the door closes and I twist the lock on the knob, she dismounts and starts clawing at my clothes. Between desperate kisses, heated moans, and repeated declarations of wonder, I'm stripped of my jacket, hoodie, and t-shirt. They fall to the floor in a heap while I desperately try to get closer.

Finally, I feel her bare breasts against my chest. Her skin hardly holds a chill from her galivant outdoors. Like me, she's fevered, frantic. Those pink nipples stiffen against my skin, just the friction of my body against hers spurring arousal.

"God," Reece sputters.

I nip her collarbone as I undo my belt and wrench it from my jeans. "I still go by Bas."

"Get on your knees." Hard fingers latch into my hair, give a cruel tug. Just the way I like. "Show me how much you missed me."

Sweet baby Jesus.

I moan my consent, walking her backward so her ass is against the bed and she has something to hold on to. She'll need it. It's been too long since I've adored her.

Dropping to my knees, I kiss along the tattoos of her stomach, trace them with my tongue ring. Then the scars, her navel piercings. Even when the hard pressure comes in my hair, I tease and torment. It's been hell without her and I'm not about to let her go without a bit of torment.

"Bas," she emits a low, sexy groan. Her hips roll forward where I kiss up her thighs, nip and suck her puckered skin. Then one knee comes up and hooks over my shoulder, dragging me into the heat of her arousal.