Fighting Shadows (On the Ropes #2)(57)

I swallowed hard, pushing the paralyzing fear of tomorrow out of mind. “I can do tonight.”

I want to do eternity.

I leaned back down, resting my arms next to his head. Nose to nose with him, I inched my hips forward to hover above his straining erection. His hand slipped between us, poising himself at my entrance. Without giving myself another second to reconsider, I slowly sank down on his cock.

I wished we were frenzied by passion—all hands and mouths—because then I wouldn’t have seen the moment his face softened.

Or felt his breath whisper across my skin as he gasped.

But especially because I wouldn’t have heard his possessive growl.

“All mine.”

I stilled. The biting pain from him stretching me was nothing compared to the vise he had twisted around my heart.

Who I belonged to had never been in question.

Flint, on the other hand . . .

He nipped at my lips, gliding his hands up and down my back. Rocking his hips ever so gently, he began moving inside me. I may have been on top, but Flint took charge. After several minutes of coaxing, the ache between my legs subsided, leaving something very primal in its place. My body overrode my chaotic mind, allowing me to forget about the searing pain in my chest.

“I know I need to be gentle, but f*ck,” he groaned, planting himself inside me then roughly taking my mouth again. His hands squeezed my hips and guided me into a rhythm he met thrust for thrust.

The familiar climb began building inside me. I lost one of Flint’s hands as he lifted it to his mouth before licking his index finger and dropping it to my clit.

A cry escaped my throat as I tossed my head back. I was unable to even concentrate on kissing him any longer.

“God, you are so f*cking tight,” he whispered in my ear. “No one else will ever experience this with you, Ash.”

With his finger circling my clit, I was dangerously close to stepping off the edge. But before I gave him that, I needed to give myself something first.

“You’re mine,” I demanded, suddenly sitting up.

His lips twitched as his tongue darted out to dampen them. I held his gaze, searching for affirmation.

But I got so much more.

His eyes were burning with emotions I had never been given but prayed I could earn.

“Always,” he breathed, gripping my hips and roughly burying himself to the hilt.

“Flint,” I moaned as the orgasm tore through my body, ravaging me physically while the echo of his promise soothed me emotionally.

Not even a full minute later, he found his own release with the hiss of my name flowing from his lips.

He might have done all of the work, but I was exhausted. I collapsed on top of him as he began to soften inside me.

“You okay?” he asked.

I nodded against his hard chest.

He drifted his fingertips up and down my back. “You want to take a shower?”

I shook my head.

“You ready for round two?”

My head popped up in a weird combination of “no f*cking way” and “abso-f*cking-lutely.”

“I’m kidding.” He laughed, pressing a chaste kiss to my lips. “Let me get rid of the condom and clean up. I’ll be right back.”

I rolled off him and settled facedown on the bed. I didn’t even bother getting under the covers. It had been one hell of a day, and sleep was threatening to consume me with each passing second.

Flint rejoined me in bed, sliding in behind me and dragging the covers over both of us.

As per usual, he shifted me in his arms until he found a position for me that suited him.

As per usual, I played limp and giggled the whole time he jostled me around.

I smiled to myself when he tangled his legs with mine. Once I’d wrapped my arms around his stomach, I squeezed him tight.

“In my dreams, you were walking,” I whispered, kissing his chest.

“In mine, you stayed,” he replied on a deep, content sigh.

Sated and smiling, I drifted off in his strong arms, reveling in the culmination of every fantasy I’d ever had.





FLINT GROANED AS HIS ALARM clock started screaming through the room at what felt like an obscene hour.

“Oh God.” I folded the pillow over my head in a worthless attempt to block it out. “Turn it off!”

“I can’t find it!”

“Why the hell would you hide your alarm clock?” I cried in response.

“I didn’t hide it, smartass. Someone who shall remain nameless knocked it off the nightstand in a fit of ecstasy last night.” He laughed, pinching my nipple before snatching the pillow off my face and throwing it across the room.

“Just unplug it,” I whined, slapping my hands over my ears.

“I can’t. It has a backup battery.”

“Who in God’s name puts batteries in their alarm clock? That defeats the whole point of praying for a power outage before you go to sleep.” I’d rolled off the bed and begun searching the floor for the blaring disturbance when a second distinct tone joined the chaos.

My too-early-in-the-morning glare swung to him.

“What the hell is that?”

“Backup alarm.”

“You have got to be kidding me.”

“I hate being late.” He laughed, flipping the blankets off and nabbing his crutches off the ground.