Own the Wind(89)

She held his gaze.

Then she said, “I love you.”

Only then did she whip her shirt off.

Shy drew in a breath, he closed his eyes, opened them, tossed the bag with his mother’s earrings to the foot of the bed, yanked his own tee off, and then he lunged, taking her to her back in the bed.

He didn’t hesitate to take her mouth.

Then he didn’t hesitate to take her.

He did not waste time getting rid of their clothes and then he used his hands, mouth, tongue, teeth, knees, thighs, everything he had, to take everything he could get.

He didn’t have to take it, she gave it.

He took it anyway.

It didn’t take long before he was ready, she was f*cking ready, he knew because she was panting so he yanked her up, moved her, shifted on his knees, slammed her back to the headboard and surged inside.

His dick sheathed in her tight, slick, hot silk. Connected to Tabby.

Fuck, always, always, gorgeous.

Her arms and legs rounded him, his hand moved up her side, up her arm, pulling it away from him, finding her hand, and he shoved his thumb in the palm, wrapped his fingers around the back and pressed their hands to the wall.

His eyes were locked to hers and he was moving inside her.

“Just like the first time,” he murmured against her mouth.

“Yes,” she breathed.

“Do you love me, Tabby?”

“Yes,” she again breathed.

“I know you do, baby, f*ck, I know you do,” he muttered, then took her mouth, took her cunt, took her there. She cried out her orgasm, driving it down his throat as her * convulsed around his dick, then he shoved his face in her neck and groaned his climax against her skin.

He stayed that way, planted deep, his body pressing hers to the headboard, his hand holding hers, her other limbs tight around him, holding her close. He kept his face in her neck, smelling her skin, her hair, and he didn’t say anything.

Slowly, he pulled out, liking the little mew she gave that sounded sweet in his ear as she lost him. He moved back, set her on the bed. Reaching out an arm, he grabbed the bag.

“Shy?” she called but he didn’t answer. He dug into the bag.

He pulled out a box, flipped it open, flipped it closed, and dropped it in the bag. He did this again and again until he found a pair of diamonds.

He gently flung the bag to the nightstand, carefully freed the earrings from the box and flung that aside too.

“Shy?”

“Got earrings in, honey?”

Her head jerked on the pillow, her eyes were curious, confused and cautious, maybe still a little scared but she shook her head.

“Pull your hair back,” he ordered.

She did as he asked as Shy settled on her body, careful to brace on an elbow even as his hands moved to her earlobe. He slid the post through her ear then slid the back on. He moved to the other side and did the same. Then he got up on a forearm on either side of her and looked down, his eyes moving side to side, the diamonds twinkling against her glossy, dark hair.

“Shy, darlin’, talk to me,” she pleaded.

He looked at her. “Those are my mother’s earrings.”

Her body tensed under him as her thighs pressed into his hips.

“Went to my aunt and uncle’s house tonight, got ’em,” he went on. “All of them. Dad gave a pair to Mom every Christmas since they were married. Fourteen pairs. Seven for you, seven for Landon. I picked those for you. Lan picks the next pair. We’ll go back and forth until we each got our piece of our parents.”

Her eyes were brimming with tears, her nostrils flaring with the effort to contain them as she asked, “You went to your aunt and uncle’s?”

“First time in years, last time for forever.” He watched as she lifted a hand to touch the gem at her ear. “Diamonds,” he finished.

A tear she couldn’t hold back slid out the side of her eye.

“Are you mad at me?” she asked so quietly he barely heard.

But he heard.

“Was,” he told her, saw her lips tremble then moved close, his hand going to cup the side of her head, his thumb sliding down her hairline and ending, pad to her earring. “Was also wrong,” he told her gently. “Feelin’ too much, knowin’ he was found. Lost it, took that shit out on you. Shouldn’t have done it but I had so much shit coursin’ through me, baby, I had to get it out. So I piled it on you.”

“Okay,” she said quietly.

“It wasn’t cool, Tabby,” he replied just as quietly.

“It’s okay,” she told him, her hands hitting his chest, pressing in.

“No, it isn’t. What it is is done. I hope to God I learn from makin’ that mistake, freakin’ you out, scaring you”—his thumb moved through the wetness at her temple and his voice dropped—“makin’ you cry. Can’t promise I won’t do it again but I can promise to try.”

“I’m glad you promised, honey, but you also need to know that I understand. That was a lot to handle. I didn’t expect you to be surprised by it. I expected I’d get to tell you about what I’d done going to Lee. But I do understand why you reacted the way you did, and I’ve gotta be there to help you deal when life lands a sucker punch, even if it’s me who unintentionally landed it.”