Chapter 66
Gage
+25 Points
When I woke again–when consciousness finally clawed its way back into my body–I felt like I was floating. Like gravity itself had given up trying to hold me down. For the first time in what felt like forever, I wasn’t waking up to an empty bed or cold sheets. I was waking up with her still in my arms.
Bree.
Her name alone made my chest ache with something fierce, something tender. My entire body hummed with exhaustion and satisfaction, every muscle sore like I’d just played a brutal game–but it wasn’t football that had me aching. It was her. It was the hours I’d spent buried inside the woman I loved more than anything in this world.
I was lying on my side, both arms wrapped tightly around her like she was something precious I was terrified to lose. Her head rested on my bicep, her cheek soft against my skin. Our legs were tangled together beneath the sheets–one of my thighs wedged between hers, still radiating the heat of the night before. The air smelled faintly of sweat, skin, and her perfume. My favorite scent in the world.
Bree was still asleep, her breathing steady and deep. One arm was pressed between our bodies, the other draped lazily across my ribs, her fingertips brushing me with every small exhale. Her hair was a wild halo around her face–silky and messy and perfect.
I tilted my head down, burying my face in her hair, drawing in a slow, greedy breath. She was still here. She hadn’t run this time. She hadn’t snuck out or left a note that tore me in two. She’d stayed. That single truth hit deeper than anything else ever had.
My fingers drifted up and down her back in slow, reverent strokes, tracing the soft curves of her spine. Her skin was warm, impossibly smooth beneath my calloused fingertips. The sheets had been kicked halfway down the bed sometime during the night, leaving both of us bare to the morning air. It wasn’t a secret that I ran hot, and apparently Bree did too–our combined heat made it feel like we’d built our own little furnace between the sheets.
She stirred when I touched her, a small hum escaping her throat. Her fingers flexed against my side, then curled lightly, almost in a half–dreaming reflex as she began to wake.
“Good morning, gorgeous,” I whispered, my voice still rough and gravelly from sleep. The words rumbled low in my chest, vibrating against her cheek.
She let out a soft, content sound, her face nuzzling deeper into me. I smiled, tightening my arms around her, silently telling her she didn’t need to move. That I wanted her right there.
1/6
:
< Chapter 66
+25 Points
“I doubt it’s still morning,” she murmured, voice sleep–rough but teasing, the sound of it doing something to my chest that I couldn’t describe.
I chuckled softly, pressing a kiss to her hair. “Well, you couldn’t get enough last night. You can’t expect me to fall asleep while you’re still grinding on me.”
That got her eyes open. She shifted back just enough to look up at me, indignation flaring bright in those ocean–blue eyes. “Me? You’re blaming me for having your d**k inside me all night?”
A laugh tore out of me before I could stop it, a surprised sound that turned into a low, full–bodied chuckle. I dropped my face to the curve of her neck, my shoulders shaking as I tried to hold it in. God, she was something else.
What had I done to deserve this woman? Last night, she’d been shy, barely able to whisper what she wanted–her voice trembling when she’d said, I want to c*m on your tongue. The hottest damn thing anyone had ever said to me. And now she was tossing words like that around in the daylight, like it was the most natural thing in the world.
“Don’t laugh,” she protested, pushing at my shoulder, her voice playfully indignant. “This is slander, Gage. You’re dragging my name through the mud right now, and I will not stand for it.
”
That only made me laugh harder, my whole body shaking with it until my eyes watered. Because we both knew who the real culprit was here. It wasn’t her. It was me.
I was the one who, after she’d practically passed out in bliss, had gone right back down between her thighs–determined to taste her again, to make her fall apart all over my face until she couldn’t remember her own name. I was the one who’d turned her onto her stomach, sliding into her with slow, aching thrusts, whispering that I loved her, that she was mine, that I’d cherish her until my last breath. I was the one who carried her into the shower, holding her up against the tiles while I washed her, only to lose myself in her again.
By the time I’d finally passed out, I was pretty sure she hadn’t just drained me–she’d taken my soul with her.
“I’m sorry, gorgeous,” I murmured, trying to rein in my laughter, though the grin was still stuck on my face. “But don’t tell me you didn’t enjoy it.” My hand slid down her spine, fingers curling around the curve of her ass. I pulled her closer, letting her hips roll against my thigh.
Her sharp intake of breath made me stop immediately. She hissed softly, her body tensing for a second. The humor drained from me in an instant.
“What’s wrong?” I asked, my hand moving from her ass to her cheek, cradling her face gently. My heartbeat picked up, the thought of hurting her cutting deeper than any bruise ever could.
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< Chapter 66
“Did I hurt you?”
+25 Points
She shifted slightly, lifting one leg as she winced, then eased back enough to put a little space between us. “I’m okay, Gage, really,” she said softly, her hand coming up to rest on mine. “I’m just a bit sore.”
Oh, f**k.
The realization hit like a gut punch. Not only had I been an uncontrollable beast last night- driven purely by the need to claim her over and over again–but I’d actually hurt her. I’d been too rough, too greedy, too damn far gone. I should’ve stopped. I should’ve let her rest, should’ve told myself to hold back when she was already trembling beneath me.
“I’m so sorry, Bree,” I rasped, my brows furrowing as my gaze swept over her body.
She looked wrecked. Beautifully, completely wrecked. Hickeys marked the length of her throat, painting a trail down to her breasts. My fingerprints were visible on her skin, faint but undeniable–proof of how tightly I’d held her, how desperately I’d needed her. Seeing it now twisted something sharp in my chest.
“f**k,” I muttered, my voice cracking under the weight of it. “I’m so sorry.” I pulled back instinctively, not trusting myself to touch her again, not when I could see the evidence of
what I’d done written all over her skin.
“Hey,” she said softly, her hand darting toward me. Her palms cradled my face, urging me to look at her. “Please, Gage. Don’t pull away.”
She moved closer, climbing into my lap, her warm, soft body molding to mine like it was where she belonged. The contact nearly undid me. Even now, even after seeing the marks I’d left, my body reacted to her instantly–my c**k twitching against her as memory flashed behind my eyes. The sound of her moaning my name, the way her body had opened to me over and over again until neither of us could remember where we ended and the other began.
“I’m fine,” she whispered, her voice firm but gentle, her blue eyes locked on mine. A small, knowing smile curved her lips. “I enjoyed everything last night. Don’t doubt that for a second.”
It was torture trying not to touch her. Every muscle in me ached to drag her back down beneath me, to feel her warmth, her breath, her heartbeat. But guilt coiled tight in my gut. The memory of how I’d taken her, how many times I’d lost control, made it hard to breathe.
“It was amazing, Gage,” she murmured, leaning down until her lips brushed mine, her breath sweet and teasing. “I never even knew orgasms could feel like that.” Her tongue flicked across my lower lip, making a groan rumble up from somewhere deep inside me. “You just need to give me time to adjust, okay? I can’t help that my boyfriend packs someth-”
3/6
Chapter 6
+25 Points
She didn’t finish the sentence because, by that point, my brain had short–circuited.
In one movement, I flipped us, pinning her gently beneath me, my body caging hers against the bed. My voice came out low, rough. “Say that again.”
Her brows knit together in confusion. “What?”
“You know what, gorgeous.” I leaned in, close enough that my lips brushed hers when I spoke. “Say it again.”
She blinked once, and then the realization hit her. That smile–God, that smile–spread across her lips like sunrise. “My boyfriend,” she whispered, and I groaned, catching her mouth in a hungry kiss before the words could even fade.
She hummed against me, her fingers tangling in my hair, tugging just enough to make me growl into her mouth. Her body arched up into mine, soft against hard, perfect in every damn
way.
Hearing her call me that–boyfriend–was a high I didn’t ever want to come down from. It wasn’t just a word. It was a f*****g claim, and it hit me harder than any tackle ever could. I wanted more of it, wanted every version of that word that could ever exist. Fiance. Husband. Father of her children. I wanted it all. I wanted her in every possible way a man could want
someone.
“Hey, ma–Oh f*****g s**t!”
The words tore through the room like a grenade. Bree gasped beneath me, and I snapped my head toward the door just in time to see Miguel standing there–hair a mess, eyes wide as saucers, jaw slack like he’d just seen a ghost.
For a second, none of us moved. Then panic hit me full force.
My hand shot out, grabbing the corner of the sheet. I yanked it up and over us in one motion, covering Bree’s bare skin from his view, my body curling around hers like a shield.
“Get the f**k out!” I roared, my voice deep and sharp, every word dripping with the kind of threat that made linemen flinch on the field.
Miguel blinked, his brain clearly struggling to reboot. Then, like survival finally kicked in, he moved–scrambling backward and slamming the door shut behind him.
And then, as if he hadn’t just walked in on the most intimate moment of my life, his muffled voice called through the door, “I was just wondering if you wanted to make pancakes?”
For a split second, there was silence. Then Bree broke.
4/6
< Chapter 66
+25 Points
Her shoulders started shaking, her face buried in my chest as laughter bubbled out of her uncontrollably. “What do you think?!” I yelled back, my tone still edged with fury and humiliation.
“Oh, God,” she wheezed, still laughing, her voice muffled against my skin. “I’m never gonna be able to look him in the eyes ever again.”
I turned my head back toward her, sighing as I wrapped my arms around her tighter, pressing her close to my chest. “God, I’m so sorry, gorgeous,” I muttered into her hair. “He’s such a f*****g idiot.”
That only made her laugh harder. Her teeth grazed my shoulder as she tried to quiet herself, but the sound of her laughter was contagious. I couldn’t help it–I started laughing too. The ridiculousness of it all, the chaos, the way my possessive instincts had flared the second Miguel opened that damn door–it all melted into something light, something almost peaceful.
Because no matter what, she was mine. Bree Morgan, the woman I loved, was laying beneath me, smiling and laughing in my arms after spending the night calling my name, her body marked by my hands.
And for the first time in forever, I didn’t feel the need to prove it to anyone.
When our laughter finally died down, I lifted my head, brushing a strand of hair from her face. She looked radiant–flushed, glowing, eyes full of mischief.
“Actually,” she said, biting her bottom lip, her voice thoughtful, “I could really go for some
pancakes too.”
I couldn’t help but grin. Of course she could.
And I’d make them–every damn one of them. Not for Miguel. Not because he wanted breakfast. But because whatever my girl wanted, she’d get.
If she wanted pancakes, I’d make enough to feed a small army.
Emilia M
I know nothing really happened in this chapter, but gosh, I just wanted to show you guys how cute they are together I’m truly enjoying writing this story, and now that they have finally gotten together, it seems like the words just won’t stop flowing
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