Page 129 of Just Between Us

“More. I need more, Liam.” Cassie digs her heel into the back of my thigh, forcing me deeper and rolls us so she’s on top. If she wants more, I’m all hers to take how she wants. And I get to enjoy the view.

“Shirt off,” I command, letting my back settle against the pillows. “You know how much I love looking at you.”

My girl is so obedient, slowly lifting her shirt over her headand tossing it to the floor. And there she is, the most breathtaking sight above me. Bracing with both hands, I push myself up until my back is against the headboard and her breasts are right there waiting for me. Honestly, I can’t help myself. Leaning forward, I wrap my lips around her nipple, flicking my tongue against the sensitive peak until she starts to roll her hips, a slow agonizing back and forth that makes my head swim. Watching her take control always winds me up, higher and higher. But seeing her now just about knocks the breath from my lungs.

I push my hips up, thrusting into her, and she sucks in a breath, her head tipping back, exposing the long line of her throat. I drag my mouth from her breast to the hollow of her neck, licking at the pulse point at her throat while she finds her rhythm above me. Her hips roll in slow circles that have me gripping the sheets to keep from losing it.

“Look at me,” I say. I need to see her. I need to know she’s here, that this is real.

Her eyes open and lock onto mine, and I think I could get lost in that heavy-lidded, golden gaze. She’s trapped me with it, and I never want to be set free. Hands braced on my chest, she picks up the pace, each movement dragging a guttural groan from deep within my chest. I run my hands up her thighs, over her hips to cup her ass.

“You feel so fucking good,” I manage, and my voice doesn’t even sound like mine. “I missed this. I missed you.”

“Show me,” she rasps, rolling her hips in a way that makes my vision blur.

I search her face, brows raised together in a silent question that Cassie reads instantly. Her palm comes up to cup my jaw and she nods once, her thumb brushing across my cheekbone. “I promise, my love, I’m not breakable.”

I wrap one arm around her back and flip us, easing her onto the mattress beneath me. She gasps at the shift and I freeze, scanning her face again.

“I’m fine,” she says before I can ask. Bending one of her legsat the knee, I push in deeper and she gasps out her pleasure. “Don’t stop. Please don’t stop.”

I’m helpless to this woman, having no choice but to give her what she wants. A whimpering moan is ripped from her throat as I pull out and push inside again, hard, the way I know she likes it. Her nails rake down my back and the sting sends a shudder through me. Sliding a hand between us, I find her clit and apply pressure, working her in slow circles while I thrust.

“Right there, Liam,” she breathes.

Thumb still pressed to her clit, I hammer into her, the sound of skin slapping against skin mixed with our jagged breathing as we fully lose ourselves to each other. Sweat drips from my forehead at the effort it takes to keep my building release at bay, but I gather restraint and reel it in. I have to wait. I have to give her this. She deserves everything from me, and I’ll willingly hold on until she’s there.

Through gritted teeth, I whisper how perfect she is, how much I love her, how she makes me whole. The noises we make become frantic and she tightens around me, letting me know she’s close. Her eyelids squeeze shut and it’s the most beautiful view seeing her shatter beneath me. Her back bows off the mattress and her mouth falls open, my name falling from her lips.

Her body’s still quaking as I give in, once, twice, and I have to grit my teeth at the heat gathering along my spine, building and building into a sharp spike of pleasure. It reverberates through me, white light flashing behind my eyes and I bury my face in her neck, groaning through the best release I’ve had in my entire life.

We take our time coming back to earth. I stay buried in her while her fingers graze my scalp and I press kisses along her shoulder and across her collarbone. The wall has crumbled but the glass didn’t shatter. We’re just us. Two halves of a whole.

“Liam,”I call from my home office.

A couple weeks back, Austin, Tyler, and Liam spent an entire Saturday cleaning out the junk room and assembling office furniture so I’d finally have my own workspace. Something I’ve never once had, but always wanted. Now the room actually looks like an office instead of a storage unit.

My Saint Dolly candle sits beside the monitor, and the snake plant soaks up rays through the sunlit window. Penny is ridiculously proud I’ve managed to keep the thing alive this long.

When Liam doesn’t answer, I push back from the desk and wander through the house, calling out again. “How’s rosemary chicken sound for dinner? I think Mom would like it.”

The dining room is empty. So is the kitchen and living room. I glance toward the deck out of habit, half expecting to find him leaning on the railing, cigarette between his fingers. Then I catch myself. I’m still getting used to Liam’s new cigarette-free lifestyle. Two months without a single one. He told me he went cold turkey the night of my wreck and never looked back. I’m about to head outside anyway, when voices drift through the front door.

“Think she’ll be mad?” Austin’s voice, low and conspiratorial.

Liam’s low chuckle follows. “Prolly, but she’ll also be grateful.”

More than a little bit curious, I pull open the door, and the words I was preparing die in my throat, jaw falling slack.

Austin stands on the porch holding a key fob, while the other hand goes to scratch the back of his neck. “Surprise,” he and Liam say at the same time.

Peering around my brother, I see it. A baby blue SUV sits in the driveway, a big ass red bow perched on the hood. The exact same one I showed Austin one night when I told him I was saving to buy my own car so he could finally take his G-wagon back.

“Austin,” I say slowly while my brain struggles to catch up to my eyes. “What have you done?”

“Before you get mad, just hear me out”—he holds up a hand—“I know you were saving for one, but I’m sure the wreck took a chunk out of that. The G-wagon was in great shape. Low mileage. Even totaled, I still got a pretty penny from insurance. This didn’t even take half of it.” He flashes a huge smile showing all his teeth and dangles the key fob in the air toward me.

He’s not wrong about the savings. What I’d built up living in Singing River rent free got swallowed up fast. Between the ambulance ride, surgery, a three-week hospital stay, and PT after, even with my insurance plan, my savings is next to nothing right now.