Page 36 of The Cousins and the Brunette

“I know enough,” Joel said firmly, his hands rising to cradle my face with a gentleness that made my breath catch. “I know you’re strong, fierce, and loyal to a fault. I know you’d do anything for your sister. And I know that in spite of everything you’ve been through, you still have the capacity to care deeply.”

With those words, he shattered the fortified walls I’d so carefully constructed around my heart. I felt exposed, vulnerable, but also strangely alive, as if he’d awakened a part of me I’d long thought dead. A shuddering sigh escaped my lips—it was as if he’d reached into my very soul and branded it as his own. How could he see me so clearly when I’d spent years perfecting the art of invisibility?

And the worst part? A tiny, traitorous part of me was actually enjoying it. Who knew emotional vulnerability could feel so...freeing?

“Joel, I...I’m glad I met you and your cousins. You’ve all come to mean so much to me,” I admitted.

He silenced me with a kiss, his lips moving against mine with a tenderness that stole the air from my lungs. This kiss was different from the passionate embraces we’d shared before—it spoke of understanding, acceptance, and a connection that transcended mere physical attraction.

As we parted, I found myself instinctively seeking the solid warmth of his embrace, my body molding itself to his as if it had finally found its home. For the first time in years, I allowed myself to entertain the possibility of letting someone in, of entrusting my battered heart to another.

“I can’t promise it’ll be easy. I’m not exactly an open book,” I whispered, my lips brushing against the heated skin of his neck.

More like a locked vault with a forgotten combination. But somehow, this infuriating man had found the key.

Joel’s chest rumbled with a low chuckle, the vibrations sending delicious shivers racing down my spine. “Good thing I enjoy a challenge then.”

His strong arms enveloped me, pulling me flush against his muscular frame. Our mouths crashed together in a blaze of passion, tongues tangling as we drank each other in. My hands roamed his body, mapping every contour through the fabric of his clothes. A deep, lusty growl vibrated through his chest as he began peeling away my layers, revealing my bare skin to his heated gaze.

I returned the favor, helping him shed his own garments until we stood naked before each other. The sight of his sculpted physique and impressive arousal sent a rush of molten desire flooding through my veins. Wordlessly, Joel guided me to the king-sized bed, our gazes locked in an intimate dance as we lay down together.

Lost in another panty melting kiss, I reveled in the exquisite slide of his skin against mine. Every touch, every caress ignited a fire within me, stoking the flames of a long-dormant passion. In Joel’s arms, I felt cherished, desired, and alive in ways I had never known.

This was uncharted territory for me, and I wanted to run screaming for the hills. But I also knew that I had been starved for genuine connection for so long, that my heart refused to let go. I was all in, come hell or high water. And knowing my luck, probably both.

Joel’s hands explored my curves with reverent hunger, leaving waves of fire in their wake. I arched into his touch, desperate for more. His lips blazed a path down my neck to my collarbone, nipping and sucking as he went. Moans spilled unbidden from my throat as he lavished attention on my breasts, tongue swirling around each pert nipple before drawing it into the wet heat of his mouth.

My fingers tangled in his hair, urging him on as he moved lower, kissing his way down my stomach. But before he could reach the apex of my thighs, I tugged him back up, needing to feel his weight pressing me into the mattress. Our mouths fused once more as I reached between our bodies to stroke his thick, hard shaft. Joel groaned into the kiss, hips reflexively bucking into my grip.

“Brynn,” he panted against my lips. “If you keep that up, this’ll be over before it starts.”

I flashed him a wicked grin. “Well, we can’t have that now, can we?”

Rolling us over, I straddled his hips, positioning myself above his straining erection. With agonizing slowness, I sank down, sheathing him inside my slick heat inch by delicious inch. Twin moans of ecstasy filled the air as I began to move, rocking against him in a primal rhythm as old as time itself.

Joel’s hands gripped my hips, guiding my movements as he thrust up to meet me. The room echoed with the sounds of our passion - ragged breaths, throaty moans, and the slap of sweat-slicked skin against skin. Pleasure built within me with each powerful stroke, coiling tighter and tighter until it finally exploded in a supernova of sensation.

I cried out Joel’s name like a desperate prayer as ecstasy shattered through me, my inner walls clamping down on his thick, pulsing length. With a guttural shout, he followed me over the precipice, filling me with his liquid heat. We clung to each other as the aftershocks rolled through us, reveling in our profound connection.

My heart pounded like a jackhammer, threatening to burst from my chest. Holy hell, I’d never felt anything like this before. It was like every nerve ending in my body had been lit up and doused in kerosene.

Joel pressed a tender kiss to my temple, his warm breath fanning my skin. “That was...transcendent,” he murmured, his deep voice rough with lingering desire. “I’ve craved this, yearned for you for so long, Brynn.”

I lifted my head from where it rested on his sweat-slicked chest, meeting his scorching gaze. Raw vulnerability churned in my belly. “I know the feeling. But Joel, you have to understand...like I said, letting people in, trusting them with my heart...it’s not easy for me.”

He caught my trembling hand, bringing it to his sensual lips to brush a worshipful kiss across my knuckles. “I understand, Brynn. Truly, I do. But I’m not going anywhere. We can take this at whatever pace you need. I just want to be with you, to take care of you, in whatever way you’ll allow me. It’s not just me as you know. All three of us want you. It’s all we have talked about while you were healing.”

Fierce emotion clogged my throat at his heartfelt declaration. I knew Joel was a man of unshakable integrity, but a lifetime of betrayals and disappointments made it hard to fully embrace the fragile hope unfurling in my chest. Still, gazing into his earnest emerald gaze, I couldn’t help but want to try. Maybe it was finally time for me to trust again—to trust the devoted Porters—all three incredible men with my wary heart.

“Okay,” I whispered, nestling into his protective embrace once more, breathing in his intoxicating scent of leather and spice. “I’m ready to trust you…all of you.”

While we lay there, limbs entwined and hearts intimately bared, I allowed myself to imagine a brighter future where I now let my defenses crumble and loved with wild abandon. I could do this, I could love all three amazing men…couldn’t I? I wanted to try.

A wry smirk lifted my lips as I considered the absurdity of my situation. I was the girl who’d spent years building walls higher than the New Boston skyline, suddenly contemplating a polyamorous relationship with three cousins. If someone had told me this a month ago, I’d have laughed in their face and probably punched them for good measure. Yet here I was, my heart doing somersaults at the mere thought of it. Life sure had a twisted sense of humor.

Chapter Eleven

BRYNN AND THE ELIZABETH SHOEMAKER

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