Page 81 of Stranded

“Yeah.” Alph chuckles as he wraps me up in a hug. “I’m glad it went over well. Gotta admit, I’ve never spent so much time being so terrified while I build so much flatpack furniture.”

I giggle softly, curling my hands into fists in his shirt. When I finally pull away to look at him, I clear my throat and dab my eyes again. “Alph. Fuck. I’m so sorry I freaked out at you.”

“No,” he says quickly as he strokes his fingertips through my hair, cupping my cheeks in his broad palms. “No, I’m sorry, Ronan. I should have been more responsible. I’ll do whatever I need to do so that you feel safe in your home. Inourhome… and in your new studio.”

I swallow the lump in my throat and breathe out a shaky sigh. “And I need to learn to have a little more trust in people.”

Alph dabs my cheeks dry. “You want to see the upstairs now?”

“Please,” I whisper. “Take me there.”

Alph grins—and he scoops me right off my feet to sling me over his shoulder. “Aye aye.”

I squeak in shock as the ground drops from under me. I grab onto the back of Alph’s shirt, but I can’t even fight back. I’m laughing too hard… and, I have to admit, I’m more than a little turned on.

Alph doesn’t even bother with the light switches. He just turns the corner to head straight down the hallway until we get to the master bedroom. Then he flicks the light on and tosses me onto the mattress.

“Whoa!” I laugh as I bounce against the bed, grinning up at him. “I love it when you put those muscles to good use.”

He grins at me and crawls onto the bed, crouching over me. “Oh, yeah? Well, I love it when you put that imagination to good use.”

“Mmm?” I beam at him. “You want me to tell you some of the things I’ve been imagining lately?”

Alph’s hands rise to my shirt. He pops one button at a time open, keeping his eyes locked with mine and never looking away. “Tell me,” he murmurs, his voice low and rough.

I bite my lip and squirm, my toes curling with excitement. When I try to unbutton his shirt, though, he knocks my hand away.

“You’ve dressed enough people today,” he tells me. “I’m going to do the undressing for both of us. Now, spill.”

Oh, fuck. I love that bossy voice.

“I, um…” I blush, wriggling as he slips one hand into my open shirt to run across my chest.

“Mmhmm?” Alph tweaks one nipple, then runs his thumb around it as he watches my reactions.

“Ah!” I can’t help myself. “I—fuck!”

“You fuck?” Alph whispers. “OrIfuckyou?

He rips the next few buttons open all at once and dips his head, wrapping his lips around my nipple instead. The tip of his tongue runs across the nub in slow, maddening circles, and I’m almost levitating off the bed. ”

“Both. All of it. Always. Yes. That…!” I whimper.

“Tell me more,” Alph growls against my chest. He flicks his tongue across my nipple, hard. Then, he starts kissing his way to the other side.

“Nnnnh!” I whimper, squirming against the sheets. “Nnf… mmm…” I swallow hard, gasping for breath. “I—I—I can’t. I can’t think. I can’t talk. Not when you’re—oh, fuck…!”

Alph chuckles deeply. “So far, so good.” He tears the last button of my shirt open, hauling it off me to throw it aside. Then,he does the same for himself—only he takes a little more care with my creation.

“Fuck,” I groan as he runs his palms down my bare torso, panting as I arch up into his touch. “Fuck, please…”

Alph grins, popping the button on my pants open with one hand. He slides his other palm over the hard line in my trousers. “Please what?”

“Naked. Now. Please.”

I’m losing the ability to form sentences. All I can do is beg. I’m trying to cling to the fragmented fantasies he’s asking me to call up—but reality issomuch better.

Alph grins and gets to work, stripping both of us naked in what feels like seconds. But he never stops taking the chance to touch me: he runs his palms along my torso, dips his tongue to the hollow of my hips, grazes his teeth across my thighs…

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