Page 51 of Ruthless Beasts

That was the only invitation I needed to drop to my knees in the shower, with the water pouring over us. I wrapped my fingers around her thigh, nudging her to lean against the wall before I spread her, placing a leg over my shoulders, and let myself find heaven. I feasted against her skin, starved for a meal I hadn’t realized I’d been craving until the first taste touched my tongue and I became obsessed, or maybe possessed, for my wife.

She was so fucking wet, weeping and begging for me, and I may not be the most honorable man, but I knew, at least for the moment, this was as far as I’d allow myself to go. She was pregnant with my child, and I’d respect and worship her as my altar. My goddess, my divine. My palm released one of her thighs, traveling up to rest against her stomach, gently palming the soft roundness of her abdomen.

I licked and sucked, drove her mad with my tongue, teased her into an oblivion with my fingers, until her fingers were tugging my hair, the pain ecstasy against all my sensitive nerves. She cursed, she cried, said words I’d never imagine coming from her lips, and I wanted more. I couldn’t get enough. Her words became my prayer, the only thing I ever wanted chanted in my head when my thoughts go silent.

With a last gasp, her thighs clamped together, tightening around my head as she moaned her release. I licked her clean, devouring everything that poured from her body, memorizing every sound, until her legs were too shaky to hold her up and her grip on my hair loosened. I dragged my way up her body, laying kisses against her flush skin before I reached over and turned off the water.

My fingers smoothed away that hair that was plastered to her cheek. “You came so well for your husband.”

At my praise, a blush consumed her. Fuck, how had I not noticed how fucking adorable it was when she was embarrassed? She couldn’t hide her embarrassment if she tried. It touched every part of her, all the way to the tips of her perfectly rounded ears. She shivered, and a towel appeared, wrapping around her shoulders before she even realized it was Mercer handing it to her.

When I had the towel pulled tight, he gripped her jaw, turning her head so that she was forced to look into his eyes. “That was so fucking hot.”

Then, before she could react to his words, his lips crushed against hers, offering her a bruising kiss. If this was anyone else touching her, I’d be jealous. But Mercer promised to protect her. And how could I be jealous of someone as committed to her as that? When he pulled away, his eyes found mine. “I’m in.”

He turned his back, stalking away, and I knew in my mind where he was going. Hell, I was depositing her into my bed and going straight to the shower myself. I bent at my knees and took hold of her thigh. Throwing her over my shoulder before I turned and exited her bathroom. Ace still stood in her room, his eyes blazing as he watched us, and I wasn’t sure if it was anger I saw or approval. Disgust or lust. Unnamed emotions swirled around us, heavy in the air. But I didn’t care, at least not at this moment. Maybe tonight when she’s asleep and I’m at my desk, avoiding her. That’s when the regret usually seeps in.

But did I have regret?

Did I seek avoidance?

Would I forgive myself for the things I’d done in the past and let the future be my focus?

I gripped her tighter as I passed Ace, unwilling to meet his eyes and face the judgment I thought I’d see. “We’ll get dressed in our room. Then I’ll feed you. Is that okay, little Belle?”

“You can put me down.” Her voice was weak.

I grabbed her a pair of underwear before exiting her room. Using my foot to nudge open my bedroom door, I walked to the center of the room and placed her on my,our, bed. I leaned over, caging her in. “I’m going to shower. You’re going to find one of my shirts and put it on, then we’ll eat.”

Her skin instantly burned with the mention of eating, and I smirked, letting her know I knew exactly what she was thinking. She wouldn’t meet my eyes when she argued, “I can get clothes from my room.”

“Belle.” I leaned forward and nuzzled my nose into her neck. God how I missed this closeness. Why had I denied myself so damn long? “You could wear your clothes, but right now, I need you to wear mine. I need to see you in them. I need to know this is real. Do you understand that?” I needed to grasp this moment for just a little longer. “I won’t touch you unless you ask, but I want you here. In bed. Okay?”

What I didn’t say is how much I needed that too.

She was silent longer than I was comfortable with. So long that I started questioning if maybe I’d gone too far. If maybe I read a situation wrong and I took from her what I wanted and not what she wanted to give. But when I opened my mouth to apologize, no words came out. No words came out because I wasn’t sure if I was fucking sorry. I didn’t know if I could take it back.

And just when I was about to tell her just that, tell her I wasn’t sorry for what I’d done, the softest “Okay,” left her lips, and I closed my eyes, relieved. My voice matched hers, when I whispered back, “Okay.” Then kissed her forehead and dragged myself away, giving her a moment alone.

CHAPTER NINETEEN

ACE

I was jealous, a feeling I wasn’t all too familiar with. I didn’t get jealous. I didn’t care enough to be. But watching Adam on his knees in front of Bellamy was too fucking hot for me to handle, and I wished it were me. I was angry it wasn’t. Then Mercer had to go sprinkle salt on the wound and kiss her, and I just stood there. Frozen. Like the idiot I was, not making a move.

Adam swooped her up, walking past me, and all I could smell was her scent, which made me so incredibly hungry I felt like I would die if I didn’t get a taste of her. My fingers curled into my palm and I panted, trying to control the urge. I wouldn’t go after them, though I wanted to. I wanted to swing her into my arms and stomp off to my room, having my way with her.

Why was the line so fucking fuzzy now?

When she first got here, I knew my place, and I had no problem staying in it. But the more time she spent in this house, the more the line blurred. The more I wanted to test her, see how far she’d let me go before she crushed me under the weight of sin. She looked so damn beautiful in the garden, with dirtsmeared over her pale skin, that all I wanted to do was stare, take the image into my mind and hold it close when she wasn’t near me.

I could have gone into the office. Hell, I fucking planned on it. But the disappointment that I was leaving was too much, and I refused to disappoint her. The cost of some clothes was nothing compared to the happiness on her face. It was worth it. Even when ghosts of my past nagged at me, reminding me of times I’d done the same thing before, when my sister was alive and she had to have a rose garden.

With a sigh of defeat, I forced my steps toward the kitchen, where I had lunch ready. It would be cold now, though I doubted anyone cared. Everyone was too caught up in their dicks to be here in a timely manner, but I refused to give in and use my hand for pleasure too. If I was going to cum, it was with her fingers wrapped around my cock, at minimum.

Twenty minutes later, Mercer stumbled to the table. I took in his rosy cheeks and commented dryly, “You’re looking well.”

“Never came so hard in my life,” he confirmed, not looking the least bit ashamed of the fact that the whole house knew he was getting himself off in the shower. “They aren’t here yet?”

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