Page 89 of Lush

With each thrust, my desire for her only grew stronger. The sensation of wet flesh hitting each other sent shivers down my spine. The pace was limitless, measureless, a desperate, gnawing need. There was no point in holding back any longer.

I thrust my hips faster. I felt her hands trace down my back to my ass, pulling me closer. I gazed downward, my eyes half-closed as I lifted her top up, exposing her breast to me as I leaned in to suck on her dark nipple.

“Shit! You’re gonna make me come again!” she whimpered.

“Yeah?” I rubbed her clit faster, and a rich, creamy mess coated every inch of my shaft. I felt my thighs tremble. “Cover this cock with your cum, darling.”

With each passing second, her walls tightened, the pressure building, sweat trickling down my forehead, my heart pounding in my ears. She shook uncontrollably, cursing and screaming as she released a torrent of liquid that soaked the blankets beneath us.

“Messy fucking slut.”

“Yes, yes!” Her furrowed brows were a mix of pleasure and intensity. “It’s too much, Reese!” She moved my hand from her clit, gripping my wrist tight. I groaned, my back muscles tightening with each slow, deep, aching thrust, my Adam’s apple bobbing as I threw my head back, the pleasure unbearable.

Laurene lay beneath me, dazed—wrecked, undone, fucking beautiful. The final waves of release crashed over me, hollowing me out, leaving me raw. Spent, but not empty. Never empty with her. I collapsed against her, careful, but needing to feel her. All of her. My lips found the curve of her neck, the taste of her skin, damp and flushed. My hand traced her stomach, slow, reverent, inching higher until I cupped her breast, my fingers spreading over her like I could claim her, keep her.

“I love you,” I whispered, the words slipping out before I could stop them. But I meant them. I meant them like I meant every breath in my lungs.

She stilled beneath me.

I didn’t move—I couldn’t. My lips hovered near her ear, my next words a confession, a surrender, a truth I could never take back.

“I never stopped.”

CHAPTER 18

Laurene

TWO WEEKS BEFORE THE WEDDING…

“Isn’t this just heavenly?”Noelle murmured beside me as the masseuse worked on her shoulders.

The tension in my shoulders had nothing to do with the day. It was Reese.

I’d only wanted my inheritance, but instead I felt something new and undeniable. And now, he was asking me to dismantle everything I’d been prioritizing, all with three simple words.

I love you.

“Laurene?” Noelle’s voice broke through my thoughts.

“Hmm?” I managed, lifting my head up from the massage table.

My chest ached with…something. Maybe it wasn’t love, maybe it’s just caring, or maybe I never stopped loving him.Duty, legacy, perfection.That was the King family mantra. Love was a luxury for other people.

But Reese had always been the exception.

I couldn’t afford feelings, though. Feelings got in the way. They distracted you, made you vulnerable. Vulnerability could kill you. For fuck’s sake, someone was taunting us.

But I was changing. I was letting myself feel all over again.

I didn’t think I was that naïve Laurene anymore. Who used tobelieve she could be the exception, change our past, and end up with Reese happily ever after.

And now, he’d gone and said it.

Damn him. Damn me for the way my heart leaped at his words.

It brought up things I wasn’t ready to deal with. Like how opening the gallery wouldn’t mean a damn thing if he wasn’t there to see it now. He was in my dreams almost daily. Or how no amount of money could make up for the way his touch made me feel so safe and secure.

It was the way he made me laugh when I was on the verge of breaking. The way he worked with me, alongside me, piecing together this mess we were tangled in; he carried some of the weight for me without me even asking.

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