Page 123 of The Obvious Check

Tears sting the backs of my eyes. Not because I feel pressured, but because even in this situation, he’s thinking of me. Always. Even when he’s the one risking everything, he wants to make sure I’ll be okay at the end of it.

He lifts our joined hands and presses his lips against my fingers.

“I want you to be happy, Savannah,” he continues, his voice barely above a whisper. “That’s all I’ve ever wanted. If that’s the only thing I’ve accomplished in the world, then so be it.”

The words wrap around me and settle into every fractured piece of me that has never quite fit. This is it. This is real.

Something inside me breaks. Maybe it’s the resolve I’ve always tried to hold myself to. I don’t know. All I know is that I’m so far gone for this man that I’d do anything for him. Instead of waiting for him to kiss me, my lips meet his, and I pour every unspoken emotion into it. Fear, gratitude, and just as much devotion to him as he has for me.

“Yes,” I say.

His lips are still against mine, but his pupils are blown wide open.

“Yes. I’ll marry you this week.”

That’s it. It’s as though I’ve set off a live wire running through Cade. His hands are on me, exploring every part of my body, before rounding my ass and then down to the back of my thighs, I straddle his waist, squealing when he carries me across the apartment to our bedroom.

“Stay there for a little bit, Stanley,” he calls to our dog, who grumbles but obeys. I’m clawing at his shirt when he shuts the door with his foot and walks me over to the bed, then drops me onto the mattress with ease. Cade claws at my jeans as I yank my shirt off, leaving me in only a black bra and panties.

“God, Sav,” he says, his voice dark, as our chests rise and fall with anticipation. His eyes devour me and I squirm under his intense gaze. “You have no idea what you do to me.”

“Let me showyouwhat you do to me,” I say as I unfasten my bra, letting it fall.

He tilts his head, taking me in like I’m his salvation and his downfall rolled into one. Maybe I am.

Tired of waiting, I find the waistband of his jeans and start tugging them down. Cade’s head falls back, just as the fabric pools at his feet, revealing his thick, hard, and magnificent cock.

“Fucking hell, Pretty Girl,” he breathes, yanking his shirt off in one fluid motion.

I reach for him, desperate to feel his hardness in my palm, but he stops me by taking my wrist.

“I need to be inside you, Sav,” he rasps.

Those eyes, those goddamn eyes, burn into mine with an intensity that makes my knees weak. I shift back onto the bed, letting my thighs fall open in silent invitation.

“Yes, please,” I whisper and mean it with every fiber of my being.

He crawls over me, his mouth finding my collarbone first, trailing hot kisses down to my breasts. His tongue circles one nipple before taking it into his mouth, sucking and nipping until I'm arching beneath him. He lavishes the same attention on the other breast, his hands kneading and worshipping every inch of my skin.

“So fucking beautiful,” he murmurs against my chest before kissing his way down my stomach and settling between my legs. His large hands grip my thighs as he spreads me wider and presses his mouth against the damp fabric of my panties.

“Cade, please,” I gasp, my hips bucking against his face as I feel his tongue working against the barrier. The sensation is maddening, and even though I can feel everything, it’s not enough.

He hooks his fingers into the waistband of my panties and pushes my thighs up so he can slide them off with agonizing slowness. “Patience, baby. I want to savor this.”

Once I'm bare before him, his mouth is on me, and the world tilts off its axis. His tongue flattens against my slit, licking from bottom to top before he circles my clit. I arch off the bed witha broken moan as he alternates between gentle flicks and firm pressure, driving me wild.

“Fuck, you taste so good,” he groans, the vibration making me cry out just as he slides two fingers inside me, curling them just right to hit that spot that makes me see stars.

“Cade,” I gasp, my fingers tangling in his hair, holding him against me as my hips buck against his face.

He sucks on my clit as his fingers pump in and out of me in a rhythm that has me teetering on the edge. Just when I think I might shatter, he pulls back, leaving me desperate and aching, my pussy clenching around nothing.

“Not yet,” he says, his lips glistening with my arousal as he presses a kiss to my hip bone. “I want to feel you come around my cock this time.”

He moves away from the bed, and I want to whimper at the loss of his heat, but watching him move with all that lean muscle and controlled power, is its own kind of torture. When he retrieves the foil packet from the nightstand, his grin is pure wicked promise.

“I've got one this time,” he says, tearing it open with his teeth like some sort of beautiful savage.

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