Page 81 of Beautiful Ruins
“Tell me to stop, Firefly,” he murmured against my mouth. “Tell me to stop, and we’ll never mention this again.”
I tugged at his hair at the back of his neck. “I don’t want you to stop, Rowan. Please. Don’t stop.”
He groaned, the sound deep. It vibrated through me. “Fuck it,” he murmured, then collided his lips against mine again.
My skin heated until I was burning all over. Rowan ripped at my clothes, shoving my jeans down my thighs until they pooled around my ankles. I kicked them away, arching into him, needing him more than I needed air, more than I needed anything else in this world.
I yanked his hair, dragging him closer until there was no space left between us.
Rowan’s belt fell to the ground, the buckle hitting the floor with a thud. He slipped a hand between my legs, pushing my thighs apart.
“Fuck.” He pulled his mouth from mine and dragged his lips down my neck. On a ragged breath, he fell to his knees in front of me, his eyes never leaving mine as he slid my underwear down my legs.
I swallowed hard. I’d imagined Rowan on his knees a thousand times. But nothing compared to this. I could barely take a breath, let alone speak.
Rowan bit down on his bottom lip, his focus zeroing in on my lower half. I gripped his hair as he pressed his lips to my pubic bone. The softest touch sent a shiver racing through my body.
“I need to be inside you, baby,” he said, his eyes asking for my permission. “I’ve waited so long for this. For you.”
I nodded, hoping he could feel everything I couldn’t say, with just that one simple movement. It was all I could do.
He stood, lifting me in one swift motion, my legs wrappingaround his hips, and claimed my mouth again, his tongue finding mine, warm and soft. My skin burned everywhere he touched, and all sense of control vanished as Rowan lined himself up and slid inside of me.
He growled, while I moaned, the way he stretched me an ecstasy I wanted to drown in, to lose myself inside. I’d waited years for Rowan to put his hands on me, and now it was finally happening.
He pushed in further, his muscles straining and clenching under the effort. I fisted his hair, my body tensing with barely contained restraint, my legs trembling with the effort to keep him close. A small whimper left my parted lips.
I held onto his shoulders, my fingernails digging into his skin through the thin cotton of his T-shirt. Inch by inch, he sank into me. Until there was nothing else—just him. Just us.
Groaning, he stilled, his breathing heavy, erratic. A pained expression crossed his face, an internal battle raging inside him. For a second, I thought of Logan, of what he’d say if he saw us now. And I hoped, maybe, he’d understand.
I brushed my thumb over Rowan’s bottom lip, tugging it down slightly. “Don’t question it, Ro.”
He swallowed and pulled out slowly. Pushed in again. His rhythm remained controlled, the heat from his body swallowing mine whole with each movement in and out of me, our lips a breath away, our eyes locked on each other. It was like nothing I’d ever experienced, the way he ate me up with just his eyes, as if his entire world centred around me. I wanted to crawl inside his skin and never leave.
My chest ached, but my heart devoured his until they both beat in sync. My broken man. My best friend’s brother—someone I shouldn’t have wanted but always had. Always loved.
He wrapped a hand around my throat, gripping it lightly, as though he could snap me if he held on too tight.
“I’m done pretending, Sadie,” he murmured against my lips. “You’re mine. I’m never letting you go, not again. I should have chased after you all those years ago. Forgive me, baby?”
A tear slid down my cheek, and Rowan kissed it away. “There’s nothing to forgive. I’m yours for as long as you want me.”
He pressed his forehead to mine. “It’s only ever been you, Sades. It’ll always be you. If there’s another life after this, I’ll find you there too.”
Chapter Twenty-Five
ROWAN
Sadie’s dark hair lay sprawled across my pillow like spilled ink, her cheek pressed against my chest just beneath my collarbone. Morning light cut through the gap in the curtains, highlighting the dust motes that danced over her bare shoulder. I didn’t want to wake her, but I had some fucking answers to tear from throats, the first one being John Cooper’s.
I brushed a fingertip along her forehead, the faint sweetness of her shampoo lingering at the back of my throat. Her eyes fluttered open.
“Hey, sleepyhead,” I whispered, voice rough. “I’ve got to duck out for an hour.”
A slow, sleepy moan rumbled in her throat as she nuzzled into the hollow of my neck, one leg hooking around mine. “Do you have to leave right now?” she murmured, her voice thick with sleep.
Fuck. My dick was already raging. The last thing I needed was her moaning and rubbing herself against me. I was barely holding on to the ledge that had become my life.
