Page 52 of Haven Bound
The way he looks at me, kisses me, and everything in between, has me feeling like I’m in a permanent state of bliss. But it’s in the moments like this when I’m reminded of how different our lives truly are, how different they’ve always been, that brings those old feelings of not belonging creeping back to the surface.
Every person here except for Quinn and I—and Ethan, if he’s here too—has a life that quite literally revolves around assassination. Their livelihood and careers center around ridding the world of the people who don’t deserve to be here. Meanwhile, I’m someone who’s been a victim of abuse at the hands of multiple men since childhood. I expected to feel nervous and intimidated around all of these people, but so far the only thing I’ve felt is safe.
41
Austin
I had mixed emotionslast night seeing the surprise that lit Chelsea’s face when I told her I still had the list we’d created together before I left. My stomach was heavy with guilt, my chest tight with grief from all of the years that we could’ve spent together, yet still, my heart felt light with love. Love for the girl she was and the woman she’s become.
Chelsea has always been strong in my eyes but I never realized just how fucking strong she was until I’d discovered the amount of pain and darkness she’s had to drag herself through. No child should ever have to face the kind of torment that she experienced, and no woman should ever be made to feel like she’s worthless for any reason.
“I don’t think we’re supposed to be sneaking away,” Chelsea says quietly behind me as I lead her by the hand up the stairs toward my childhood bedroom.
“They won’t even realize we’re gone,” I reassure her, opening the door and gesturing for her to enter. This isn’t the first time she’s seen my bedroom, but it is the first time we’ve been in here without needing to hide the fact that we’re together.
Shutting the door quietly and locking it behind me, I step into the center of the room, watching Chelsea. She walked in here and went rightfor the bulletin board above my desk where she is staring at all the photos and mementos pinned to the cork.
A handful of photos are of friends from high school, but most of them are of her. There’s a photo of Chelsea from our first date when I took her to the drive-in, a photo of us sitting in the bed of my old truck with our legs tangled together and the giant movie screen in the background, a photo of Chelsea holding up the largest sunflower she’d been able to find when I took her to Sunny Days Ranch, and countless others of the two of us together. We are smiling or making silly faces in some of them and kissing for the camera in others.
None of those are what she’s staring at.
Her eyes are glued to the piece of paper titledAustin and Chelsea’s Summer Bucketlist,her fingers trailing over each item as she reads them silently to herself.
“I can’t believe you still have this.” Her voice is low, the hushed tone she had always used in my bedroom—when the fear of getting caught hung over our heads—returning like it’s second nature.
Looking back on it now, I wish I had just told her that I was leaving and the reason why. I had no way of knowing back then what the outcome could have been. There was always that chance that she would have freaked out. She might have hated me and wanted nothing to do with me if I had told her back. I wouldn’t have been able to handle that kind of heartbreak.
As heart-shattering as it was to leave Chelsea before, we still somehow found our way back together, and I can finally see our future so clearly. It’s not something I will ever sacrificeagain.
“I couldn’t get rid of it. I’d always hoped that one day we would be able to do all of the things on that list, and if not… I needed to keep it as a reminder.” She looks over her shoulder at me with a slight smile and then grabs a pen from the holder on my desk and draws a small checkmark in the box next to wherelaser tagwas written.
Walking across the room, I close the distance between us and slip my arms around her waist, pulling her back flush against my chest as I rest my head on her shoulder. “You should take it, decide which things you wanna do next.” I turn my head and press my lips to her neck just beneath her ear, my cock hardening when her breath shudders.
Chelsea turns around in my arms and presses her lips against mine, her arms wrapping around my neck as she leans in and whispers, “Do you know what else I’ve always wanted to do but isn’t on that list?” The mischievous look in her eyes has the corner of my lips tugging up into a smirk. My hands sink from her waist to her ass, grabbing a cheek in each palm and squeezing, pulling her hips against mine so that she can feel exactly what she does to me.
“What have you always wanted to do, Sunflower?” I rasp, grazing my lips along hers as I sink a hand into her long hair, grasping the tresses in my fist and gently tugging her head back so that she’s forced to meet my gaze.
“I’d always imagined that our first time together would be here in your room.” Her hands slip to the front of my , unbuttoning them but not yet lowering the zipper.
“You want me to fuck you here in my old bedroom while all those people are downstairs?” I’ve been thinking about bringing her up hereand doing exactly that since the second I saw her in that emerald green dress, a color that sets the red tones of her hair on fire.
Chelsea nods, running her hands over my shoulders and down my chest, finally unzipping my jeans as she holds my gaze. Reaching behind my head, I grab the back of my shirt and pull it off over my head, tossing it to the ground before kicking off my shoes. Chelsea slips her fingers through the belt loops of my jeans and tugs them down my thighs as she sinks to her knees. My dick, still constrained by the fabric of my boxer briefs, throbs at the sight of her on her knees, dress bunched around her waist. Those stunning green eyes gaze up at me as her teeth drag over her plump lower lip.
“Stick that tongue out for me, baby.” I cup the side of her face in my palm and stroke my thumb across her cheek. Then I move my hand lower, pulling her bottom lip away from her teeth and encouraging her to open that pretty mouth.
She doesn’t hesitate to oblige, tilting her head back and extending her tongue while she holds my gaze. Waiting patiently for me. She looks so fucking perfect like this. I’ll need to get her on her knees for me again when we don’t have to be quiet in a house full of people.
My cock springs free when I push the dark boxer briefs down and pull them off along with my jeans. Wrapping a fist around the base of my shaft, I step forward and guide the tip over her tongue. “Get it nice and wet for me, baby.” Chelsea releases a hum of approval and flattens her tongue just under the thick head of my cock, closing her lips around it and swirling her tongue.
I want to watch her plump lips stretch as she tries to take me to the back of her throat, to watch as she squirms and clenches her thighs. Butthe feeling of her mouth around me is fucking intoxicating. I tip my head back as my eyes roll shut, releasing a deep guttural groan.
How many times have I envisioned Chelsea on her knees for me? How many times have I fucked my fist to this exact image? I could come from the vision alone.
She rises on her knees and brushes my hand away, replacing it with her own. Her mouth glides down my hard cock until the head hits the back of her throat, her lips meeting her fist. I raise a hand to her hair and brush a few strands away from her face, gathering it all in my fist just as she swallows around my cock.
“Fuck,Chelsea,” I growl. “Just like that, baby.”
She moans, and the vibration from the sound has me hissing through my teeth, my hips thrusting forward. She hollows her cheeks, sucks a few times, and swallows around my cock again. The tightening sensation causes me to pull my hips back, and my cock falls from her lips. She gazes up at me, her fingers replacing her mouth and wrapping around my hard length. She strokes me from root to tip and then swirls her hand over the crown as she leans forward, gently spitting onto the head of my cock.
