Page 19 of Little Bird (Advantage Play 3)

Dex literally falls back onto his butt from shock, shaking his head as if he’s seen a ghost. The silence is deafening as I wait for him to deny it even though I heard the whole thing with my own ears.

“You really believe that?” he accuses in disbelief.

“It’s what you said.”

“Yeah, to Sei.” Dex spits his associate’s name as if it were a curse. “I told you I have to be a different man out there.” Raising his arm, he points to the door to emphasize his point. “I told you I have to be cold. Indifferent. Brutal. If we have any hope of figuring this shit out, then I need to stay in their good graces, or they cut me out, and I’m replaced by some asshat who doesn’t give a shit that you’re an actual human being and not some object to get off on. All those things? I said them for you. Because of you. Because, ever since you showed up, you messed with my head. You made me feel things I have no right feeling. You’ve made me question my entire way of life, making me feel like a damn fish out of water, gasping for oxygen.” With a dry laugh, he leans forward and tilts my chin up to make sure he has my full attention. The simple touch brands me as he continues, “Want to know the ironic part? The more I’m around you, the easier it is to breathe. You’re turning into my oxygen, Little Bird, and I don’t even know your name.”

The truth in his words is enough to break the dam holding back my fraying emotions since the moment I woke up in Burlone’s office. With tears in my eyes, Dex tugs me into his arms, wrapping them around me and gently rubbing my back. I’m not strong enough to fight him. I’m not strong enough to fight anyone anymore. I’m broken. Yet, I’m seeking comfort from the one who threw the final stone that shattered me.

My body wracks with silent sobs as my fingers tangle into the back of his white shirt, trying to get ahold of myself when I finally realize there’s no need. Because he’s holding me. He’s keeping me safe. He’s being the strong one. He’s showing me he’s willing to carry me when I’m weak. And right now? Right now, I feel so damn weak.

“Shh,” he coos, planting a soft kiss against the crown of my head. I tuck myself farther into his chest, seeking comfort. “It’s going to be okay.”

My voice breaks. “How?”

“I’ll figure something out. I promise.”

Squeezing my eyes shut, I tell him a truth I hadn’t been willing to admit to myself until this very moment. “Want to know the pathetic thing, Dex? When I heard you…it broke me. I’m relying on you in here, Dex. But I think I’m relying on you in general too, regardless of this room. I think about getting out of here, and it doesn’t feel any better because….” I release a shaky breath.

“Because, why?”

“Because I won’t have you with me.”

With a gentle touch, Dex combs his fingers through my tangled hair, massaging my scalp until I finally gain the courage to look up at him. When I do, he bends down. Slowly. The pace gives me plenty of time to turn away from the opportunity he’s pursuing. But I don’t. I can’t. I’ve wanted this since the moment I knew he’d never take it from me without my permission. His breath fans across my heated skin before he presses his lips to mine. The kiss is so soft, so innocent. Yet, I can feel the heat simmering below the surface, and I want more of it. I want it all. I’ve been so cold and lonely in my prison that I’d give anything to feel his warmth.

Opening my mouth, I graze the tip of my tongue against his lower lip before shifting until my knees are on both sides of his legs. I expect the feel of his slacks against my bare inner thighs to shake me out of this madness, but it only spurs me on. Rolling my hips against him, I place my hands on his shoulders to help me balance.

“You have me, Little Bird,” Dex whispers against my neck before snaking his arm around my lower back and guiding my movements. “You’ll always have me.”

I pause at the promise in his voice. Looking down at the man who swept in and saved me, I decide it’s only fair if he has all of me too. My hands fumble with the belt buckle on his pants before sliding down the zipper and reaching for the hard length that was pressed against my core only moments before. Gently, Dex stops me, nearly swallowing my wrists with his hands as he holds me in place.

My gaze snaps up to his, silently asking why he’s stopped me when he murmurs, “What are you doing, Little Bird?”

With crimson cheeks, I tell him the truth. “I want you to have me too. I need to give this to you before it’s taken from me. I need one moment with you that’s all mine that no one can take away. Please—”

Grabbing the back of my neck, Dex cuts off my pleading with a kiss that burns me to my core, marking me for him and him alone. In the blink of an eye, I find myself on my back as Dex hovers over me. One of his hands is planted on the cold cement floor by my head while the other tugs his pants down and pushes my underwear to the side.

“You sure you want this, Little Bird?” His sincerity weaves into his words as well as his expression.

With a nod, I reach between us and place him at my entrance. I’m done talking. His mouth quirks up in amusement before he leans forward and distracts me with it, teasing me with his tongue. When he presses into me seconds later, I gasp. My breathing is shallow as waves of unfamiliarity wash through me. Wiggling my hips, I try to get used to the intrusion.

“Look at me,” Dex growls. His face is pinched in concentration. “You okay?”

The concern in his voice is probably the biggest turn on I’ve ever experienced in my life, and my need to have him closer flares to life.

“Yeah. I think I am.” Still, he doesn’t move. He’s too busy inspecting me the same way I’m inspecting him. Tiny beads of sweat cling to his forehead from restraint, and I watch in fascination as one rolls down toward his lips. Curious, I raise my head an inch off the ground and lick the salty moisture. The action is enough to snap the last of his self-control.

With rolling hips and messy kisses, I find myself on the brink of oblivion minutes later, panting for some much-needed air as Dex thrusts into me, marking me as his.

A moan slips past my lips, and my toes curl when Dex finally pushes me over the edge, following right behind me. Groaning deep in his throat, he collapses onto me and tries to catch his breath. I want to laugh when it tickles my neck but restrain myself out of fear that it’ll pop the bubble that we’ve created together. The weight of his body pressing me into the cold cement floor is surreal. And so freaking good.

“I think I liked that,” I joke, considering the last thirty minutes of our activities.

“Think?”

“I mean, there’s definitely room for improvement. Less clothes, for example—”

Dex blows a loud raspberry kiss to my neck, cutting off my teasing and making me squeal like a schoolgirl. Wiggling against him in an attempt of self-preservation, an unfamiliar set of giggles erupt from deep inside me. Somewhere I didn’t even know still existed, and it’s all because of him.

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