Page 72 of Tangled Up

“Oh, Beck…” I can barely think. “I’m coming again.”

His fingers cut into my ass, pulling me closer as he goes deeper, hitting me in that place that blanks my mind. He leans down to kiss me, sucking my tongue into his mouth as we move faster, more desperate. We’re right on the blistering edge, ready to fly through the stars.

He groans an animalistic sound, primal and thrilling, and I break into a million pieces as I feel him hold, his cock jerking between my thighs as he groans in satisfaction.

My arms are around his neck, and I’m limp as a doll. My robe is gone. My body is flush against his, breasts flat against his chest, legs around his waist. We’re breathing hard, coming down, and it’s all so perfectly good.

I’m his. I’ve always been, and in this moment, I’m home.

CHAPTERTWENTY

BECK

I’m lying on my back, waking up from the best night’s sleep. Carly’s soft head rests against my chest, and the sun peeks through sheer-purple, butterfly curtains. I walked her back to the house last night, but I couldn’t leave her at the door.

She led me inside, kissing me, love drunk. We made love again before finally falling asleep on her bed. Now I trace my finger lightly along the soft curl touching her cheek. She’s so beautiful. She’s given me a second chance, and I’ll never let her down again.

When I left her at the festival, I walked along the shore to my house thinking about what we’d said. I gazed up at the stars, thinking about her arms around me on the Ferris wheel and how good it felt to have her again. I thought about her kisses, her tears, her laughter.

Then I remembered her fear when Oliver walked out of the dunes, and I caught a glimpse of what she’s trying to hide. As much as she says Alize Willis is not a threat, I’m not sure she believes it, and my blissed-out state rapidly morphed into fierce protectiveness.

I took off practically jogging up the familiar paths to her aunt’s cottage. I had to get to her and be sure she was safe. Hell, I was prepared to sleep on her front porch all night if that’s what it took.

Then I saw her through the window, leaning over the bouquet of pansies, wrapped in a short, pink and white striped robe. Her dark hair was gathered in a messy bunch on top of her head, and she was the greatest thing I’d ever seen in my whole life.

It set my blood on fire.

I had to have her.

I’m surprised we made it as far as we did before I took her. The way we were together last night was better than it’s ever been. The first time we saw each other after our long separation, we were horny and angry.

Well, she was angry. She wanted to fuck me, and I had to have her again in a fever-dream sort of way. I was a dying man who’d discovered a lifesaving spring of water.

Last night was completely different. Don’t get me wrong, it was still passionate and hot, but it was consummation.

Our bodies confirmed what our minds had already decided. Last night when I held her, when I kissed her, it was peace. It was coming home.

Now she’s in my arms again, and I can hold her, treasure her, slide my hands along her skin, and reclaim all of her body. We know each other so well, yet this time, she’s mine in a way she’s never been.

When we were teenagers, everything was new, and we were learning together. We had no idea what was coming down the road or the forces that would drive us apart. We didn’t know who we were or what we would become.

Being with her on the other side of that journey is even more meaningful. Waking in the night, in this soft bed with her, I slid between her thighs without opening my eyes. Her hands covered my cheeks as my lips covered hers, and we rocked together like the waves on the ocean.

Now watching the light break across her cheek, realization dawns in my mind. I’m going to put a ring on her finger and make it official. I drop my head back on the pillow and gaze at the butterfly curtains drifting in the breeze.

Yes. A life together. I trace my finger down her bare arm.My wife.

I wonder where I might find a ring on such short notice…

These thoughts are a dreamy buzz in my mind when the room bursts into activity.

“Carly?” Her aunt calls from the other side of the door, giving it a sharp knock. “You left your sock monkey in the crates I’m taking to the church.”

Carly jumps awake so fast, she falls off the bed, hitting the floor with a loud thump.

My eyebrows shoot up, and I roll forward. “Are you okay?”

She springs to her feet, nearly catching me with an uppercut. Snatching up her robe, she wraps it around her body tightly and scrambles with the blankets.

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