Page 135 of Grin and Bear It

“Yes, you do.”

Somehow I knew, feeling more confident of this man’s mental state than I had of anyone I’d been with before meeting the sleuth. I shifted slightly, feeling my breasts sway and he followed their every movement with rapt attention.

“OK, I fucking do.” I loved the sound of that gravelly voice, the sheer need throbbing there. “But I don’t have to do anything about it. I can put you first.”

“Maybe you should put me on my back instead?”

His eyes were like twin blue flames burning into mine as he stared.

“You want to be real sure of what you’re offering there. Every fucking day I fight the bear in order to hold myself back, to give you more time to get to know us, to adjust.”

“And getting me off with a paintbrush was part of that?” I asked with a sly grin.

“Getting you off with a paintbrush was exactly that,” he confirmed. “I wanted so much more. To sink into all of that soft, slick heat. To feel you all around me, sucking my cock in, not my fingers. Feeding that hot little cunt of yours everything it needs.” He moved closer, his lips hovering over mine. “Watching you come apart from the pleasure I made you feel, screaming because you felt so good from what I was doing.”

“Screaming?” I meant it as a joke, but my voice was all breathy instead.

“Screaming,” he said with a smug nod. “Because I’d be locking down inside you, tugging on that spot that aches so sweetly for me and—”

“Yes.”

I’d knew I’d still be in pain and hurting from all that had transpired tomorrow and probably the day after that and the day after that. Maybe weeks or months at a time, it was always hard to know. But right now it felt like I was shoving that to one side, promising the heartbreak it’d have its time later.

But not now, I thought.Let me just have this. Please let me have this.

Cole surged forward, as if in answer, his hands going to my cheek, cradling it as he kissed me hard.

For a moment the thought struck me that we were like two crocodiles, the way we thrashed around in the bath, sending water splashing down on the floor as we fought to get closer to each other. I needed the taste of him more than my next breath and he needed mine just as much, from the sounds of his low growls. Our kisses were harsh, biting, cruel, but they had my body throbbing in anticipation.

And I didn’t have to wait for long.

He scooped me up out of the bath, carrying me dripping from the bathroom to the big bedroom I’d romped in with Nash and Lin, and I could almost feel the shadow of them as Cole stood there, just staring.

“You’re making me feel self-conscious,” I said, my hands sliding across wet flesh to cover me from his eyes, but he stopped me.

“Don’t be. Not with me. I might’ve fucked up with that painting, but my intent is still the same. I want to burn the sight of you into my brain, so every time I blink, I see the echo of you there.” His eyes roamed across my wet body. “My mate. My beautiful fucking mate.”

“So make me yours.”

I knew roughly what that meant, but hey, I either over-thought things until I’d flogged an idea to death, or rushed in where angels feared to tread, and it looked like I’d do the second this time. But I wanted him, wanted his hands on me, claiming me, taking me, making me his and his sleuthmates’, marking me…

“Fuck, you’re so damn perfect…”

Cole groaned that out before picking me up and throwing me down on the bed, following me down soon after, pinning me with that big, hard body, the weight of him pressing me into the mattress, a welcome feeling. I felt anchored now, like I had a central point amongst all of the chaos, and I clung to it, clung to him.

My thighs parted and so did my body, my legs wrapping around his waist, trying to drag him in, to scratch that itch he’d described, but he kissed me and pulled away, kneeling between my thighs before spreading them wider.

“Need to get you ready for me,” he said. “So you can take me easy.” His eyes slid down my body. “And the taste of you? It’s been fucking haunting me since that day.”

I grabbed his hair and used it to push his head down.

“Then take all you need…”

Anything else I might have had to say was cut off by my gasp. My back arched at the first swipe of his tongue, separating the folds of my cunt and making me aware of every bit of my intimate flesh, before he flicked at my clit, over and over, forcing my body to jolt at each caress. His fingers slid inside me, the harsh stretch a welcome thing, the rub of those fingertips close to what I needed, but not quite. I squirmed restlessly, reaching for something more, something beyond this.

“Needy?” Cole’s chin shone with my slick, which he seemed determined not to wipe away. “What do you need, Ellie? Just tell me and I’ll give it to you.”

“You!” I cried, dragging him closer.

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