I pace in Stone’s room—our room, I’ve started thinking of it as ours—and try not to check the clock every thirty seconds. The FBI briefing needed to happen. The logistics needed to be discussed. The brothers needed to know what was coming.
But that doesn’t mean I have to like it.
I can still feel him. That’s the thing. Hours later, freshly showered, wearing one of his t-shirts and nothing else, and I can still feel the ghost of his hands on my hips. The stretch of him inside me. The way he made me scream three times in under two hours like it was nothing.
Every time I move, my muscles remind me of what we did. The good kind of sore. The kind that makes me want to do it all over again.
That was the appetizer, he’d said.
God help me when we get to the main course.
I’ve tried to distract myself. Reviewed case files, checked my email, attempted to read the novel I’d been working through for the past month. But the words kept blurring, replaced by images of Boone’s face as he came. The sound of his groan, the way he’d looked at me after, like I was precious to him….
When the door finally opens, I practically jump out of my skin.
Stone looks as frustrated as I feel. His hair is mussed—he’s been running his hands through it, a tell I’ve come to recognize—and there’s tension in his shoulders that wasn’t there this afternoon.
“Sorry.” He closes the door behind him, flipping the lock with deliberate emphasis. The click of the deadbolt sounds impossibly loud in the quiet room. “Hawk had questions. Tank had concerns. Duck wanted to talk about his goddamn speech for tomorrow.”
“Is everything handled?”
“Everything is handled.” He crosses to me, pulling me into his arms like it’s the most natural thing in the world. Like he’s been doing it for years instead of days. “For the next twelve hours at least, there are no emergencies. No crises. No interruptions.”
I melt into him, breathing in the scent of leather and soap and spice that’s justhim. “You told them not to disturb you?”
“I told them I’d shoot anyone who knocked on that door before sunrise.”
I laugh, but it dies in my throat when I see the intensity in his eyes. This is different from earlier. This afternoon was urgent,desperate, two people who’d been holding back for too long finally snapping. This is... something else.
Something that makes my heart beat faster for reasons that have nothing to do with lust.
“Boone...”
“I made you a promise.” He backs me toward the bed with slow, deliberate steps, but there’s no urgency in it. Just intent. Purpose. The kind of focus he usually reserves for club business, now directed entirely at me. “This afternoon was fast. Hard. Everything we needed it to be.”
The backs of my knees hit the mattress.
“But tonight?” His hands come up to cup my face, tilting it toward his. His thumbs stroke my cheekbones with devastating gentleness. “Tonight I’m going to take my time. Learn every inch of you. Make you feel things you’ve never felt before.”
“That’s a bold claim,” I manage, my voice already breathless. “Considering what you did to me earlier.”
“Earlier was just the warm-up.” He brushes his thumb across my lower lip, and I have to resist the urge to draw it into my mouth. “This is the real thing.”
He kisses me—slow and deep and thorough. Not rushed, not frantic. Like he really does have all the time in the world and intends to use every second of it. His tongue slides against mine in a lazy rhythm, tasting, savoring. I melt into him, my hands fisting in his shirt, pulling him closer even though there’s no space left between us.
He kisses like he’s memorizing me. Like every press of his lips is a promise he intends to keep.
When he finally pulls back, we’re both breathing harder.
“Arms up,” he murmurs.
I comply, and he draws the borrowed t-shirt over my head with reverent care. I’m not wearing anything underneath—hadn’t seen the point after my shower—and his breath catches at the sight of me.
“Beautiful.” His eyes trace over me like a physical touch, leaving heat in their wake. “Every time I see you, I can’t believe you’re real.”
“You saw me naked three hours ago.”
“And I plan to see you naked every day for the rest of my life.” He meets my eyes, and the intensity there steals my breath. “If you’ll let me.”
