She scans the lake, not seeing anything but shadowy trees. “It’s, umm, dark.”
I smirk as my hands wrap around her waist, and I hoist her up. She wraps her legs around my hips, her arms snaking around my neck. Her lips twitch. “If you are going to say I’m your favorite view, you didn’t need to wade into the middle of the lake to see me.”
I kiss her until she squirms in my arms. Right. I’m not here to fuck Eleanor in the middle of a lake. I mean, that would be a bonus, but not what this is about. I rest my forehead against hers. “Lean your head back, trouble.”
She shakes her head. “My head might go under.”
That sentence tells me all I need to know about what she’s been through. “I have you. I promise you won’t go under. Sometimes you have to take a risk to witness something spectacular.”
She draws in a breath, a long moment passing between us, then releases it and leans back. I know what she’s seeing, so I don’t look, my entire focus on her reaction.
“Stars,” she whispers, relaxing more and letting her hair touch the water, the call of the universe too much to resist. I can see diamonds reflecting in her eyes, and I realize my home isn’t in the confines of a building or the MC I’ve found peace with, it’s in her.
Eleanor Austin is my home.
Chapter Forty-Four
Eleanor
Dream dirty, dream big—just dream of me.
There are moments when your world tilts on its axis and begins to rotate into a future you never dared dream. Being held in Hunter's arms while he shows me the stars, knowing I could fall and he would catch me was one of those. He carries me back to shore, wrapping us in the discarded blanket as he leads me through the forest to the tiny tent, set a little away from everyone else. We don't speak as he unzips the door and ushers me inside. The tent is literally big enough for the pair of us to lay down. I expect a squeaky blow up mattress, but the floor has some sort of memory foam on it underneath the double sleeping bag. I shed the damp blanket and climb inside, chills trembling through my body. Hunter zips the door before following me and cocooning us inside. His scent, warmth, and protective presence surrounds every inch of me. I roll to face him, needing to see his eyes. The tent is full of shadows, but I've never felt more seen in my entire life.
My fingers trail over his chest, pausing where Steph’s date is forever etched into his skin. He's been through so much. The deepest scars are not the visible ones; they are the wounds carved into our hearts so deep it hurts with every beat, reminding us of our pain with every breath. I cannot take away his hurt, but perhaps together, we can make memories that push the hard ones away.
This is one of those moments. I don't want dirty words and tricks tonight. I want to bare my heart and truly show someone, for the first time, everything that I am. If you change nothing, then nothing will change. I want to grasp those fine threads of a future where I don’t just breathe, I live, I explore, I soar, unafraid of falling because I know someone will always catch me. Partnerships should be about synergy, where together we are more than the sum of our wholes.
"Eleanor," he chokes, his voice rough with an emotion I can’t place. "Kiss me."
It's a need, one I feel deep in my chest. The vulnerability I have shown him, he is offering back, peeling away the locks he keeps around himself and letting me truly in. I lean in, and our mouths fuse together in a delicate dance of openness and light. He grabs my knee and secures it against his hip, his cock nestling between my legs, pushing against my clit with every shift of his powerful body. Fuck, that feels amazing. He doesn't push inside, letting our heated kiss control his hips. He rolls in waves, sometimes going deeper, faster, other times slower and softer. It makes me dizzy with need. With desire. With... he finally pushes inside of me, rocking our bodies in a slow rhythm that drives me wild. But it's perfect. Every single thrust is like he's tangling our individual pieces to form a new path. I want it, more than I've ever wanted anything before. Something for me. Something entirely mine.
His lips barely leave mine as we move together in a slow harmony neither of us have ever experienced. Nothing like the rushed frenzied need I goaded him into. This is deeper, more intimate, going beyond a simple release. We both want this to last. Beyond this moment. Beyond tomorrow when the sun forces us to face the demons we released.Forever.There's something incredibly freeing in letting all your walls down, taking off your mask and shedding the responsibilities we both know are waiting for us. We need to take these stolen moments under the stars and let them carry us through the dark times. His free hand tangles in my hair, and he gives it a small tug, making me clench around him.
"Stay with me," he utters against my lips. I know he doesn't mean now.
"Always."
I expect him to speed up, knowing he can't ignore his release forever. I know I can't. I press tighter against him, gaining a little more friction that makes me cry out his name. His lips fuse with mine, and he slides so deep I feel him everywhere. It’s too much and not enough. It’s everything and nothing. It’s…him.His chest rubs against my breasts, and then I'm flying, my back arching, my body flush to his, and he follows me over the edge, right there beside me, exploding with a soft growl. That axis tilt solidifies, and my world now irrevocably encompasses him.
The surrounding air is thick with emotion as our bodies cool. He pulls the sleeping bag up to cover my shoulder, tucking us in as we catch our breath. I try rolling away, the feelings inside of me overwhelming, and I need space to breathe. His grip on my hip tightens. He's still hard and lodged inside of me, filling me completely inside and out. But I know he came.
"Where are you trying to go, Eleanor?"
"We-I-W-wha -don't know. I can't—” My thoughts are a jumbled mess, my words barely more than gasps between us.They are all fighting to escape, but also huddle in the corner, eager to be put back into their box. But the box doesn’t exist anymore. Nothing is the same. Everything’s changed.
His arm comes around my back, and he pulls me even closer. "Breathe, trouble. It's okay."
"I—” Love you? Is that what this is? Panic and peace war within me, my skin feeling too tight for my body. How would I know? I don't have anything to compare it against. I loved my mother and, for the most part, my brother. But to be in love? That's something entirely different. It's not a link generated by a genetic biological quirk. It's a choice. One you have to make. One you have to open yourself enough for. I don’t even know if I’m capable offalling in love.
"I know," he whispers. "Trust me, I know. But I want to see your eyes when I tell you I love you for the first time."
Not if, when. I'm losing myself in this man. The closed off biker with a warm heart who makes me see stars.
"Okay." What else can I say? We both know. He's taken a step deeper than me, which I appreciate. He seems to always be ahead of me in this, but I am happy to follow his lead.
He slides his cock out of me and gently rolls me so my back is against his chest. He kisses the side of my neck, igniting those little sparks I’ve come to love down my spine. He's insatiable, and I love it.
"Stay still, trouble."
