Page 71 of Playing with Trouble

He laid his chest against mine and gently kissed the corner of my mouth.I could feel his cock pulsing inside me, just stretching me, claiming me, despite him not moving.

The heat in his gaze nearly set me on fire.“Fuck me, Ford,” I begged, already trembling.

He did, setting a rhythm that was all Ford—driving, controlling, and just ruthless enough to make me see stars.The kind of pace that saidI own your pleasure and I’m going to prove it.

When I tightened around him, a broken cry slipped out of me.He caught my thigh and shoved it higher around his waist, opening me wider, angling deeper and knocking a helpless sound out of me.

“That’s it,” he growled, his voice low and savage against my lips while he pumped in and out of me.“I’m going to ruin this pussy so you never forget who it belongs to.”

He kissed me then, deep and filthy and reverent all at once, and my orgasm crashed over me.My whole body arched off the bed, trembling uncontrollably as I cried out his name.He fucked me right through the pleasure until I thought I might break apart entirely, then followed me over the edge straight into bliss.

His entire body shuddered as he came inside me, then stilled.I finally let go of the headboard slats.I threaded my fingers in his hair and pulled him closer, basking in the warmth of his weight and the way our bodies fit perfectly together.The waywefit together.

Something inside of me settled as I realized that for the first time in my life, I wasn’t bracing for the moment someone let go.I was safe with Ford.Loved.

Eventually, Ford eased out of me and laid beside me, pulling me half onto his chest and I didn’t resist.His fingers drew lazy patterns on my back while I listened to the steady, powerful beat of his heart.

Neither of us spoke for a long moment.We didn’t need to.

Finally, he tilted my chin up with one finger so I was looking into his eyes.

“I meant what I said,” he murmured, his tone steady and true.“I want a life with you, Violet.All of it.The laughter, the fights, the stubbornness, the chaos.The boring days and the incredible ones.I’m in, all the way.”

“I’m in too,” I promised him without hesitation, and meant it.

“Good,” he said, pressing a soft kiss to my forehead.“Because I’m never letting you go, so you’re stuck with me.”

I smiled against his skin, warmth blooming in my chest.“I guess there are worse fates,” I teased softly.

He chuckled, tightening his arms around me and I felt it…that rare, impossible thing.A love that stayed.

Our story wasn’t perfect, but it was real and it was ours.

And it was only just the beginning.

EPILOGUE

Ford

At a wedding, all eyes were supposed to be on the actual people getting married.Unfortunately, while I was one of the groomsmen at Chase and Andrea’s wedding, I wasn’t paying any attention to the groom or the bride.

I only saw her.Pure trouble and the love of my life.

As the maid of honor, Violet wore a pastel lavender gown—revealing a soft, elegant version of her most people never got to see.She was the most beautiful person in the room to me, and that was saying something because Andrea made a stunning bride.

I noticed everything about Violet.The way she straightened Andrea’s veil with steady hands.The way she smiled softly when Chase teared up as Andrea walked down the aisle with her sister, Madison, at her side since both their parents were gone.The way she blinked back tears when Andrea and Chase exchanged vows.

Violet felt everything deeply.She just didn’t show that side to many people.But I was privileged enough to see these parts of her, and was so grateful this was the woman I intended to spend the rest of my life with.

I had to remind myself that proposing at someone else’s wedding was incredibly gauche.But the ring was tucked safely in my sock drawer at home, not in my pocket.Which was probably a good thing, because the urge to drop down on one knee and ask her to be my wife was strong.

I’d bought the ring last month, right after we signed on the house we bought together.I had a feeling Violet knew about the ring, but I also knew the ring itself wasn’t the thing that mattered most to her.The real proposal had been the commitment of us buying the house together.Giving her something she’d never had growing up—a safe and permanent home with the man who loved her and intended to stay.A future no one could take away.A place so she never had to fear abandonment again.

The house was a promise.The ring would just be my way of claiming her as my own in the eyes of everyone else.

The ceremony passed, and vows were exchanged.Chase looked at Andrea like she hung the damn moon.It soothed me, to see someone like Chase, who once insisted he couldn’t ever be happy or give a woman what she needed in a relationship, getting married and smiling at Andrea with a softness in his eyes that maybe bordered on tears (and I was sure his brother, Austin, would tease him for that later).

Chase deserved it, and so did Andrea.And Violet deserved a day like this, too.I couldn’t wait to give it to her when she was ready.