Page 67 of Radiant Exception
Vaughn released a guttural groan at the feeling of my walls constricting against him. He pulled away from my bruised and wet lips to bury his face in my shoulder as he rutted against me, coming hard inside me only moments later.
For a moment, he stilled, our ragged breathing the only noise in the room as we came back down to earth…or rather, theRadiant.
I whimpered as he pulled out of me, already mourning the loss of him as he collapsed beside me in bed, pulling me against him and tucking me into his embrace.
“I love you, Lark.” His words were muffled as I was squished against him tightly.
“I love you too, Vaughn.” I sighed happily into his chest.
Guess those three words weren’t so difficult after all.
I’d woken up with Lark curled up next to me before, but everything felt different the morning after.
Practically overnight, it felt as though everything had shifted between us. It was simultaneously exhilarating and terrifying. I had everything I could ever want lying in my arms, but that also meant that if she changed her mind, it could be gone in an instant.
I looked down at Lark to find her big blue eyes staring back up at me, her brow furrowed, clearly sensing my discord.
“What’s wrong?” She reached her hand up to run her thumb over my bottom lip, her voice husky from sleep. I willed my dick to soften. How was it that everything this woman did was a turn-on?
“Just overthinking things, like usual.” I gave a mirthless chuckle.
“I can fix that.” Lark’s smile was nothing short of beguiling as she threw a leg over mine and leaned up to kiss me.
Her distraction worked like a charm as I became lost in her almost immediately, loving the way her skin felt against mine, so soft and warm.
I’d confessed my feelings for her the night before without expectation, but when she returned the sentiments, my heart had never soared higher.
She didn’t know that I’d never been in love before, or said those words to anyone that I could remember. I’d tell her someday, but for now, it was a secret piece of us that I carried with me, knowing she was the only woman to ever hold my heart.
“What have you done to me, Trouble?” I murmured against her lips, caressing my hand along her bare hip, tugging her closer to me. I couldn’t ever get close enough.
“Nothing you haven’t done to me,” she laughed, teasing me with a few nips before settling on her back.
A comfortable silence enveloped us as we lay together for a moment.
Lark turned to me, her gaze fixed on mine. “I see you, you know?”
I turned on my side to face her, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. “What’s that supposed to mean?” Curiosity got the better of me.
She turned on her side, scooting closer so there was no longer room between us. Lark splayed her palm flat in the middle of my chest, her eyes flicking up to mine. “You know what it means.”
Her gaze was so intense, it was difficult to keep eye contact with her, but I found I couldn’t have looked away even if I tried. “Tell me,” I whispered, tugging her closer.
“I see you,” she repeated. “I see who you are, who you were, who you’ll become.” A smile began to form on her lips, her eyes stillboring into mine. “I see it, and I still want you. All of you. I want youbecauseof it.”
I found myself at a loss for words.
In a few short weeks, this infuriating but brilliant woman had turned my life upside down. But in that time, she had managed to see past every barrier I had erected around myself…every bit of protection I used to keep others at arm’s length—to keep them from seeing how truly vulnerable I was, how desperate I was to feel something—to fit in and belong. And this woman saw through all of it and wanted me anyway.
My chest tightened at the thought of how seen I felt in that moment.
I crushed her to me, unable to form words to express the impact of her sentiment.
“I love you too.” She laughed against me, understanding without words. “You know this means you’re stuck with me.”
“I wouldn’t have it any other way.” I placed a gentle kiss on her forehead, earning a soft sigh from her lips.
It took us a while and another couple exploratory sessions before we were able to leave our cozy little bubble inside the impromptu bed fort we’d constructed.
