Page 85 of Incomplete
Nothing else soothed the ache inside other than being with him.
I sensed he felt the same as he deepened our kiss, matching me stroke for hungry stroke as our tongues tangled, unable to get enough until he slowed the tempo and pulled back.
“I’m so sorry, Lakelyn,” he murmured, caressing my face with the utmost care as if I were breakable. “Knowing someone had taken you—I’ve never felt so helpless, and my thoughts . . . my mind went to some awfully dark places. The thought of someone harming you, losing you—” His eyes squeezed together tightly. “It triggered an ache so deep inside it nearly broke me. I’ve never been so terrified.” He swallowed roughly and rested his forehead against mine. “I just need a second.”
“I’m here,” I reassured him, knowing deep down in my marrow the pain he felt firsthand.
“Thank fuck for that,” he whispered with an exhale of relief as he palmed my backside and deliberately started walking me backward into the shower.
“I’m not going anywhere.”
Boden’s eyes shot to mine as steam fogged up the glass-paneled walls. “Does that mean you’re staying here . . . permanently?” he queried, holding hope close to his chest while wordlessly pleading through the flecks of golden sparkles in his orbs, nearly making it impossible to contain my growing smile as I attempted to lighten the vibe blanketing us.
“Ultimately, I think that depends on my landlord.”
He quirked his brow. “Oh?”
“Mm-hmm.”
“I think it’s past time he evicted you.” He volleyed with a darkening, playful tone that made me squeeze my thighs together while he reached for the body soap and loofah.
“Pretty sure you need to give a tenant notice.”
I barely finished my sentence before he’d spun me around so my back was flush with his front. My bearings settled the moment his stubbled chin dragged across my cheek, and he scissored his teeth over my earlobe. “Here’s my notice.” He groaned, holding me tighter.
Notes of Calabrian bergamot and amber wood filled my senses, eliciting a sinful rush of arousal through my veins. The knowledge Boden was marking me with his scent was an aphrodisiac. From the way he slid the loofah over the tops of my shoulders and across my chest with care before leisurely lowering it through the valley of my breasts to where he caressed the span of my stomach, leaving tingles in its wake before dipping lower to where I ached for him most.
“I want you here, in my shower, in my bed, and in my house. I want nothing more than to make it a home with you. Make it ours. I never want to be without you again.” He then kissed a path down the column of my neck before scraping his teeth back to my ear. “How’s that for notice?”
This man.
I whimpered, pulsing with infinite adrenaline fueling my veins. It was my turn to wash him. Drive him out of his mind with lust. Push him to the edge of ecstasy, then draw back, heightening an unfiltered need.
Reaching for the loofah, I turned steadfast to return the courtesy.
His body speaks to me, igniting a blaze so intense it’s embedded deep in the marrow of my bones.
Boden was an incredibly attractive man, not just because he had a mind-blowing physique carved to perfection with muscles that set my skin aflame and tattoos that made wearing panties useless. It was also because of the immeasurable size of his heart that shined so brightly that it made him irresistible.
I slid the soaped loofah over his arm, washing away any remnants of soot he missed when he showered in the hospital before repeating the process on his other side. It took everything in me not to meet his eyes as I cleaned his body with the same care and attention he bestowed upon me, but watching the lather slide down the crevices of his drool-worthy abs to where he was hardening under my touch was my ultimate downfall.
My insides clenched with yearning as my fingers dug possessively into his hipbone while my thumb stroked back and forth over the edge of his deep V-shaped muscle line. I bit down on my lip as delirium took over my movements.
“Lake,” he groaned as if his patience was about to snap. “I can’t—”
The way my name sounded crossing his lips, loaded with a heavy magnitude of desire, made me dizzier than if I’d downed a potent cocktail.
Next thing I knew, his hands gripped the back of my thighs with intention, and he hoisted me up until my back pressed against the cold shower tiles and my knees wrapped eagerly around his hips.
“I’m a weak man. I need you.” His mouth eagerly kissed and nipped across my collarbone. “God, I need you so much.” Boden shifted his weight slightly and slid a hand up my neck, cupping my cheek. “I love you, Lakelyn. I never thought love was in the cards for me, but it turns out it was because I hadn’t found you yet, and now that I have, I’m never letting you go.”
“Promise?” My question whispered across my lips while I weaved my hands into his thick wet hair, and my heart rate quickened.
“Yes. You’re the only one for me. I can’t live without you.”
No one had ever chosen me.
I’d grown up with abandonment issues. I learned to keep everyone but my sister at arm’s length to protect my heart. Therefore, I held my cards closer to my chest because I began questioning my purpose and role in life whenever they reminded me I meant nothing to them. It was like a physical slap to the face—a disappointment I refused to allow in my life over and over.
