Page 81 of The Devil's Reward
His body is slick with sweat, his abs flexing with each thrust of his hips, muscles bulging. His biceps flex as he adjusts his hold on my legs, pushing them wider and higher, and I moan when the angle of his thrusts changes and he hits my G-spot. “Yes, right there,” I gasp, body clenching down on him, trying to keep him there to hit it again and again.
“I got you, gorgeous,” he gasps out, increasing his pace and making me see stars. “Fuck, you’re so fucking tight,” he grits out as his balls slap against my ass. “I’m not going to last long with you like this.”
I’m so close that I can feel it burning in my blood, tightening my muscles and making my toes tingle. “I’m so close, Shadow,” I rasp.
“Touch your clit, Quinn,” he orders, speeding up even more. “Get yourself there. Show me.”
I would normally never do that, too shy to even consider it, but my mind is elsewhere and I do as he asks. I bring my fingers between my legs, swirling them around my clit, making me moan as I move faster and faster. Desire is swamping me, and I’m desperate for release.
“That’s it,” Shadow praises as he pounds into me. “Keep going, Quinn. Rub that pretty clit until you cum. Let me feel it.” My inner walls clench hard around him and he hisses out a breath as my orgasm swells, just within reach. “Fuck, Quinn,” he snarls when I finally peak.
“Shadow,” I gasp loudly, and he swiftly takes my mouth with his and drinks down my cries as my orgasm consumes me. It’s heaven and hell all rolled into one, and I don’t want it to ever end.
Shadow continues to pound inside me, chasing his own release, until he snarls into my mouth and presses tightly inside me as he cums. When he finally stills, he pulls his mouth away and presses his sweaty forehead to mine. He carefully releases my legs and I let them fall to the bed, my breathing shallow as I try to catch my breath.
We lay there like that for a few moments, neither of us wanting to move or speak. To break the connection between us.
Finally, Shadow presses a quick kiss to my lips and then carefully pulls out, making me groan as he retreats leaving me swollen and sensitive. He climbs out of the bed to dispose of the condom but quickly returns to me. “Damn, gorgeous,” he breathes. “I think you almost killed me.”
“Me?” I reply with a husky laugh. “You’re the one that decided to torture me,” I remind him righteously. “Only serves you right.”
He chuckles, pulling me into his arms and rolling us until I’m laying on top of him, my head on his chest. His hand lazily strokes my back, soothing me. “It was worth it,” he tells me.
We’re quiet for a while, but of course, that means my brain has a chance to intrude. Doubts start to slide in. I open my eyes to study him as he lays there, eyes closed. He’s so damn handsome, and I can’t believe he’s in my bed. But am I moving too fast? We only went on our first date yesterday, and here he is, already in my bed. What does that say about me? Will he think I’m easy? Or so hard up that I’ll welcome just anyone into my bed without much of an effort?
“What’s got that mind of yours going a million miles a minute?” Shadow asks, pulling me out of my thoughts.
My face flushes in embarrassment. “Nothing,” I mutter.
“Uh uh,” he replies, eyes opening and holding mine. “It’s obviously something. I can’t help alleviate any worries you have if I don’t know what they are, Quinn,” he points out gently.
I sigh. “I’m sorry, I’m ruining this,” I say morosely.
“Gorgeous, you could never ruin this,” he scolds with a shake of his head. “Are you having doubts about us? Or do you think we rushed this?”
I hesitate to answer, but the way he watches me holds no judgement, only curiosity and concern. I bite my lip and tell him, “I just worry that you’re going to get bored with me. We’ve moved kind of fast, and I worry that you’re going to change your mind one day and leave me heartbroken. And not just me, Macy. She’s already attached to you after only a couple of days, and if we don’t work out, she’ll be the one hurt the most.”
“Quinn, neither of us knows what the future holds. But I know that I want you, and I want Macy. I want to see what we can do with this, and I want to be in your and Macy’s lives. For the good and the bad. When she’s being a little con artist, and when she’s screaming the house down because she’s not getting her way.” He trails off, and my heart pounds in my chest. Finally, he says, “I want a family of my own, Quinn. I watched a couple of my brothers already find their women, find their happiness. I’ve been looking for years, but any woman that caught my interest didn’t keep it enough for me to consider a life with them. Children. A home.
“Growing up, I didn’t have a family like yours, and when I found my team in the Forces, it felt like I finally found what I was missing. Then I lost them. Until Bullet found me in that bar and showed me that I could have another family, I just had to prove I wanted them enough. I busted my ass for that first year, did the grunt work, dealt with the hazing, and realized pretty quickly that I wanted everything they had to give me. Rose mothered me, to the point that it was almost too much, but I didn’t realize then how much I needed it.
“She’s the one who got me in therapy for my PTSD. Without her, I’d probably be drinking myself into the ground to self-medicate. I didn’t want to talk to the shrink at first, but after a while, it helped. The nightmares decreased, and I had a different perspective on life. A better one. And then I decided that I wanted a woman of my own. I saw Bullet and the way he interacted with Rose. She drives him insane, but he loves her fiercely, and he protects her with everything in him. I want that. With you,” he adds, staring into my eyes. “I want that with you, Quinn.”
Tears fill my eyes. Has anyone ever said those words to me? Bobby used to tell me he wanted me all the time, but that was for sex and a hot dinner. He didn’t stare at me with such intensity that it felt like he was stealing my breath. Like his words were wrapping around my heart and squeezing. “Why?” I whisper.
He reaches up and wipes away a stray tear that falls on my cheek. “Because you’re everything I fought for. Everything I survived for,” he murmurs, cupping my cheek. He sits up, making me slide down, but he pulls me back up so I’m straddling him and our faces are close to each other. “I did a lot of bad things over there, all of them needed,” he continues, his tone low and serious. “I killed people for my country, fought off the bad guys, and every time I came home, I wondered what I was fighting for. Sure, I had my team, and I fought for them, but it wasn’t the same. Some of my teammate's parents would welcome us back, but I had no one waiting for me.
“No one of my own flesh and blood, or one of choice, to say they were proud of me. I told myself there had to be a reward for this somewhere in life. And now I know it was you. I fought like hell to find you, Quinn, and I can’t let you go. I know it’s fast, and I know you’re probably overwhelmed, but I’m not going anywhere. I learned to fight in the Forces, and I never give up. I didn’t give up when my team died in that firefight, and I’m not going to give up on you and me. Because you’re my light in the darkness, Quinn. You’re my reward in this life.”
Tears pour from my eyes, and I nod slowly. I don’t have the words to give him back so I press my mouth to his to let him feel them for himself.
I just slid headlong into love, and I’m not sure if I should be elated or terrified. I just hope if Shadow feels I’m his reward, he won’t be disappointed.
FORTY-ONE
BULLET
We need to find this fucking mole. He hurt my Rose, and the only thing that will save him now is God himself.
