“Hard…er,” she stammered.
Slick, wet, heat coated his cock. So fucking hot it scalded, burned, set every cell in his body on fire.
Holden gave her nipple one last pinch before he slid his hand under Charleigh’s shoulder so he could hold her steady as he set about fucking his woman. Gone were the gentle glides. Her body jolted under his as he slammed into her until her pussy quivered. Her climax detonated his. His ears roared, muffling the sound of their bodies coming together, drowning out her moans, dulling the sound of her chanting his name. And just like always, the world melted away. It was him and her and their connection. Insane pleasure rippled through him—nothing had ever felt so good and he thought she should know that.
“Nothing in the world feels as good as you.”
Holden rolled his hips, an insatiable need to be as deep as he could get. His body shook when the first jet of come poured into her. He didn’t stop trembling until he’d emptied himself fully, and only then did he feel truly whole. A carnal satisfaction washed over him. It was probably the most animalist, savage, honest thought he’d ever had. But there it was—Charleigh turned him into a barbarian, and knowing he’d bathed, marked, laved her with his release made his chest expand. It filled him with gratification that a woman as perfect as Charleigh would accept him into her beautiful body.
The only thing better would’ve been if our coupling resulted in a baby.
“Holden,” Charleigh wheezed, and Holden quickly rolled, taking some of his weight off of her.
“Most beautiful woman on the planet.”
“Hardly,” she returned and tried to look away but Holden caught her chin and held her gaze.
“I’m serious, Leigh-Leigh. Everything about you calls to me. It’s primal and soul-deep. You’re it for me. No one in the world compares to you.”
Holden saw it—uncertainty.
Fuck. No.
“Promise me you’re gonna fight so we can get back what I broke.”
“I can’t.”
Those two whispered words felt like a blade to his throat. He needed this woman to live. And if he hadn’t before, he did it right then—with his spent cock still buried deep, their combined releases leaking down his balls, the smell of her surrounding him, the memory of her moaning his name still fresh in his mind—he vowed to never stop fighting. He would win her back. There was no other option.
“You can.”
“I can’t until you prove to me this is real. I can’t let myself get so caught up in us that I lose focus on what’s important. I can’t let you barge in again and sweep me off my feet. This time, it’s different. It’s not just me.” Charleigh paused to lick her lips and her eyes turned pleading. “Please be real. Please prove to me that this time you’ll trust me. Please fight for us until I know that you won’t turn on me again. I know we’re supposed to be leaving the past in the past but, Holden, that wound is deep and it never went away. I’ve never stopped loving you. So, I need you to do all the work. You have to win me and Faith. And you’re gonna have to fight me to let you back in.”
That was all Holden needed to hear. He’d prove all of that and more. He’d show her she could trust him.
“I love you, my sweet Leigh-Leigh.”
She gave him a small smile and nodded but she didn’t return the words.
Those would come.
But for now, the way she was staring up at him like he was her whole world was enough. He vaguely wondered if she knew she wasn’t hiding anything from him. Then he remembered she never had. Even when he’d been a douche she’d never withheld her true self. The thought both humbled and sickened him. She’d given him everything and he’d turned his back on her.
Never again. He’d make it up to her, then spend the rest of his life showing her how much he adored her. And he’d forge a relationship with Faith, he’d let the little girl guide them. He’d be anyone she wanted him to be. Friend, stepdad, daddy…whatever Faith wanted, that’s what she was going to get.
Soon, he’d have his family back.
25
I sat fidgeting in Holden’s Suburban, so nervous I was speechless.
The last two days had been weird.
Yesterday, I’d woken up sore in all the right places. Then I had a freak-out worrying about how Holden would behave. To say he wasn’t pleased when I’d rolled out of his bed in favor of the one I was sharing with Faith was an understatement. He’d pleaded with me to stay. He even promised to wake me up early so I would be out of his room before Faith woke up, but I still said no. I was proud of myself for not giving in, even though I really, really wanted to sleep next to Holden. When I’d gone downstairs to make coffee, he’d had a mug ready for me. I wanted to swoon over his thoughtfulness but simply thanked him and braced. We stood in the kitchen in silence that should’ve been awkward but Holden just went about making breakfast like he hadn’t given me two of the best orgasms of my life. I told myself they were better than normal because they weren’t self-induced, but that was a lie. A big, fat lie.
They were the best because Holden knew exactly how to work my body. He knew because the two years we’d been together, he’d made it his mission to discover every secret spot that made me crazy. He’d held back, and with Faith in the house, I appreciated him not taking me where he often had, reducing me to a sobbing, blubbering mess as I begged for mercy. If there was such a thing as dying by orgasm I would’ve been six feet under. For the record, that wasn’t a thing—after all, I was still alive—but there was such
