He pulls back to really look at me, eyes searching my face for something. I wonder if he finds what he’s looking for. I see the moment he lands on a decision of some kind and wait for him to let me in on the secret.
“You gonna tell me, hotshot?”
“I’m scared you’ll run away if I do.”
Silence settles between the two of us as I catch up to where Rhodes is. I am always catching up to where Rhodes is.
“I’m not running, Rhodes.” He still looks unsure. “I’m all-in. I…” I pause. “I’m all-in.”
He strokes my face with his hand, soft. “Me too, sweetheart.” Then his mouth is on mine and it’s demanding and claiming all at once. “Come here,” he breathes, as if I could get any closer than I am right now, on top of him, limbs tangled together, skin pressed to skin.
“I’m here,” I say back, returning his kisses with fervor and urgency. How is it possible to want someone this much?
He slides his hands up my shirt, stoking my rib cage, murmuring praises into my skin, adoration into my soul. How is it possible to bewantedthis much? Rhodes kisses my body as if he’s afraid it will disappear, afraid that I’ll vanish if he doesn’t claim every single inch of it.
“You’re. So. Beautiful.” The words are each punctuated with a press of his mouth. “You’re right, I didn’t beg enough. Let me beg for you now.” He slides me off his lap and gets down onto the floor on his knees, hands bracketing either side of me. Rhodes looks up at me with raw devotion, and I wonder if this is what it was like for Greek gods to be worshipped by their people.
He tucks his fingers up under the waistband of my shorts and tugs them down my legs, leaving me bare before him. He groans a deep, guttural sound. “Jesus, sweetheart, you didn’t have anything on under these the whole time?” I nod. He presses a finger to the most sensitive part of my center and strokes me. I lean my head back against the back of the couch, eyes fluttering at his touch. “That’s right, baby.”
Rhodes adjusts his hand to slide down my already wet skin so he can press a finger inside me. I moan a breathy,“Rhodes,”and I look down to watch him grin.
“So pretty when you say my name.” He slips in another finger, pumping in and out of me. “You know how much I respect you, right, Monroe?” My face is puzzled at his admission right in the middle of his hands inside of me but he continues when I nod my confirmation. “Good. Because the way I need to fuck you might not feel like that in a minute.”
My eyes widen in understanding. I nod more vigorously at his suggestion and he pulls out his fingers, taking his time to lick off each one coated in my arousal. “So delicious, baby.” Then he picks me up with one easy motion and crosses the room to the hallway, kicking open my door and flipping me so I land stomach-side-down on my bed.
Rhodes leans over me, the hardness of his length pressing into my back, and gathers my hair around his fist, pulling slightly. I moan again at his handling and I am so wet he’s probably getting covered behind me. His chuckle is my confirmation. I hear the slow unzip of his jean, then they fall to the floor. I turn back over my shoulder to see him drop his boxers, his cock springing free. Words are completely failing me now.
“Turn around, baby,” he says. “I’m going to lose it and come all over your back if I don’t get inside you right now.” I do as I’m told and he grabs my hips, pulling me onto him in one motion. I whimper at the stretch without any ease into it but I like the way it feels. Nothing has ever made me feel as full as Rhodes in the best, most delicious way.
He pumps into me, fingers digging into my skin. I hope I have bruises tomorrow to mark where he grabs onto me. “Rhodes,” I cry out, gripping my sheets. He removes a hand from my hip and reaches around to add pressure to my clit. I feel the wave of orgasmapproaching and close my eyes, repeating his name over and over again. “I’m going to come,” I whine out.
“Me too,” he says, voice low behind me. He plunges into me one more time and it’s the tipping point for both of us. We fall over the edge together, panting heavily. He leans over, still inside me, kissing my shoulder. Always kissing me.
“I love you,” he whispers. “I love you, and if that scares you I’m so sorry, sweetheart, but you have to know it.” He rests his forehead against the center of my back.
“I love you, too,” I say. Because of course I do. It was always inevitable with him, I think.
Chapter Thirty
Rhodes
Monroe is curled up, satisfied and sleepy, pressed against me after our declarations, when she suddenly bolts up, hesitation all over her face. “There’s something I have to tell you.”
My entire body goes on alert and panic seizes my chest. “What is it?” What else could we possibly need to cover? Worst-case scenarios start racing through my brain.
She clears her throat, brushing a piece of hair behind her ear. “Aaron came to the rink yesterday. He had a proposition for me.”
“What the hell did he want?” Anger spikes hot and fast, pooling in my gut, such a difference in feeling from a moment ago.
Her lips twitch like she expected the reaction, but she continues. “He offered me my pairs spot back. Saidthere was an opening and I should talk to my old coach about it.”
I blink, pulse stuttering. She keeps going before I can say anything.
“Not on an Olympic track, necessarily. But I could compete in Nationals again. Maybe Worlds, if my ankle keeps holding.”
“Okay,” I manage, voice rough. “Well, I fucking hate those guys. But if this is what you want to do, I obviously support you.”
She lets out a slow breath. “I don’t know, honestly. I want to skate again. Competing was my life. But yeah, those guys really suck. And…” Her eyes flick to mine, guarded but honest. “I don’t want to lose this. Us. I know our schedules would be kind of tricky to line up…” She trails off, obviously nervous.