“Gage!”

He pries my legs open and slithers up my still-shaking body, dropping gentle kisses on my stomach and sides. My breasts are next, showered with feather-light kisses. He carefully licks my nipple, and though it still hurts, I pull him to me, urging him to suck. When he pulls it into his mouth, I fight the compulsion to cry out. It hurts like a bitch but I don’t want him to stop. I have the same craving for him. He drizzles some of the partially molten ice cream on my nipple and the cold soothes the burn. As it begins to trickle down, he sucks my nipple and much of my areola into his mouth, swirling his tongue. I grab his shoulders as my body trembles from the pleasure-pain combo. He switches sides, doing the same to my other breast before reaching down to slide two fingers inside me. With a moan, he moves up to my neck, sucking on my skin. I wrap my arms around him, dragging my nails down his back.

“Gage…”

He lifts his head and stares into my eyes with an intensity I haven’t seen before.

“Say it, Raven.”

“It,” I reply with a giggle.

I know what he wants but I confessed my love for him and he hasn’t said a word. Why should I say it again?

“You know what I mean. I want to hear the words, doll.”

He twists his fingers inside me, pressing down on my clit with his thumb. I grab his shoulders, staring into his eyes as his fingers do a slow dance – in, out, around, and around. He coaxes a whimper from me because this is excruciating. It’s sheer torture playing with me like this. It’s just enough to keep me aroused but not enough to get me off.

“Please,” he begs.

I slide my hands up his neck and cradle his face. The look in his eyes is my undoing. He may not be ready to say it but he’s ready to hear it. I’ll give him what he wants.

“I love you.”

He heaves a sigh of relief and closes his eyes, soaking up my words. When he finally opens them, he stares into mine apprehensively. Say it, I urge him silently. Say it. Instead, he removes his fingers and enters me in one fluid motion. I throw my head back, gasping as he fills me. His lips latch on to my neck, sucking as he begins to thrust into me slowly. I grab his ass, pulling him farther into me. I need to feel every inch of him. If he won’t give me the words, if this is all he can give, then I’ll take what I can get. I’ll take him however I can get him because I’d rather have a piece of him than nothing at all.

He moves at an unhurried pace, pulling out and pushing in with a slight twist of his hips. Dragging his tongue across my neck, he moves to the other side and sucks on my carotid. At this rate, I’m going to have permanent hickeys.

“Raven. I need you, baby doll.”

“You have me. Soy tuya.”

“Promise me you won’t leave again,” he implores.

“I promise.”

Where would I go? This man is my home, and it seems he needs me as much as I need him. I’m not going anywhere.

I slide my hands up his back, feeling him shiver above me. He shivered. From my touch. I feel like a fucking rock star. I tighten my arms around him as he tangles his hand in my hair, thrusting deeper. He slips a hand beneath my knee and lifts my leg to get a better angle. Keeping the same leisurely pace, he rolls his hips. His lips possess mine, his tongue mimicking his dick. I moan, capturing his tongue while I clench around him.

“You’re mine, Raven,” he whispers against my lips. “Mine.”

“Yes.”

I don’t know why he feels the need to say it so much. Is he trying to convince me or himself? I certainly don’t need convincing. Maybe it’s just his way of saying he feels the same. The reason really doesn’t matter; I love hearing him stake his claim on me.

“You’re fucking mine,” he growls, biting into my shoulder.

“Gage!”

“Scream my name. I want the whole fucking world to know you belong to me.”

He sinks deep, totally burying himself inside me. I gasp, unable to breathe, staring up at him wide-eyed and struggling for air. He tries to go deeper. If he pushes any farther, he’ll become an internal organ. Jesus. I scratch at his back, trying to find my voice to ask him to stop. I shake my head as tears begin to well in my eyes. He finally eases up and I draw a deep breath, expelling it through my mouth.

“Jesus, Gage. What the fuck are you trying to do, kill me?”

I breathe a sigh of relief when he pulls out, thinking I’m getting a reprieve. I was wrong. He flips me onto my stomach, pulls me up onto my knees, and is inside me again in three seconds flat. Reaching around, he presses down on my clit as he begins to move. Damn it. The man knows how to play my body like a classically trained musician. His teeth graze the skin on my back, sending sparks up and down my spine. I clench around him, his resulting moan echoing throughout my body.

“Do that again.”

I push back into him, squeezing him with all the strength I can muster. He rests his forehead on my back, sliding his fingers across my clit. He lets out a tortured groan, applying more pressure to his strokes on my clit. I keep my hold on him, rocking back and forth. His hands move to my hips, but he leaves me in control. A smack on my ass quickens my pace. He gathers my hair in a fist, yanking as he smacks my ass again. When his fingers dig into my hip, I know he’s about to take control. In and out he strokes, occasionally slapping my ass. I bite into the pillow, but it’s no help. I can’t contain these feelings. I start crying out, moaning, whimpering, begging. I think I screamed ‘I love you’ at one point.

“Come for me, Raven. I need to feel it.”

He releases my hair, grabbing my hips as he moves faster. My muscles clench and a tremor makes its way from the tip of my toes to the top of my head. I scream his name as I come, applying a death grip to the sheets. He slams into me repeatedly, grunting. Going deep once more, he comes with a groan. He collapses on top of me, his breathing ragged.

“Fuck, woman. I swear you got the best pussy I ever had.”

I smile to myself as he drops down on the bed, then I curl up next to him, burrowing in to his side. He stares up at the ceiling as he tries to bring his breathing back to normal, sliding his fingertips along my arm. His chest is damp with sweat and his heart is racing beneath my fingers. After a while, he shifts from under me and slides to the edge of the bed.

“Where are you going?” I sound all whiny and shit, but I was really comfortable. I smack his ass as he climbs out of bed, but he just chuckles and pulls on his jeans.

“I’ll be back in a minute.”

I watch him leave then stretch like a cat and move to his side of the bed. His scent is all over his pillow and I can’t get enough of it. He returns with a bowl and sets it on the bed.

“What’s that?” I ask.

“Ice.”

Holy fuck. What’s he going to do with that?

“Gage –”

“On your back.”

I swallow hard as I turn over, following his every move. He walks to the bathroom, returns with a towel, and sits on the edge of the bed. He folds the ice in the towel and places it across my breasts.

“For your nipples,” he explains. “Next time, you tell me if I’m hurting you,” he continues in a stern voice.

Next time? Soreness aside, I liked it. A lot. I wouldn’t mind a next time. “I liked it.” I shrug.

“Yeah?” He raises his brows. A mischievous smile graces his lips and my heart skips a beat, anticipating whatever it is he’s considering.

“Yeah.”

“Good to know.”

He climbs back into bed, between my legs, and lays his head on my stomach. I slide my fingers through his hair, stroking his scalp until we both fall asleep.

CHAPTER 21

***Gage***

There’s no better alarm than your woman’s lips wrapped around your dick, and that’s exactly how Raven wakes me up. When she realizes I’m awake, she smiles up at me and slowly licks the head. With a groan, I prop myself on my elbows to watch her.