Hearing him say it, I didn't think it would change things, but . . .

I stare at him, waiting for him to laugh or segue into some sort of fuckboy line, but he doesn't. My heart leaps when his hand grips the nape of my neck and pulls me closer.

Our lips meet and I forget how to breathe. His kiss is everything. Calm and thrilling. Comforting and painful. My mind stutters the longer his lips are on mine. The contract, my love for him, my desire to ignore the past and start over.

I pull him closer and let him wash every thought away.

The kiss ends. I feel drunk when I look into his eyes. "Don't run, Teags. Please."

He holds me tight against him. I feel his heartbeat racing against my chest. "I'm not."

We kiss again, deeper and more passionately than before. Suddenly, a blinding flash and cracking boom makes us shout. We wrap around each other in fear, then laugh.

"Okay, no. I'm running now," I say. He chuckles and takes my hand.

The room is dry and safe. The rain pelts loudly against the pool right outside, the sound mixing with the rumbling thunder in the distance. Beautiful weather for a wedding.

When I look over, Heath laughs while wiping the water from his face. His white shirt clings to him, showing every muscle beneath it. My body warms again.

I want him, yes, but in what way, I don't know. But that doesn't matter right now.

He watches me as I step closer and pull up on the hem of his shirt, raising his arms to let me pull it from him. He returns the favor, stripping my dress over my head, careful to keep it from dragging over my face or hair. His ridiculous body makes me long to feel it against me again. In me again.

"Heath," I run my hands down his torso, his smooth, damp skin teasing my palms. "I don't know what you want me to say right now."

"I don't want you to say anything," he says, pulling me closer. "Right now, I want to do something much better than talking."

He tilts up my chin and kisses me deeply. The passion behind his lips turns my longing into a heated ache. I wrap my arms around his neck. His hands run over my ass before he lifts me by the back of my legs.

The kiss breaks when he crawls onto the bed. Rather than laying me down, he keeps me with him, letting me drop onto my knees. Chest to chest, the kissing resumes, his tongue licking mine, my lips sucking his. My hand slides between his legs, stroking over his building erection. His breath grows heavier against my cheek.

I'm too lost in my desire for him to notice him unhook my top. It tickles over my breasts when it falls away. He runs his hands over them, tugging my nipples between his fingers.

I break the kiss with a moan.

He moves to sit, pulling me onto his lap. His mouth circles my nipple, sucking it hard, then following it with a gentle tease of his tongue. The feeling sets my body on fire. When his mouth moves to my other breast, I'm convinced I can come from this alone.

My hips grind against his lap. He cups my ass, encouraging me to go harder. The friction of layers of fabric between his erection and my wet seam drives me crazy.

I pull his face to mine and dip my tongue into his mouth, sliding it against his. We are on the same page. Hot, ready, full of angst. I want to savor this feeling, to ignore the gravity of the situation and the words he said right before. Ignore the fear that we won't have moments like this in the future. But I want him so bad.

I don't want to admit to him that I don't want this to end, but the way he kisses me, the way his hands slow my hips while increasing my intensity, one sliding up to the nape of my neck to pull me back in . . . He makes it easy to forget.

My body craves him so much, I shake. The layers between us feel like a prison. I pull at his trunks until I can reach in. He's rock hard and I'm tired of waiting.

"I need you," I whisper as I stroke him.

"You have me." He kisses me, humming against my lips. "However you want me."

I fall back and slip my bottoms from my hips. "Come here."

He takes my ankle in his hand and lifts it higher. I stare up at him, watching his look of longing while he unzips the back of my shoe and pulls it from me. He sets it beside us and lifts my other leg to remove the other. Looping his fingers into the sides of my bottoms, he slides them up and off my legs.

He eases my thighs apart and lowers himself to the mattress. I'm panting with desire. His mouth is on me a second later.

My eyes roll back. His tongue slides languidly through my folds, stimulating me further. When I moan, he hums his enjoyment with my clit between his lips.

"Oh my god," I whimper. His tongue flickers over my sensitive bud in a perfect rhythm. I grip my pillow, the sheets, fist his hair as the heat builds and builds. My pussy quivers as I teeter on the edge of my climax.

I pull him toward me and rip his shorts down his hips. Furiously, he tears open the packet, staring down at me while he rolls it on. He falls forward and when he pushes into me, my back arches and my legs fall to the sides.

He fills me, stretching my sensitive walls around him. His hips pump perfectly between my thighs, stroking against every aching spot inside me. My body squeezes around him and I moan.

"Heath!" I gasp. He moans in response.

He pulls my arm from his neck and pins it to the mattress, his hand sliding up my wrist, his fingers lacing between mine. I look up at him, watching the way he unravels while shattering me into pieces. He kicks up my leg to gain the perfect angle, the roughness of his thrusts stroking him against all the right places. The veins pop from his tensed muscles. He moves faster, his desperation palpable, his brow tensing in ecstasy. It's too much.

I melt around him. He hits that deep spot over and over, his hips clashing hard against mine. He doesn't look away. Those gray eyes growing darker, his breath becoming ragged.

Weeks of wishing I could have this moment with him. I'm not ready for it to end, but my body betrays me.

The pleasure floods through me, blinding me until—"Ah-ahh! Fuck!"

His moans grow louder while the orgasm tears me apart. He fucks me faster, harder, his hand squeezing mine until it hurts. Then, with a deep moan, he stills, his penis twitching inside me.

When I open my eyes, I catch his smile. That drunken look on his face makes me tremble. My body still grips him hungrily, the pleasure still flooding my brain with every chemical that makes me want to say and do stupid shit. I drown in it. 

"I fucking missed you," I whisper through my heavy breaths.

"I fucking missed you more." He lays his body on mine. With a kiss, he keeps me breathless.

I wrap myself around him, looking him in the eye when I tell him, "I'm not done with you yet."

He smiles and kisses me again.

. . .

The first round left me weak, but round two took me out. I don't realize I've fallen asleep until I wake up. The rain is just as heavy as before. I can't tell if it's dark because of the clouds or because it's getting late.

My head rests on Heath's arm, our fingers twisting together beside my head. I roll to my back and find him awake.

He grins. "Hi."

"How long have I been sleeping?"

"A while. It's almost nine."

I dart up. "What?!"

"I'm fucking with you," he laughs. "You know you're too anal for naps. It's been like ten minutes."

I smack a weak hand against his chest. "You are such an ass!"

He laughs harder and sits up. Pulling me to him, his lips catch mine and my anger fades. "I put that ass to sleep," he jokes.

I hold his face in my hands. "God, it's so sexy when you compliment yourself," I say with a playful roll of my eyes. He laughs and kisses me again. I glance at the clock behind him and see the time. "Fuck, Heath! You said I wasn't late!"

I scramble out of the bed and run to the bathroom. I snatch my outfit from the closet and check my hair. Shit, shit, shit. 

After I'm dressed and have an acceptable amount of makeup smashed onto my face, I rush out. "Have you seen my shoes?" I ask. Heath pushes the sheets beside him and lifts one up. "Lord."

I sit with him on the edge of the bed to put it on. He hands me the second shoe, and I pretend to ignore the tickle of his fingers stroking up and down my back. I turn to tell him goodbye but stop. 

The look in his eyes begs me to admit I know what he's thinking, what he's feeling, but I don't want to admit it to myself. "I missed this," he says. "I missed us."

"Heath . . ." My anxiety kicks up. "I missed this too, but . . ."

"But what?"

"When we made the contract, we agreed on everything for one reason. We didn't want to end up in this place."

"We didn't? Or you didn't?"

I give him a confused look.

My phone vibrates against the side table. I glance at it, but he pulls my face back to look at him. The intensity behind his eyes makes my brow furrow.

"You know how I feel about you, Teags. The contract is over," he says. My heart drops with his words. "What do you want to do now?"

My phone vibrates again. Dammit. Ryan's name and antagonizing smile light up my screen. "I have to answer. It's Ryan." 

Heath lays back with a frustrated sigh.

I answer it, "Yes, groom?"

"Where are you at? You're late!" He laughs while I grimace. Shitty timing all around.

"Yeah, I know. I'll be there in a sec." We end the call and I curse. "I really have to go." 

"Teags." 

I look at him over my shoulder. His expression begs me to stay. "I'm not running," I assure him. "We can talk after dinner, okay?"

His eyes drop from mine, his fingers trail down the end of my spine and drop to the sheets. "Yeah. Go."

_____

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