Page 31 of From the Wreckage
Brielle
The Fourth of July sun is hot on my shoulders, the air thick with the smell of grilled burgers, hot dogs, and lake water. Dad is in his element, flipping food on the grill while Tom and Anita chatter beside him. I smile when I should, laugh when I’m supposed to.
But none of it holds my attention. Not when Everett is here.
He leans back in a chair at the edge of the deck, dark shades hiding his eyes, a beer bottle dangling from his fingers like he hasn’t got a care in the world.
But I know better.
Every time Dad looks away, those hidden eyes are on me. And when I catch him, his mouth tips into that secretive grin that makes my pulse race faster than the fireworks waiting to explode tonight. Every glance feels like a dare. Every secret smile like gasoline poured over an open flame.
I can barely eat, too keyed up from the stolen texts slipping between us whenever no one’s paying attention.
My body hums with anticipation, every nerve tuned to the need to be alone with him.
By the time night falls, the whole town gathers in the park. Kids run wild with sparklers, their laughter threading through the hum of conversations. I sit on a blanket beside Dad, but my awareness is on Everett sitting just behind me. One slight lean and my shoulder blades would brush his knee.
He shifts closer to me a heartbeat before the first firework cracks across the sky. Red blooms against the darkness, drawing gasps from the crowd.
But Everett isn’t watching the fireworks. He’s watching me.
Each burst of color flashes across his profile when I risk a glance. The entire town is staring at the sky, and he’s staring at me like I’m the only thing worth seeing.
My chest tightens. I can barely breathe.
When the finale fades and the night falls still again, I lean into Dad and kiss his cheek. “I’m going to spend the night at Meghan’s. She’s on her way to pick me up.”
He hugs me tight. “Have fun, kiddo. Be safe.”
“Always.”
I walk toward the edge of the park, my pulse racing and my skin buzzing like I’ve just gotten away with something unforgivable. When I glance back, Everett gives me the barest nod. A silent promise that nearly buckles my knees.
The road is quiet when I reach our meeting spot, the air alive with the faint echo of fireworks from towns farther away. A pair of headlights rounds the curve, and my heart leaps.
Everett’s truck pulls up beside me. The tension between us snaps taut the instant I slide into the passenger seat and close the door. For a beat, we just stare at each other.
“Angel,” he rasps, his voice low and wrecked. “You sure about this?”
My answer is a whisper, but it carries every truth I’ve been holding back. “Yes.”
That’s all it takes. His hand cups the back of my neck, dragging me into a kiss that leaves me breathless, claimed, and completely undone.
The drive is a blur of stolen glances and my pounding heartbeat until he pulls into his driveway and cuts the engine. The steady tick of his engine replaces the roar of my pulse.
When he opens my door, his hand finds mine. That single touch steadies me more than anything else ever has.
The second the door shuts behind us, our restraint snaps, and we collide. His mouth crashes onto mine, his hands spanning my hips as he pins me to the wall. Every stolen glance, every whispered word, every secret text, it all erupts now, wild and unstoppable.
“Everett,” I gasp when he finally ends the kiss so we can breathe, his forehead pressed to mine.
“Angel,” he rasps, his voice frayed. “Tell me you want this. Tell me I’m not alone in this.”
“You’re not.” I fist his shirt, my voice shaking with certainty. “I want you. Only you.”
He groans, the sound raw, guttural. “You can tell me to stop at any time. But if you don’t, I’ll ruin you for any other man.”
“Then ruin me, Everett.”
He lifts me, carrying me to his bed, laying me down like I’m made of glass. His hands tremble as they skim my body, tugging at my shirt, sliding it over my head. My shoes and pants follow.
When I’m bare before him beneath the sliver of moonlight coming through the window, his breath stutters. “Christ, Brielle…” His voice is reverent. “You’re perfect.”
Staring into his eyes, I sit up. Grabbing the hem of his shirt, I tug it up, wanting it off. He reaches behind, pulling it over his head. My fingers trace the muscular planes of his torso, gliding over warm, soft skin, dipping into the crevices of his abs.
His breath rasps out as my hands slide to the button of his jeans. The sound of his zipper fills the room. I tug at his jeans, lowering them. He stands there in a pair of black boxers, all tanned skin and taut muscles, his restraint showing.
I drink my fill of him, my fingers gliding to his boxers, stroking the hardness inside. He hisses, his head falling back.
I’m so turned on by the way I affect him.
Grabbing his boxers, I tug them down, my eyes going wide when his cock springs free. I gasp, my hand wrapping around it. “You’re so big. So thick.”
He shudders beneath my touch, chin dipping to his chest, eyes locking with mine. “It’ll fit, angel. Don’t worry. I’ll take it easy on you.”
I nod before I lean forward and lick the tip, tasting his salty precum. He watches me, brown eyes blazing, breath held in his lungs.
When I take him into my mouth, he releases it in a whoosh that has my pussy growing slicker. His fingers thread into my hair, like he needs to hold on while I take control.
My tongue glides over his length before I take him deeper, choking on his size. He groans, then whispers, “Goddamn, angel. Your mouth is incredible.”
His words embolden me. I suck harder, my jaw aching, his hips flexing once before he growls and pulls back. “You need to stop,” he pants, “before I explode.” His hands cup my face. “And that’s not happening until I’m inside you.”
Leaning over, his mouth finds mine again, softer now, coaxing mixed with want and need.
His hands cup my breasts, his thumbs brushing the sensitive peaks until I arch into him, gasping.
Then his lips trail down my throat and to my chest, lingering over every place he touches as though memorizing me with his mouth.
“Everett,” I whisper, trembling when he sucks a nipple into his mouth, his thumb flicking the other one. I squirm beneath him, my nipples having a direct line to my pussy, making me wetter.
His groan rumbles through his chest and into my skin, making me whimper.
“Please,” I whisper as he releases my nipple, his lips trailing kisses over my stomach. “More.”
He settles lower, his big hands gripping my thighs, spreading me open for him. For a fleeting second, Joey’s voice echoes in my head. “ Don’t be so needy, Bri. You’re too much sometimes.”
Shame pricks hot under my skin… until Everett looks up at me, his eyes dark and reverent, and rasps, “Tell me if it’s too much.”
The words break something in me. He’s not mocking. He’s giving me control. My breath shudders out, and when his mouth finally lowers to my pussy, all traces of Joey vanish in an instant.
I break apart instantly, a cry ripping from my throat as his tongue strokes and teases, his hands holding me open for him. Heat floods me, wave after wave, and I clutch the sheets with shaking fists, my body bowing off the bed.
He doesn’t stop. He devours me like he’s starving, like the taste of me is the only thing that’s ever mattered.
When I shatter, his name breaks from my lips, desperate and raw. I fall back onto the bed, trembling, only for him to crawl up my body, his mouth finding mine again, letting me taste myself on his tongue.
“You ready for me, angel?” he murmurs against my lips, his breath rough, his body shaking with restraint.
I nod, my voice wrecked. “Yes. God, yes.”
He lines himself up, groaning as he slides inside me, slowly and carefully, inch by inch until I’m full of him, until I can’t breathe from the intensity of it. My body stretches and burns, then settles into an ache that feels like being remade.
My nails dig into his back, my lips parting on a whimper. “Everett…”
“Look at me,” he growls softly, his eyes locked on mine. “Don’t look away.”
I don’t. I can’t.
Every thrust is a promise, steady and deep, his eyes searing into mine as if he’s pouring every broken, desperate truth he has into me. I cling to him, needing more, needing everything.
“Told you it would fit.” His grin is flirty, eyes full of pride. “You take my cock so well, angel.”
“God, Everett.” His words make me wetter, the sound filling his room. “Don’t stop. Don’t ever stop.”
He kisses me hard, swallowing my cries, whispering my name against my lips like I’m both a prayer and a sin.
And when my release rips through me, I come undone in his arms, knowing there’s no going back—ever.
“Oh, I’m not done with you, yet,” he rasps, still moving inside me as my orgasm continues. “I want you to ride me.”
He pulls out and collapses beside me. His hands go around my hips as I move, straddling him.
My hand is on his shoulder, eyes locked on his, as I wrap my hand around the base of his cock, soaked from my juices, and lower myself down, inch by inch. We groan in unison, as the pleasure, the stretching, it’s almost too much.
I lower myself until I wince, both hands gripping his shoulders now.
Then I move, sliding up and down, rolling my hips in ways I’ve never done before, but feels so damn good with him.
We stare at each other in the darkness before he pulls me down to his lips, his tongue sliding over mine as he tastes me, kissing me like I’m the only thing holding him together.
I pull back slightly, whimpering, “I’m gonna come again.” My movements become erratic as I chase the pleasure.
His hands grip my hips tighter, digging into my skin as he arches from below. “Give it to me, angel. Every drop.” His hand slides to my clit, rubbing it in circles. “Then I’m going to fill you with every drop of my come.”
I whimper, then chant his name like a prayer as I come so hard, I see stars. All the while, he keeps moving below me, until he groans and whispers, “I’m coming.”
His hot spurts hit my walls while my pussy squeezes and milks every drop from him.
I collapse against him, my body trembling, my heart pounding like it’s trying to break free. Everett’s chest heaves beneath me, his skin damp, his arms wrapped so tight around me it feels like he’s trying to fuse me to him.
For a long moment, there’s nothing but the sound of our ragged breathing and the faint hum of crickets outside. My cheek rests over his heart, and the heavy thud of it grounds me, steady and real.
He presses his lips to my hair, his voice low and raw. “Angel… I’ll never get enough of you.”
My throat tightens, tears pricking hot behind my eyes. No one’s ever said anything like that to me—not with this much certainty, this much truth. Joey’s words were always polished and practiced. Everett’s cut straight into me.
And that’s the difference.
With Joey, it always felt like I was auditioning. Like I had to prove I was worth his time, his affection, his scraps of approval. He said that I’m “ Too needy. Too much.”
With Everett, I’m wanted. Seen. Cherished.
I lift my head, meeting his gaze. His dark brown eyes are molten in the faint light, unguarded in a way that steals my breath. For once, the walls he carries like armor are gone, and all that’s left is raw, terrifying honesty.
“You’re looking at me like I’m gonna disappear,” I whisper.
His hand cups my face, his thumb brushing along my cheek. “Because I can’t believe you’re here. That I get to touch you. That you’re mine.”
Emotion crashes through me, leaving me bare. I press my lips to his, gentle and slow, a kiss that lingers like a vow.
He groans softly into my mouth, then eases me back onto the pillow, pulling the blanket over us. His body curves around mine protectively, his arm banded around my waist, his breath warm against the back of my neck.
For the first time in my life, I feel cherished. Not just wanted. Not just claimed. Cherished.
I lace my fingers with his, holding tight, afraid to let go. “Everett?” I whisper.
“Yeah, angel?” His voice is already drowsy, a rumble against my skin.
I swallow hard, my heart hammering. “I don’t think I’ve ever felt this safe.”
He presses a kiss to my shoulder, his arm tightening around me. His answer is simple, but it unravels me completely.
“That’s because you’re with me. And as long as you are, nothing will ever touch you.”
Tears sting my eyes, but I smile into the dark, my heart soaring and shattering all at once. Because deep down, I know he means it.
In the silence that follows, that truth shines through, vibrant and free. This isn’t just lust.
This is the beginning of something that could consume us both.