Page 40 of Gamble (Black Light #38)

She could see the disappointment on his face, but like the gentleman he was, he conceded.

“Fine, but I still think you should lose the sundress. I was so looking forward to watching you skinny dip.” His smile turned predatory before he pulled her back into his arms, his hands dropping to her ass as his voice dripped with that commanding tone that never failed to make her pulse race.

“I need to touch you, baby. I need to feel like your man again instead of your patient.”

The raw honesty in his voice decided for her. She nodded, and the relief that crossed his features made her chest tight.

“Good,” he said, pressing a soft kiss to her lips. “Now, are you going to make me wait any longer to see this gorgeous body of yours?”

Reagan glanced toward the house, then back at him, suddenly feeling shy. “Maybe I should go get my swimsuit?—”

“Or,” Elijah said, his eyes dancing with mischief, “you could just lose the dress right here. It’s private, and honestly, I’ve been fantasizing about having you naked under the stars in my backyard for weeks.”

Heat flooded her cheeks. It had been over a month since Vegas, and while they’d been intimate then, this felt different somehow. More real. More vulnerable.

“I don’t know,” she said, wrapping her arms around herself. “It’s been a while since...”

Elijah’s expression softened, his hands moving up to gently take hers. “Hey, it’s just me. The same man who couldn’t keep his hands off you in Vegas. The same man who’s been going crazy wanting to touch you properly all week.”

His thumb traced over her knuckles, a simple touch that somehow felt incredibly intimate.

“Besides,” he added with that sexy grin she remembered so well, “I seem to recall someone who wasn’t shy about being naked in front of floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the Vegas strip.”

Reagan laughed despite her nerves. “That was different. I was drunk on you.”

“And now?”

She looked into his eyes, seeing the desire there, but also the patience. He wouldn’t push, wouldn’t make her uncomfortable. The realization gave her the courage she needed.

“Now I’m just drunk on the possibility that we might actually have a future together,” she said softly.

Something intense flashed in Elijah’s eyes at her words. “Baby, I know there are still so many things to sort out but one thing I know is that I’m absolutely going to fight for a future together.”

Reagan released a long breath she hadn’t realized she was holding. The tension that had been building between them as they’d tiptoed between caregiver and patient to lovers melted a bit. God, she wanted so much to believe they’d get that future.

With trembling fingers, Reagan reached for the hem of her sundress. Elijah’s sharp intake of breath as she pulled it over her head gave her confidence to continue her strip tease. By the time she’d shed her undergarments, she felt beautiful rather than self-conscious.

“Christ, you’re gorgeous,” Elijah breathed, his eyes drinking her in. “How did I get so lucky?”

“Okay, I’m not going to be the only one naked,” she complained, reaching for the bottom of his shirt and pulling it up and over his head as he lifted his arms to help.

Tossing it aside, her breath caught at the sight of the sexy salt and pepper hair smattered across his muscular chest. She didn’t get to enjoy the view for long because Elijah was in a hurry to push down his loose-fitting athletic shorts, taking his boxer-briefs with him and leaving him with only the large, taped bandage covering the area of his recent surgical work.

Despite wanting to drop to her knees then and there to take his already growing cock down her throat, Reagan instead helped him ease down to the cushioned couch near the unlit firepit. She moved to sit beside him, but Elijah was too fast, pulling her down to sit on his lap.

Reagan squealed. “I’m going to hurt your hip!” She tried to wiggle away, but Elijah hugged her harder, helping her settle in without injuring himself.

“Much better,” he murmured as she finally settled into his arms. The fingers from his right hand gravitated to cup her breast while his left hand snuck between her thighs, massaging close to her core.

His touch was definitely sexual, yet the pressure felt more like a massage.

She could feel the pent-up stress of the last month starting to seep out of her body as they spent a few minutes just enjoying the quiet perfection of the summer evening—him intimately touching while she buried her face into his neck, taking in his masculine scent as the scruff of his beard tickled her nose.

Elijah’s husky voice broke the peaceful silence. “God, I’ve missed touching you like this.” As if to prove his point, he pinched the tip of her nipple gently, pulling a groan of desire from her lips.

The combination of the evening air and Elijah’s hands exploring her body made Reagan feel like she was melting. When his lips found that sensitive spot on her neck, she let out a soft moan that seemed to echo in the quiet backyard.

“I want to repay you,” he said against her skin, “for everything you’ve done for me this week. For taking such good care of me.”

“You don’t owe me anything,” Reagan protested breathlessly.

“Don’t I?” His voice held that commanding edge again. “I seem to remember promising you twelve orgasms back in Vegas. By my count, I still owe you at least four, and that doesn’t even count the million I owe you for hurting you so badly after my accident.”

The memory of that promise back in Vegas, and everything that had followed, helped ease more of the lingering hurt that remained buried inside her. Pushing aside the pain of his initial rejection, Reagan instead focused on the reasons he’d pushed her away.

He’d cared. As misplaced as his intentions had been, she knew without a shadow of a doubt that Elijah had been trying to spare her. It had been his own insecurities—not her own—that had had him pulling away from her.

Desire pooled low in her belly, chasing away the lingering fear of being hurt again. As his hands grew bolder, more purposeful, Reagan found herself arching into his touch. His hand snaked between her legs, his fingers brushing against her clit.

Reagan gasped with pent-up pleasure as his fingers added pressure—pinching and stroking her sensitive nub until she was sure she would combust from the heat—both internal and external.

Her eyes fluttered closed as she laid her head against his hard chest, letting the pleasure of his touch wash over her.

Just as she was ready to tip into an orgasm, Elijah moved those talented fingers lower, cupping her throbbing pussy before thrusting several fingers deep inside her, curling them perfectly as his dirty words pushed her over the edge.

“Come for me, baby. Squeeze my fingers tight.”

A ripple of pure pleasure consumed her, leaving Reagan gasping and clinging to Elijah as pleasure washed over her in waves.

The combination of his dirty words and skilled touch left her feeling lightheaded from the intensity of being intimate with him again.

She only wished it had been his cock she could feel poking her that had been inside her.

After coming down from her high, Elijah reached to the nearby snack tray on the side table. He plucked several grapes up and lift them to her lips. “You need to eat, baby.”

For several minutes they shared the snacks Reagan had prepared, feeding each other grapes and cheese while exchanging soft kisses and lazy caresses. Her first orgasm had only been an appetizer. With each passing moment, her need grew.

She decided to take things into her own hands.

“It’s my turn to take care of you, and I don’t mean your hip,” Reagan said softly with a sly smile as she worked to extricate herself from his arms. Elijah held her tight, not wanting to release her but she was persistent, finally sliding from the couch to kneel at his feet.

The brick patio was hard on her knees until Elijah grabbed the padded cushion from the nearby chair and threw it to the ground for her to kneel on.

“Thanks,” she said, wiggling to insert the cushion beneath her knees.

“It’s the least I can do considering you’re about to swallow my cock.” His eyes lit up with that mischievous grin she loved.

“Pretty sure of yourself there, aren’t you sport? Maybe I’m just kneeling here to get a better look at your injuries,” she teased, enjoying the light-hearted teasing that had been so absent in the last week.

“Baby, you can get up close and personal for that better look any time you’d like.” To prove his point, Elijah spread his legs wider, giving her better access to his body.

His cock was already at full attention—long, thick, and hard. She tentatively reached out to wrap her fingers around his girth, drawing a long, guttural growl as she lightly stroked him. Impossibly, his shaft grew harder with each passing second.

Reagan studied his face, feeling powerful as she witnessed the power her touch had over Elijah. He’d closed his eyes, throwing his head back against the cushioned chair as she enjoyed watching his handsome face reflecting the pleasure her now fast-moving hand was providing.

Without warning, she leaned forward, wrapping her lips around the top of his shaft while swiping her tongue across the tip, tasting the saltiness of the drop of precum that had already pooled.

Elijah’s hips bucked up from the couch, thrusting his cock deeper into her mouth as he called, “Christ, that feels amazing. Don’t stop, baby.”

His fingers wove through her long hair, gripping her bobbing head as she replaced her fingers with her mouth down the length of his cock.

With each downward movement, she felt his hardness crashing against the back of her throat.

She was tempted to panic as she started to get lightheaded from the lack of oxygen, but as if he could read her thoughts, Elijah used his hands to lift her higher, giving her short reprieves to catch her breath between the increasingly fast and furious throat-fucking.

Tears of exertion flooded her eyes even as snot fell from her nose and spittle from hardworking mouth. She was sure her mascara had to be running streaks down her face while the obscene sounds of her excursion filled the air.

She probably looked like a hot mess, but instead of feeling embarrassed, an odd calmness washed over her instead.

They may not be at Black Light or in a hard-core BDSM scene, but even in her precarious state, she recognized the joy of her submission at the moment.

On her knees… servicing the dominant man before her. She’d never felt this free.

“Eyes,” Elijah growled.

It took her a few seconds to comply, straining to lift her head to a different angle to be able to keep his cock in her mouth while looking up into his dark grey eyes.

“I’ve never seen a more beautiful sight. Truly, Reagan. You’re absolutely perfect.”

His words warmed her from the inside out. She felt his cock pulsing as salty cum shot down her throat. She fought to swallow down each spurt of warmth, thrilled to watch the ecstasy contorting Elijah’s features as he orgasmed.

After letting his softening cock slip from her mouth, Reagan laid her cheek against his thigh, gasping for air while she enjoyed him stroking her long hair.

God, she’d missed this. Not just the sex, but this feeling of peace.

Comfort. Intimacy. She’d known it in Vegas, but tonight there was no denying it.

She’d never felt as close to another man—not even her husband.

It was as if there was an invisible rope tethering her to the man before her, and she knew with a rare clarity that she never wanted to sever that tie to Elijah.

Still breathless, Elijah lifted her chin to look up into his eyes again. “Fuck, baby,” he groaned, his voice rough with satisfaction and emotion. “That was fantastic.”

Reagan smiled, feeling more content than she had in weeks. Tomorrow she’d go back to work, back to the real world. But tonight, under the stars in Elijah’s backyard, everything felt perfect.

And for the first time since Vegas, she truly believed they were going to make it. At least she prayed they would because without a doubt, she knew losing Elijah would wreck her.