Page 29

Chapter 29

Fuck the Rules

Miles

S leep wasn’t coming.

I’d been staring at the ceiling for what felt like hours, listening to the rhythmic crash of waves through the partially opened window. The guest room was comfortable enough with crisp sheets, a firm mattress, and the perfect temperature, but my thoughts wouldn’t quiet down.

Tonight had shifted something between the four of us. That walk on the beach had been like crossing some invisible threshold. Carter opening up, Dominic being civil, Nora letting her guard down with all of us at once. The usual competition and tension had given way to something that was closer to balance.

And I was lying here, alone, following the rules. Again.

The digital clock on the nightstand mocked me; it was almost one. The house had been silent for hours. Even Nora’s father, who’d been watching us like a hawk all evening, had retired to bed with a gruff goodnight around eleven.

I shifted onto my side, punching the pillow into a more comfortable shape. It didn’t help. My body was wound tight, but it wasn’t just physical frustration. It was something deeper.

When had I become this person? The one who always made space, who stepped back, who put everyone else’s needs ahead of his own? Team captain, reliable friend, the guy who fixed problems instead of causing them.

I thought about Nora’s face when Carter had said something that made her laugh at dinner. The way she’d touched Dominic’s arm when he’d said something surprisingly insightful about her father’s coaching. The casual intimacy she shared with both of them, earned through moments I hadn’t witnessed.

And then I thought about how she’d leaned into me on our walk back, her body finding mine like it belonged there. How she’d squeezed my hand. How she’d looked at me when I found that perfect spiral shell, like I’d discovered something precious.

Fuck the rules.

I sat up, swinging my legs over the side of the bed. The carpet was soft against my bare feet. I was wearing my usual sleeping attire of boxer briefs and a thin T-shirt. For a moment, I considered putting on more clothes, but the impulse died quickly. This wasn’t a negotiation or a careful overture. This was about what I wanted, for once.

And what I wanted was Nora.

I moved silently through the darkened hallway, grateful this wasn’t some old house with creaky wooden floorboards. Moonlight spilled through the window at the end of the hall, casting everything in blue-silver light.

I hesitated outside her door for only a second before knocking softly, loud enough to be heard by someone awake, but not loud enough to disturb her if she was sleeping.

The door opened a few moments later. Nora stood there in an oversized T-shirt that barely reached mid-thigh, her hair slightly mussed, eyes alert. Not sleeping, then. She’d been awake too.

“Miles?” Her voice was a whisper, questioning but not surprised. “Is everything okay?”

I didn’t answer, at least not with words. I stepped forward, one hand reaching to cup her face, the other finding her waist, and kissed her with all the hunger I’d been holding back. No hesitation, no careful approach. Just need, raw and undiluted.

She made a surprised sound against my mouth, her body tensing momentarily before melting into me. Her hands came up to grip my shirt, not pushing me away but pulling me closer, fingers twisting in the fabric.

I walked her backward into the room, kicking the door shut behind us without breaking the kiss. My tongue swept into her mouth, claiming, exploring, demanding a response she eagerly gave. The taste of her made my head swim.

When we finally broke apart, I rested my forehead against hers. “I’m tired of being the good guy who waits for permission and who makes space for everyone else. Tonight, I just want you.”

Her eyes, luminous in the dim light filtering through her curtains, searched mine. “You’ve never needed permission with me.”

“Haven’t I?” I brushed my thumb across her lower lip, swollen from our kiss. “I’ve been so careful. So aware of Carter and Dominic. So concerned about doing the right thing.”

“And now?” Her question was barely audible, but there was a challenge in it.

“Now I’m being selfish.” I slid my hand from her face down her neck, feeling the rapid flutter of her pulse beneath my fingertips. “I’m not asking to share. Not tonight. Tonight, I want you to be mine.”

Her eyes darkened with desire and the recognition of the shift between us. Her hands released my shirt only to slip beneath it, palms hot against my abdomen. “Then take what you want,” she whispered.

Those words broke whatever restraint I had left. I crushed my mouth to hers again, harder this time, one hand tangling in her hair while the other slid down to grasp her ass, lifting her against me. She made a soft sound of surprise and pleasure, her legs wrapping around my waist as I carried her to the bed.

I laid her down on the mattress, following her down without breaking contact. The feel of her beneath me, soft curves yielding to hard angles, sent fire racing through my veins. I drew back enough to look at her, taking in her flushed cheeks, parted lips, and the way her chest rose and fell.

“You have no idea how many times I’ve thought about this tonight.” I slid my hand beneath her shirt, tracing the curve of her waist and the swell of her breasts. “Having you to myself.”

Her back arched into my touch as I brushed my thumb across her nipple. “Show me.”

I tugged her shirt upward, and she lifted her arms, helping me pull it off. The sight of her nearly bare beneath me sent a surge of possessive desire through me. My Nora. Mine, at least for tonight.

“Breathtaking.” I pressed my lips to the hollow of her throat and then traced a path downward with my mouth. I licked between her breasts, pausing to pay homage to each with my teeth, drawing whimpers from her that she tried to muffle against her hand.

I caught her wrist, pinning it gently beside her head. “No,” I said against her skin. “I want to hear you.”

“Carter is right next door.”

“Let him hear us.” I nipped at the underside of her breast, making air stutter out of her lungs. “But if you’re worried, I’ll have to do a better job of muffling those sounds.”

Before she could ask what I meant, I kissed her again, swallowing her moan as my hand slid lower, tracing the slight curve of her belly before dipping between her legs. I found her already wet through the thin cotton of her panties, evidence of want that made me throb with answering need.

I stroked her through the fabric, teasing, my kiss deepening as her hips began to move against my hand. When I finally slipped beneath the waistband, finding her slick heat directly, her whole body shuddered. I circled her clit with my thumb while sliding a finger inside her, swallowing her cry with my mouth.

“Miles,” she gasped when I finally released her lips to trail kisses down her neck. “Please.”

“Please what?” I murmured against her collarbone, adding a second finger, curling them inside her in a way that made her back arch off the bed.

“I need… I want…” She seemed unable to form complete thoughts, her hips rising to meet each thrust of my fingers.

“Tell me what you want, Nora.”

Her eyes fluttered open, focusing on mine with an intensity that took my breath away. “You. Inside me. Now.”

I had to close my eyes briefly against the surge of need those words triggered. When I opened them, I moved with renewed purpose, sliding her panties down her legs and tossing them aside before standing to strip off my own clothes.

Her gaze traveled down my body, lingering on my erection with unconcealed hunger. The intensity in her eyes sent a current of raw desire coursing through me that tightened every muscle in my body. I watched her watching me, mesmerized by the way her lips parted slightly, the quick catch of breath that made her chest shudder.

I stroked my cock. “See something you like?” My voice was strained with the effort of maintaining control when all I wanted was to lose it completely.

“Yes, but it would be even better up close and personal.” She licked her lips, and as much as I wanted to slip my cock between them, I was dying to be inside her.

I returned to her, settling between her thighs, the heat of her core radiating against me. I looked at her with her hair spread across the pillow, lips swollen from my kisses, and eyes dark with want.

I positioned myself at her entrance, the head of my cock sliding through her wetness. “Fuck, Nora. How can you be so perfect?”

I pushed forward slowly, watching her face as I filled her inch by inch. Her lips parted, eyes widening, a flush spreading across her chest. The tight heat of her surrounded me, drawing me deeper until I was fully seated inside her. We both remained still for a moment, adjusting and existing in the perfect connection.

“Okay?” I brushed hair from her face with a gentleness that contrasted with the storm raging inside me.

She nodded, shifting her hips in a way that made us both groan. “More than okay.” Her hands slid up my arms to my shoulders, nails digging in slightly. “Now move.”

I didn’t need to be told twice. I withdrew almost completely before driving back in, setting a rhythm that was neither gentle nor punishing, just deep, deliberate strokes that had her clinging to me, soft sounds escaping her with each thrust. I braced myself on my forearms, keeping most of my weight off her, watching her face as pleasure transformed her features.

“Miles.” My name was like a prayer on her lips. “Just like that.”

I angled my hips, hitting a spot that made her throw her head back, neck arching beautifully. “Here?” I repeated the motion, feeling her inner walls flutter around me.

“Yes,” she gasped, legs wrapping tighter around my waist, heels digging into my lower back, urging me deeper. “Don’t stop.”

I increased my pace, driven by her reactions, by the way she met each thrust with equal fervor.

“You feel so good.” I took her earlobe between my teeth. “So perfect around me. Like you were made for me.”

She turned her head, seeking my mouth, kissing me with desperate hunger. “Harder,” she demanded against my lips. “I need more.”

Something primitive awakened in me at her words. I slid an arm beneath her, hand gripping her ass, tilting her hips to allow me to drive deeper. My controlled rhythm gave way to something more primal. The sound of skin against skin filled the room, along with her muffled cries as she bit her lip to stay quiet.

Possessiveness surged through me, not just of her body, but of her pleasure. I wanted to own it, to brand myself on her memory so deeply that no one else could compare.

“Let go,” I growled, feeling her tightening around me, sensing she was close. “Come for me, Nora. Just for me.”

Her eyes flew open, locking with mine, something vulnerable and fierce in them simultaneously. I slipped a hand between us, finding her clit with my thumb, circling in time with my thrusts. The added stimulation was all she needed. Her body went rigid beneath me, and her walls clamped down on me as she came with a choked cry. She buried her face against my shoulder, her teeth scraping my skin.

Watching her come apart, feeling her pulsing around me, the sound of my name muffled against my skin was too much. My orgasm built at the base of my spine, coiling tight before snapping. I buried myself deep inside her as I came, her name falling from my lips, my body shuddering with the force of my release.

I was careful not to collapse on her, aware of my weight but unwilling to separate yet. She seemed equally reluctant, her legs still wrapped around me, hands stroking lazily up and down my back.

Finally, when my arms began to tremble from supporting my weight, I eased out of her and rolled to my side, pulling her with me so we faced each other. I brushed damp hair from her forehead, studying her. Words seemed inadequate at this point, so I didn’t speak, and neither did she.

She traced patterns on my chest with her fingertip, a thoughtful expression crossing her face before she finally spoke. “You surprised me tonight.”

“Good surprise or bad surprise?” I caught her hand, bringing it to my lips.

“Definitely good.” Her smile was sleepy and satisfied. “I didn’t know you had that in you, Captain.”

Her calling me that right now held a different weight somehow. Like I was her captain. “There’s a lot you don’t know about me yet.”

“I’m starting to see that.” She shifted closer, tangling her legs with mine. “What brought this on?”

I considered the question, wanting to give her honesty. “I wanted to be selfish. To have you to myself.”

Something flickered in her eyes. “You don’t have to always be the good guy, Miles. Not with me.”

“No?” I brushed my thumb across her lower lip, still swollen from my kisses.

“No.” She nipped at my finger playfully. “Sometimes I like it when you’re a little bad.”

Heat pooled low in my belly again, desire rekindling despite just coming. “I’ll remember that.”

She yawned, and I pulled her closer, arranging us so her head rested on my chest, my arm around her shoulders.

“Stay,” she murmured against my skin, already sounding half-asleep. “At least for a while.”

I pressed a kiss to the top of her head, taking in the scent of her: sweat and sex and the lingering traces of her shampoo. “I’m not going anywhere.”

As her breathing deepened into sleep, I stared at the ceiling of her room. The restlessness that had driven me here was gone, replaced by a different kind of awareness. Things had shifted tonight—between Nora and me, between me and the guys, and within myself.

I’d stepped out of the role I usually played, taken what I wanted without apology, and found that Nora wanted that version of me as much as the careful, considerate one. The realization was both freeing and terrifying.

I’d spent years calibrating every action, measuring each decision against what was best for everyone else. I might have been needlessly holding back. But tonight? Tonight, I’d followed my gut, letting desire override diplomacy.

I pulled the blankets higher over us both and surrendered to sleep, wondering when exactly looking out for her had transformed into something that felt dangerously like falling.