Page 120 of Rivals

“I didn’t expect this,” she says quietly.

“I didn’t either, but it’s good.” She takes another sip, and our piece finally ends on twenty-five thousand US dollars by the very couple that said they would bid. Revna and I raise our glasses to them, and they do the same.

“This has been… a lot. Good, but I’m ready to go home.” I kiss her temple and take her glass from her.

“Let’s go catch a cab.”

***

Revna winces her way up the first flight of stairs as we climb them to our floor. “Feet hurt?” I ask her. She nods and keeps going. “I think I can help with that.”

She glances up at me and holds her arms out, knowing I’ll carry her. I would take her wherever she wanted to go; all she had to do was ask.

We make it to our floor, and I set her on her feet, holding onto her hip as she steadies herself. She puts her hand over mine and peeps over her shoulder. I lick my lips, staring her down with all the intent I can while I pull the keys from my pocket.

We push through the door in a tangle of limbs and clothes. I kick the door shut and pull off my shoes. She flips the lock, and I unzip her dress. It falls to the floor and she steps out of the pool of fabric. I shuck my jacket and tie while she unbuttons my pants. “I love you,” she says, breathlessly.

“I love you, too. So much, Revna.” She nods eagerly, and I toss my shirt. My hands reach for her thighs, and she locks her ankles at the base of my spine. Her heels dig into the muscle as her mouth attacks mine.

I bite her tongue like I did earlier, making her moan, and grip the hair at the base of my head. Her open-mouth pants just make me want her more. I’m still holding her, and everything stops. Her eyes search mine, and the rush of emotions I feel for this woman floods my heart. “I have been waiting all my life for you,” I say over my tight throat.

“I don’t deserve you,” she says. I grin at her. She has no concept of the power she has over me. It’s borderline concerning.

“Good thing you don’t get to decide that, Revna. Because if that were the case, I sure as hell have done nothing to earn you.”

She smiles and kisses me with that velvet mouth, making my knees weak. I toss her on the bed and crawl over her body, leaving trails of kisses on her skin. She whimpers lightly, and I bite her hip before continuing further up. Her knees fall open for me, and I like that we just know what each other needs.

I finally end on her lips, and her arms lock around my neck, holding me hostage while she steals my oxygen. I slide my hand to the apex of her thighs and tease the edge of her underwear. She gasps, and I swallow it.

“I need you,” she whines against my lips. Her arms unlock around my neck. She reaches around to unhook her bra and wiggle her underwear off. She reaches for my waistband, and I push it down while I lave my tongue over her chest as she whimpers again. I love that sound, and I wish I could capture it to hear it over and over again. I would carve it out of stone—preserve it forever.

“Babe,” she moans as her back arches. She reaches for me and tugs. “Please,” she begs.

“I don’t want to hurt you, love. You first,” I say.

She shakes her head. “You won’t, Lach,” she says. Her knees lift to my hips, and I brace my hand beside her head and push myself between her thighs.

“I love you,” I say between slow thrusts.

“I love you, too,” she says while her hands push through my hair. What started off fast and hungry has slowed. She lifts her head, and I meet her halfway. Our kiss matches the rhythm of our hips and staccato breaths.

It’s languid and unhurried as we explore each other’s bodies. She looks up at me like she can see right through me to the heart that beats only for her. Her back arches into my front, and I flip us so she’s straddling me. The bed creaks across the floor from our movements as the headboard hits the wall.

Her hands brace herself on my chest, and I help her move her hips, circling slowly, methodically. The build of passion is thick and heady as it shapes itself around us. The tingle builds in my spine, and Revna falters. She reaches for the headboard, and I bend my knees, pushing up.

“I can’t,” her voice is strangled, and a light sheen of sweat coats her body.

“You can, my love,” I grunt as I pulse against her. She tosses her head back and cries out. I grit my teeth, trying to hold myself back.

The edge came up on me faster than I anticipated. I turn my hips so she falls off of me onto her side. She mewls, reaching for me, while I lift her thigh to pull it over my hip. Her eyes roll to the back of her head as I work her body. “Baby,” I moan, biting her neck. The new position just about puts me over the razor wire.

“Yes,” she cries, drawing the word out.

“Look at me, Revna,” her beautiful chocolate eyes open and lock with mine as I brush between us, barely grazing her, and she goes off. Every muscle in her body shakes as she comes down. “Come on, baby. One more. One more, my love,” I grunt out. She shakes her head like she can’t.

“One more.” She kisses me with a messy and roaring abandon as she surrenders. We breathe each other’s air as we reach the height of our pleasure. A string of words fall out of my mouth as Revna moans my name. My vision goes dark, and I roar seeing stars. The only thing keeping me from flying into the sky is Revna’s body with mine, grounding me to the earth. Her strangled moan is long and low. Her nails dig into my skin as she rides the wave of what we’ve created together.

She pants into my shoulder and her body goes lax. I rest my hand on her back while we return to earth, and I realize something. Every time our bodies meet, it feels like my soul has found its equal, its match. I’ve never been so sure of anything in my life as I am of Revna. She was made for me, and I for her. There never has been, and there never will be, anyone else.