Page 13 of The Chief (Those (Damn!) Texas Dantes #3)

Elise let out a ragged moan, her spine arching off the wall as the first hot sweep of his tongue dragged through her folds. She hadn’t known what to expect—not really—but it wasn’t this. It wasn’t the way he consumed her, unhurried and absolutely focused, like she was his only purpose.

He groaned against her, the sound vibrating through her, straight to her core.

The heat of his breath, the leisurely stroke of his tongue, the way his stubble rasped against her sensitive inner thighs.

It all blurred into sensation. Cade was relentless, dismantling her with expert thoroughness, learning her body like he intended to own it. And she let him.

Her fingers tightened in his hair, her breath hitching as he flattened his tongue and licked her again, then again, firmer this time. When he sealed his mouth around her and sucked, her knees nearly buckled.

He didn’t stop.

He gripped her with one hand at her back and the other arm looped tight behind her thigh.

Her heel dug into the hard plane of his spine.

She couldn’t move. Could barely think. All she could do was react.

His tongue circled her clit in maddening spirals, then flicked, then pressed in deep. The rhythm changed. Grew.

She moaned. Quiet and sharp. Her body trembled, hips starting to roll against his mouth as need took over.

“Cade…” she breathed, her voice breaking on his name.

He growled in answer, the vibration detonating inside her.

She was close. Too close. Her breath shortened, her thighs quaking, every muscle pulled tight like a wire. His name slipped from her lips again and again, more plea than command.

When she came, it wasn’t a gentle slide. It was a freefall.

She shattered with a soundless cry, mouth open, head thrown back, fingers clutching his hair like a lifeline. Cade didn’t stop. He stayed with her, licking her through every spasm, coaxing the aftershocks until they left her limp and boneless against the wall.

Only then did he ease her thigh down from his shoulder. He rose with measured grace, his lips slick, eyes so dark they looked black.

He watched her in silence, his gaze steady and unreadable, as if weighing everything between them without a single word.

She looked at him, dazed, undone. And he wasn’t smug. He wasn’t demanding. He was solid. Intent. Gaze filled with want.

Then she paused, just a breath, a beat, her searching his expression. Something passed between them. An unspoken agreement. And then, with the quiet confidence of a woman who knew exactly what she wanted, she dropped to her knees.

He stilled.

Elise reached for his belt with hands that shook only a little. He didn’t stop her. Didn’t help. Just watched her as she undid the buckle, unbuttoned his pants, and slid the zipper down. When her hands brushed against the hard line of him, his breath hissed between his teeth.

She pushed his pants down and caught the waistband of his boxer briefs, dragging them with the same careful precision he’d used on her. He stepped out of everything, utterly bare.

He was thick. Heavy. Hard as iron. And hers.

She looked up once, meeting his eyes. What she saw there stole her breath. Pure, blistering want. A storm held in check. Her pulse skipped, but her decision was made.

She wanted to give him everything.

She leaned forward and took him into her mouth.

He groaned, his hand fisting in her hair with a sharp inhale that sent heat rushing through her. He was hot and thick on her tongue. She adjusted, lips stretching around him, drawing him deeper inch by inch until his head nudged the back of her throat.

Cade hissed out a curse, his grip tightening. But still, he didn’t move. He let her take over. Let her explore him the way he’d explored her, with hunger, intent, and a terrifying kind of tenderness.

She flattened her tongue and dragged it carefully along the underside, then hollowed her cheeks as she sucked him deep. The muscles of his thighs tensed beneath her hands, and she loved it. Loved the dominance. That she could undo this strong, dangerous man with just her mouth.

She pulled back, then repeated the motion, her rhythm languid, torturous. Cade groaned, cursing under his breath.

“Elise…” he rasped. “You keep that up, and this ends here.”

She didn’t stop. Instead, she moaned around him, the vibration making his whole body shudder.

He growled, deep and ragged, and when she looked up at him, her mouth still wrapped around him, his jaw was clenched so tight it could’ve cracked stone. His hand slid from her hair to the curve of her face, thumb tracing her cheekbone. Not pushing. Just holding.

She opened for him further, inch by inch, her throat relaxing as she took him deeper, until he filled her completely, nose pressed against the flat of his stomach. He swore violently, and his knees nearly buckled.

“Jesus, Elise…”

She smiled around him.

He pulled back before he lost control, dragging her to her feet and crushing her mouth beneath his. She tasted herself on his tongue, tasted the urgency in his kiss. When he walked her backward toward the bed, she went willingly.

They tumbled onto the sheets, a tangle of limbs and breathless heat.

The mattress met her back in a rush of cool fabric and searing skin, the air between them crackling with everything they hadn’t said but couldn’t stop showing.

Bodies collided, mouths met with urgency, as the bed caught the weight of two people crashing through fear and hesitation into something bold and irrevocable.

Cade came down over her, braced on one forearm as his free hand traced the slope of her hip, the curve of her waist, the swell of her breast. His mouth never left hers, the kiss deepening into something that stole her breath, her thoughts, everything but him.

He pulled back just enough to look at her, eyes dark and burning. “You sure?”

She nodded, heart hammering. “Yes.”

He didn’t waste another second.

His hand slid between her thighs, parting her slick folds with confident fingers. He groaned low, the sound vibrating against her chest. “Still so wet for me.”

She arched into him, her nails dragging down his back. “Cade—”

“I’ve got you, sweetheart,” he whispered.

And then he was there, the head of his cock pressing against her entrance, careful and steady. Her breath hitched, body stretching to take him. He pushed in slightly, then a bit more, letting her feel every thick, aching inch. She gasped, clenching around him, and he stilled.

“Look at me.”

Her eyes flew open.

“I need to see you when I claim you.”

She didn’t look away. Couldn’t. Not when he rolled his hips and sank into her all the way, filling her to the hilt.

She cried out, sharp and raw, and he swallowed it with a kiss, his mouth stealing every sound she made. He rocked into her, deep, each thrust grinding against the spot that made her shiver and moan.

“That’s it,” he growled against her lips. “Take it. Take all of me.”

She wrapped her legs around his hips, dragging him deeper. The stretch was exquisite, the pressure perfect. He moved like he owned her, like he’d studied every part of her and remembered everything she needed.

Her nails bit into his back as she met every thrust with her own, their bodies moving in perfect sync. Sweat slicked their skin, breath mingling, the room thick with heat and the rhythm of flesh on flesh.

“You’re so damn good,” he rasped, lips brushing her neck. “Tight and wet and made for me.”

“Cade…”

“Say it.”

“Yours,” she breathed. “I’m yours.”

He groaned, hips snapping harder now, pace blistering. “That’s right. Mine.”

Her orgasm crept up fast, coiling tight. She clutched him, trembling, whispering his name like a prayer.

He reached between them, fingers finding her clit and circling with maddening diligence.

She shattered.

Her entire body arched, a scream torn from her lips as she came hard, spasming around him. He cursed, thrust twice more, then followed with a roar, pulsing deep inside her.

He collapsed against her, chest heaving, mouth pressed to her shoulder.

For a long moment, they lay tangled in silence, the only sound their ragged breaths.

Then he lifted his head, brushed a kiss to her lips, and smiled.

“Still with me?”

She nodded, dazed. “You ruined me.”

“Good.”

He rolled to his side, pulling her with him until she was tucked against his chest.

“Was that… what you expected?” she murmured.

He laughed, the sound gravel-edged. “No. It was better.”

They lay in silence for a while, fingers idly exploring, hearts gradually steadying.

Then she shifted, brushing her lips over his chest. “Think you’ve got another round in you, Chief?”

His grin was all wicked promise. “Sweetheart, I’m just getting started.”

And this time, when he rolled her beneath him, there was no hesitation. No pause. Just heat, hunger, and the kind of possession that didn’t need words.

He kissed his way down her body, unhurried and indulgent, tasting every inch like he hadn’t just memorized her. A shaky whimper escaped her, arching into every stroke of his tongue.

And when he slid back into her, hard and deep, she welcomed him with a cry that echoed through the room.

But this time, something shifted. It wasn’t just pleasure driving her.

It was the aftershock of everything they’d said and done, the wild, tangled truth of what they meant to each other.

Each thrust hit deeper than the last, not just in body, but in bone.

She met him stroke for stroke, heart open, soul bared, no mask left to hide behind.

Because this was real. This was them.

And it was still only the beginning.