Page 26 of What I Should Have Felt (Anchors and Eagles #4)

COLETTE

S weat coated my skin as I gave in to the very desire that had woken me from my sleep.

Even in my dreams, Ford had occupied every thought, every decision that I made. I’d finally found my safety and peace again. After all this time alone, I could love again and be in love with someone I never thought I’d get a chance with again.

Despite being so stubborn and such a hardened ass to him, he’d still found a way to protect me, and damn was it fucking hot.

It finally dawned on me that he wasn’t just a non-confrontational person at all costs growing up; he simply preferred to not have things escalate if they didn’t have to, but he certainly would go to the ends of the earth to protect me if he needed to.

I could fight and handle shit on my own, but the way he took charge aroused feelings in me I’d long since written off as something I wasn’t deserving of again. It made me feel vulnerable and safe at the same time, soft and feminine. But empowered more than ever before.

The way he’d touched me, guided me last night, took control had left me hot, bothered, and slightly embarrassed that I’d interrupted it by crying. But instead of making a big deal about it, or making me feel like some idiot, he’d held me and let me process all the shit that had happened.

Now here I was, unable to think of anything else except for Ford.

It was his body I imagined against mine.

I pictured his hands tracing every curve, and his touch against me.

It was his lips I fantasized taking mine.

I whimpered and let out a quiet moan with his name sliding off my tongue.

Oh, that felt so fucking good. It was his handsome face hovering above mine.

His intense gaze watching me with hunger by the door in the room.

Those beautiful eyes stared—

Every muscle in my body stiffened, freezing in place as if a blizzard had swept into this room. My heart skipped a beat as my gaze locked onto his.

Not a fantasy.

Not some picture or idea. But the actual him.

Ford stood as still as if he were made of stone directly in front of the closed and definitely locked door of the bedroom. His eyes were dark and remained firmly on me, and his chest barely moved.

My belly swirled warm, the arousal heightening as I couldn’t help but notice the massive bulge between his legs. I wondered how long he’d been standing there. How long he’d been watching…

Slowly, I slid my hand out from between my legs and pushed myself upright. The heat from my figure was palpable, and my heart quickened as his eyes darted to my fingers that I pulled out from beneath the sheets .

His tongue flicked across his lips as his chest heaved with a breath he’d been holding. Did he want…?

Better question, did I want that?

The answer was easy and quick, yes, I fucking wanted that from him. Cautiously, I brought my hands to my lap, wondering how to tell him without—

And fingers wrapped around my wrist just before they brushed against the sheets.

A calloused, massive hand stopped me, and my eyes locked onto Ford’s face, hovering so close to mine. He’d crossed that room so deathly silent and fast that I nearly fell over backward. But he wasn’t looking at me, he was watching my fingers with the hungriest stare I’d ever seen.

Every thought disappeared from my mind, and a fire roared low in my belly as he brought my fingers to his mouth.

When he was done, he slowly dropped my wrist and pulled the sheets off the rest of my body.

He grabbed my pajama shorts and thong, dragging them off at the same time he latched onto my leg and slid me to the edge of the mattress.

Without a word, he knelt down in front of me and draped my legs over his shoulders.

I gasped, and his hand found my throat. He locked eyes with me and shook his head in warning to be quiet.

I nodded fervently, shock and excitement coursing through me as he winked, kept his gaze steady with mine, and dove between my legs.

The world could be burning down around me, and I wouldn’t have noticed.

There was nothing else going on, not a rational cautionary thought as heat and sweat rolled beneath my skin.

If he trusted that no one else knew how to open that door while it was locked to be able to indulge the way he was, then I let myself give in.

I had absolutely abstained, been celibate, for years, and all of that blew to the wind because of this man.

This wasn’t going to take long as everything in me seared hot with each wave of desire.

I knew I’d want this. No, I had to have this again.

And soon, as every pulse in my body drove me closer and closer to a wild cliff.

This should not be happening. The consequences of the aftermath were either going to be very good or catastrophic, but I didn’t give a rat’s ass as of this moment.

All I wanted was this. Him. This singular moment, as pleasure enveloped my world in stars and vibrant colors finally provided me with the explosion I craved.

Slowly, he whispered kisses down the inside of my thigh as I gasped for air and drifted down from the high and release of his doing. I smiled to myself as he gently backed away and let my legs dangle off the edge of the bed.

“Breakfast is getting cold,” he said quietly, breaking the buzzing of the fan.

I cracked an eyelid open and squinted through the still-spinning room. “You better hustle then, I know how much you hate cold food,” I lazily mumbled.

“I just finished eating, Cher,” he replied with a wink, and my eyes widened. “And I’ve never been more satisfied.”

Once again, my gaze darted down between his legs involuntarily, and I could’ve sworn his arousal was bigger than before. A smirk lifted on his face as I locked onto his steady stare, and I sucked my bottom lip between my teeth. He knew what I’d just looked at .

Bracing against the bed, he leaned forward and placed a gentle kiss against my forehead. “Really, though. Azelie will eat everything if you don’t get out there soon.” And he disappeared out of the room without another sound.

I stared at the ghost of his figure, reveling in the high that he created.

That was… With a smile, I pushed myself off the bed and grabbed my shorts and underwear from the floor.

Quickly shuffling over to my duffel, I dug through the hastily packed bag and grabbed a clean, casual T-shirt and a pair of joggers.

Once I’d changed out of my pajamas, I opened the door and left the room with my toiletries in hand. I knew I was in desperate need of some hair control, no matter how needy I was for a hot breakfast.

But I paused outside the closed bathroom door as the sound of running water reached my ears.

I quickly scanned down the hallway and into the kitchen, where everyone except for Ford was seated around the dining room table.

The kitchen was a jumbled mess of dirty dishes in the sink and a few trays with some straggling food waiting for me.

Azelie smiled at whatever was on her phone as somehow, despite the generations of fighting, my parents chatted with Ford’s family. Though I wondered if they were arguing about something. Honestly, that was probably the more likely scenario.

Which meant that the only person who could be in the bathroom was Ford.

Curiosity and something hot slithered low in my stomach as I stared at the dark wooden door.

I should’ve just walked down that hallway, but instead, something compelled me to inch closer, and I pressed my ear up against the door .

I strained to hear past the rushing water of the shower.

But nothing. Despite lingering for far longer than I should’ve, I heard nothing. I sighed, expelling the unexpected and very inappropriate disappointment, and quickly jogged back into the bedroom. I could fix my hair later.

Tossing the toiletry bag back into the duffel, I spun around and wandered back down the hallway. Without a word, I grabbed the final clean dish waiting beside the platters of food and scraped the last pieces of sausage, bacon, eggs, and the final pancake from the trays.

Nobody looked up as I simply leaned my ass back against the counter and began eating.

I barely registered the taste of the food as my mind played back the past moment with Ford.

Shit. I probably should’ve…helped him out.

I wanted to, but I’d been too wrapped up in my own high and feelings that my mind had been unable to process a response fast enough. Now, he was subjected to his own—

“NO WAY!” Azelie suddenly shouted and sprang from her chair.

I nearly threw my fork at her.

“What?” my mom asked, sharing a quick glance with Ford’s mom, who pursed her lips. Yep, there it was, confirmation that they had definitely been arguing.

“What’s up, Azelie?” I asked as she lifted her gaze from her screen, and my stomach dropped.

Fuck. No. Her contacts. When we’d been attacked, she’d already taken out her contacts, and I couldn’t remember packing them before coming here or if she’d put them in before coming over here or getting out of bed, and if she hadn’t, they’d know .

Her eyes connected with mine, and relief flooded my system.

Two green eyes. For the first time in her entire life, I was actually grateful that my parents forced her to wear it.

I was grateful they must have remembered to grab it and gotten her to wear it.

But through the consolation was a crack of uneasiness.

Something rubbed me the wrong way about how obsessed my parents behaved concerning her around the Thibodeauxs.

The fight after I called Ford. The fight while packing.

The fight while he drove us here all lingered in my mind.

“When’d you get out here?” my mom asked, spinning in her chair and narrowing her eyes.