An Act of Obsession (Acts of Honor Book 3) (29 page)

Glancing up, I discover her gaze transfixed between us. “We look good, don’t we, baby?”

“Yes,” she breathes, her teeth sinking into her plump lip.

Unable to resist, I reach up, tugging at the soft flesh. Her lips part and her tongue darts out to wrap around my thumb, sucking it like she would my dick.

It fucking unravels me.

With a growl, I pump up into her, fucking her hard and fast. Her scream of pleasure pierces the air, nails raking along my abs as she fights to hold on.

“Oh, god, Kolan. Don’t stop,” she begs, her pussy clenching around me, begging to keep me inside.

“You’re close, baby. I can feel it. Give it to me, Sophie.” Slipping a hand between us, I find her swollen clit, my knuckle barely grazing her sensitive flesh before it sends her over the edge.

She tosses her head back on a heated cry, ecstasy washing over her face as her pussy locks down on me. Fire pools low in my stomach seconds before I self-destruct with her, filling her with everything I have.

She drops down on top of me, her skin damp. I hold her close, absorbing the way her heart thrums strong and steady against mine when only days ago I thought it would never beat again. My lungs lock up at the memory.

She lifts her face from my chest, her eyes searching mine. “You okay?”

Reaching up, I brush a stray hair aside, cupping her cheek. “Yeah, Soph. Are you?”

“I am now that I’m with you.”

I reverse our position, flipping her to her back. The quick action draws a squeal of laughter from her. “Good. Get used to it, baby, because you’re stuck with me now.”

She graces me with a smile. “There’s no other place I’d rather be.”

Dropping a swift kiss to her lips, I reach under the edge of the lounger and pull the drawer open, grabbing a few fresh towels. I finish removing her dress and use one towel to clean her then drape the other over her hips before folding her in my arms.

She curls into me, her bare leg fitting between my jean-clad ones, making me wish I took them off. “I have no idea how I’m going to explain my sister’s dress to her,” she says with a shy smile.

“I’ll bet she forgets all about it when you tell her you aren’t going back home tomorrow.” I meant it to be a joke, but there’s no denying the truth of my words.

“They already know,” she tells me, her fingers touch my lips. “I spent the entire afternoon catching up with them, and I told them everything before I left tonight, including that I wanted to stay.”

“I’ll bet they were real happy about it.”

She shrugs. “They understood. However, they did say that if everything worked out tonight, like I hoped it would, then they’d cancel their flights and stay longer to spend time with me. They want to get to know you. They already like you,” she adds with a smile. “Especially my dad.”

I grunt. “I’m sure he’ll change his mind once he actually gets to know me.”

“Not possible. They’ll love you even more.”

It shouldn’t bother me one way or the other. Usually I don’t care what anyone thinks of me, but I do care about them because I know they mean a lot to her.

“You saved my life, Kolan,” she says softly. “You were there for me when no one else was. You’ve taken care of me and been my friend when I needed one most. That alone makes them love you forever, but I know it will become so much more when they get to know the honorable man I fell in love with.”

My hand moves to her neck, fingers tracing the rough skin. “I’ll always take care of you.”

“I know, and I’ll take care of you.” She follows up the promise with a kiss to one of the scars that mark my chest before propping her chin on her fist to look at me. “Do you have any idea how it feels to lay out here with you like this and know no one is watching. To not have to look over my shoulder anymore or be scared of being seen.” Her eyes begin to water but there’s no denying the peace I see reflecting back at me. “It’s the most freeing feeling in the whole world.”

“You are free, Soph, and you always will be. I’ll never let anyone hurt you again.”

“And you’ll continue to teach me how to kick ass, right?” she adds with a smile.

“Damn straight.”

With a giggle, she rests her cheek back on my chest and stares out at the pool. A comfortable silence descends on us as she traces my tattoos. Minutes later, I feel her breathing begin to even out.

“You want to move inside to bed?” I ask, my lips brushing her hair.

“Can we stay out here tonight?”

“Yeah, whatever you want, baby.”

She snuggles in closer. “Good, because I want to sleep out here in your arms, under the stars, then wake up in the same place and watch the sunrise. Then do it all over again…night after night.”

It sounds like the perfect fucking plan to me.

Sophie

Five months later

W
hite twinkling lights glitter throughout Cade and Faith’s backyard while music fills the night air, carrying with it a soft melody. Yet the noise and constant buzzing of people does nothing to disrupt the sleeping bundle in my arms. Katelyn and Nick’s new baby boy, my nephew, Hunter. At only two months old, he is the smallest human I’ve ever seen and absolutely precious.

Katelyn wanted another round on the dance floor with her new husband, so of course I jumped at the chance for more baby snuggles. I’ve been blessed with a lot of them today, between this little guy and Ryder and Emily’s new baby, Colton. With him only being a month older than Hunter, I know these two will grow up to be best buds.

I already danced most of the night away with all the girls and their little ones. Then there’s my main dancing partner…Benny. With a smile, I glance at the dance floor and find him locked in a slow dance with Julia. He’s been filling in for all the guys tonight since they aren’t much for dancing, unless it’s their little girls dragging them out there, because how could they say no to them?

Benny says something to Julia that has her belting out a laugh, and I can’t help but smile with her. I can only imagine what he just said. That boy is a charmer through and through.

Katelyn flops down in the chair next to me, a radiant smile on her glowing face. “It sure is going to take a while before I’m back in shape.” She chuckles, out of breath, and leans over to drop a soft kiss on Hunter’s head.

“Don’t be ridiculous. You look incredible.”

You would never be able to tell she just had a baby, well, aside from her chest being fuller. The rose gold boho wedding gown she’s wearing is soft and elegant, made up of loose fitting chiffon and lace, the color enriching her smooth golden skin. A deep V runs between her breasts while the back is completely open. Her thick brown hair cascades down her back in loose waves. Pearls are draped around her head, a lace flower attached to the beads that matches her dress.

She’s the most beautiful bride I’ve ever seen. It’s obvious her husband agrees, considering he hasn’t been able to keep his hands off her all night.

I remember when she first fell in love with this dress, until she saw the price of it then balked. She refused to spend that kind of money. But then Kolan found out because I have a big mouth and he made sure she had it. Only the best for my sister, he had said.

“Well, thank you for saying so. You look beautiful, too. All of my bridesmaids do.”

I smile back at her, feeling blessed that I got to be included in this special day. She has come to mean a lot to me, everyone here has. I was nervous about not wearing a scarf with my dress. Not that everyone hasn’t seen my scars yet, because they have. But I worried about Katelyn looking back on pictures of her day with me standing next to her, my mangled skin on full display. She was adamant that nothing would make her more proud than to have me stand next to her—scars and all. I feel ridiculous about it now. Everyone has been kind about them, just like Kolan said. When they look at me, it isn’t all they see and it’s starting to be that way for me, too.

“Hey, Sophie, check these moves out,” Benny shouts over the music, cutting into my thoughts.

My attention moves to the dance floor and I find all the girls circled around him, Michael Jackson’s “Billy Jean” booming from the speakers. Kayla, Julia, Faith, and Grace cheer him on as he shows off his stellar dance moves, one in particular I taught him. With his collar turned up and sunglasses on, he looks every bit of the cool kid he is.

I give him a thumbs-up before looking back at Katelyn. Both of us burst into a fit of laughter, and I instantly feel guilty when I wake Hunter. “Oh shoot, I’m so sorry, little guy.”

“It’s okay. Here.” Katelyn takes him, cradling his small body into her arms then lifts her chin, motioning behind me. “You have quite the admirer.”

Twisting my head, I find Kolan watching me where he stands over at the bar with all the other guys; his intense dark eyes making my heart skip a beat. A reaction I should be used to by now.

“Maybe there will be another wedding in the near future,” Katelyn muses, nudging my shoulder.

My gaze snaps back to hers, and I shake my head. “Oh, I don’t think so. Not yet anyway.” But I can’t deny the hope that sparks inside of me at the thought.

I’d give anything to be his wife.

I glance back at him, my breath catching when he begins making his way over, his purposeful strides closing the distance between us.

“I wouldn’t be too sure about that,” Katelyn murmurs, but not low enough.

“Sure about what?” Kolan asks, stopping in front of me.

“Oh nothing,” I rush to say. “Nothing at all. We were just talking about…today.”

I’m such a terrible liar.

He gives me that sexy smirk of his, making my tummy flip flop. It’s clear he knows I’m full of it, but thankfully doesn’t call me out. “You ready to go?”

“Sure. If you are.”

He nods. “It’s time to take Rico Sauvé home before he gets even more out of hand.”

Both Katelyn and I giggle.

“Oh come on, he’s harmless. He’s keeping the party alive, if you ask me.”

“Definitely,” Katelyn says, backing me up.

Kolan grunts his disagreement and leans down to kiss his sister’s cheek. “Bye, Kate. I’ll see you soon.”

She curls an arm around his neck, hugging him close. “I love you. Thank you for walking me down the aisle and making this one of the best days of my life.”

“Anything for you. You know that.”

My heart warms at their bond. Today was a hard day for him whether he wants to admit it or not. Other than me, she is all Kolan has, and as happy as he is for his sister, I know he feels like he lost a part of her. But that’s far from the truth. Katelyn will always need him. I think it’s one of the reasons she gave in and accepted the dress from him. He needed to do it for her and she recognized that.

Kolan leans down and says bye to Hunter next, or whom he calls
mini RoboCop
since he looks so much like Nick. He’s getting more comfortable with the little guy. He’s still too nervous to walk around with him but he will sit and hold him as long as Kate and I are around. He’s afraid of doing something wrong or accidentally hurting him. I try telling him that could never happen.

His strong hands are the kindest I’ve ever known.

I say my good-bye after he does and thank her again for letting me be a part of her day then we make our rounds to everyone else before collecting Benny. He’s very disappointed to be leaving. However, it doesn’t last long, because as soon as we climb into the SUV he passes out well before we even hit town. Kolan ends up having to carry him up to his apartment and the sight of it does all sorts of things to my insides.

I love both those boys something fierce.

As I wait for him to return, I check my phone and find a text message from Tess. I giggle when a picture pops up of her lying on the ground in her pajamas, open textbooks scattered all over the floor. Her brown messy hair is a hot mess on top of her head and she’s got a distressed look on her face. The text reads:
Pull me out of my misery.

Shaking my head, I send her a message back, telling her to hang in there and that I can’t wait to see her next week when Kolan and I come for our visit. The thought brings on a rush of excitement, not only at getting to see my family but to show Kolan where I grew up. My dad even got tickets to a basketball game for them. Male bonding, he had said. Even though he would never admit it, both Tess and I know he would have loved a son for that reason. It warms my heart that he has Kolan now to do that with.

When Kolan climbs back into the SUV, my thoughts take a turn, my body humming to life at the way his large body fills the space.

“Stop looking at me like that, Soph,” he growls.

I turn in my seat, my back resting against the door as I prop a heeled foot up on his lap, making sure my dress rides up nice and high. “I can’t help myself. You look so good in that suit, Slade.”

His jaw ticks, hand snaking up my leg as high as he can reach, grabbing my upper thigh. “Well, rein it in, baby, because I have one stop to make before we head home.”

“Where?” I ask, feeling a frown pulling at my face.

He flashes me that sexy grin of his. “You’ll see.”

My interest piques.

Hmmm, what does he have up his sleeve now
?

When we make a left hand turn and head in the opposite direction from the house, Kolan slows the vehicle. “Close your eyes. Don’t open them until I tell you to.”

I do as he says, a smile forming on my lips. “What are you up to?”

“Just sit tight, baby, and you’ll find out soon.”

As time ticks by, I only become more intrigued and impatient. Thankfully, it’s not long before we come to a stop. “Can I open them now?”

“No, not yet.”

I hear him exit the vehicle then feel my door open a few moments later. When his hands span my waist to help me down, I wrap my arms around his neck and find his lips with mine, the need to kiss him overriding my excitement.

A blissful sigh escapes me, peace invading my soul like always. I pull back, making sure to keep my eyes closed.

“What was that for?” he asks, voice husky.

“Because I love you, and I always want to kiss you.”