Two girls walked into our circle. My eyes flared at one of them.
I stumbled and thankfully managed to fall back in my chair.
Wearing that short-as-fuck dress from Masquerade and heels—
what was she thinking
—Remi walked into our circle. The cream-colored dress showcased her
Dax
tattoo and was almost see-through with the lanterns behind her. Her hair was like fire, her pearls draped around her neck.
No bra. No panties.
Someone whistled.
My beer fell out of my hand and spilled on the ground.
Everyone hushed in the middle of a game of Never Have I Ever. I don’t know if it was because they saw my livid face or if they were gawking at her body.
I was a statue, couldn’t even twitch as I watched her sashay over to me, teetering a little when she stepped on a rock.
She stopped in front of Alexandria. “You. Whatever your name is. Up.”
“Excuse me.
No.
You don’t own him.” She squinted, letting out a nervous laugh. “Wait. Aren’t you his roommate?”
“
Get up
. I do own him. And take your hand off his leg.”
Alexandria looked at me for help. The best I could eke out was one of my trademark shrugs. My heart was freaking out. My mouth was dry as cotton. “She’s the boss,” I pushed out.
Sputtering, Alexandria stood and flicked her hair over her shoulder. “Fine. He’s boring as shit anyway.”
I burst out laughing just to relieve the awkwardness; plus the idea of
me
being boring was ludicrous.
Remi took her seat, politely covering her ankles so no one could see up her dress.
“Don’t you think you’re a bit overdressed?” I said curtly.
She smiled, showing me the little space between her teeth. “You’re lucky I wore anything at all.”
I hissed.
“I wore it to piss you off.”
My lids lowered. “It’s working,” I growled.
Lulu took a seat on the other side of her, which had been vacated when Alexandria stormed off.
The conversation began to grow again, but I could feel people’s eyes on us.
I knew what they were thinking.
That chick is practically naked!
Wasn’t she engaged to Hartford?
She just claimed Dax Blay as hers. Is it the end of the world?
I laughed as warmth buzzed in my brain, and it wasn’t from the beer.
Someone handed the girls cups of beer, and we got back to playing the game. I tore my eyes off Remi and kept them focused straight ahead. Maybe if I didn’t stare at her, I’d get some sense, because right now, all I wanted to do was scoop her up and carry her off.
No one could remember whose turn it was, so Remi said she’d go.
I leaned back in my chair and watched her stand. She looked damn beautiful—even if I did want to grab a blanket and wrap it around her.
She raised her glass. “Never have I ever had a one-night stand.”
Everyone murmured or chuckled and most of us took a drink. She drank. I drank.
“May I go again?” she asked sweetly, and of course, all the brothers said “
Sure, babe
,” eyeballs all over her. My fists clenched.
“Never have I ever had a one-night stand that turned into a three-night stand because you’d fallen in love and couldn’t bear to leave that person. Ever.”
She tipped her glass up and took a swig. I didn’t see who else did, because my eyes were only on her.
I drank.
God, I loved her. Deeply. Intensely. Completely.
She smiled around at the circle and did a little curtsey. “Thank you for letting me hijack your game.”
“Anytime,” a male called suggestively, and I sent him a
go to hell
look.
I stood. “My turn,” I announced. Nerves hit me. My hands shook.
It’s now or never, Dax. Tell her how you feel. Own it. Embrace it.
“Never have I ever loved someone so much that I’d get down on my knees and beg her to forgive me for being too young to know that what we had was the most beautiful thing in the world, and all I had to do was let go of my fears and love her forever.”
I gulped down the rest of my beer, watching her.
She picked up her glass, saluted me, and took a drink.
The group grew quiet. Again. Eyes on us.
Hell, we were a soap opera. I’d just confessed my love for Remi in front of the entire frat and probably some random people I didn’t even know.
Something had fried my brain because I wasn’t done.
I gazed around at my brothers. “And just so you blokes know, this girl here”—I pointed at Remi—“is
mine
. I love her, so chill with the flirty comments.” I leaned down to her, my arms on either side of her chair, tipped her chin up, and kissed her. Nothing crazy, but my lips and tongue telling her she was going to pay for showing up in that dress.
I sat back down and made a show of it, stretching out my arms over my head, cracking my neck, and getting loose. Fuck. I felt incredible.
Her eyes glittered as she took in every movement, her top teeth digging into her bottom lip.
A few minutes went by and the game continued. My body was amped, ready to snap at the slightest thing. Waiting for what trouble came next. It came.
“I’m headed to the keg for another beer. You want one?” she asked Lulu.
“Nope,” Lulu answered. “Watching you and Dax is enough of a buzz for me.”
Remi shrugged and took off into the darkness for the keg area.
Go after her!
I let her get about fifty feet before I jerked up, blood pumping.
I jogged, and she must have heard my footfalls because she kicked off her heels and dashed for the tree line.
Like a streak of lightning, she dodged the parked cars, weaving in and out as she headed for the weeping willow trees. Jumping a tiny stream, she landed with a little grunt, her legs disappearing under the draped foliage.
At this rate, she’d kill herself before I reached her.
The light from the bonfire and lanterns didn’t quite go this far, so by the time I pushed aside the grass-length branches and got inside, I was greeted with darkness. The only thing visible was a faint outline of her as she pressed herself against the trunk. The sounds of laughter and music from the party drifted inside the tree’s sanctuary, but the only sound I homed in on was her breathing.
I stalked toward the trunk.
She whimpered when I put my hands on her collarbone and stroked down to her wrist, fingering her bracelet.
“I see you,” I said. My hands picked hers up and pinned them above her head against the tree, careful to not hurt her.
“You caught me,” she whispered and arched toward me.
“Mmmm.” Inhaling, I ran my nose up her throat to her ear and whispered, “Whether I can see you or not, I always smell you. Every time I walk in a bakery shop and get a whiff of sugar—on a donut or a damn cookie—I get hard.”
“Is that why you bring me breakfast—”
I kissed her. The best kiss I’d ever had. Soft and languorous, my lips played with hers, giving her tiny kisses and then longer ones.
My kisses went down her neck to her collarbone and to her chest. My tongue outlined her tattoo, tracing the lines of my name as she squirmed, trying half-heartedly to get loose from being pinned. Using my teeth, I nibbled on the front of her dress, aiming for her nipples, my mouth soaking her dress until I could see rosy tips through the dress.
“Dax.” She rotated against me. “Let me touch you,” she moaned, her voice thick with heat.
“No.” I wanted to punish her until she begged me to let her do what she wanted.
Using one hand to secure her wrists, my other one reached behind her back, grabbed the zipper, and yanked it down. Her dress fell to the ground, leaving her nude, and I latched onto her breasts, my tongue, teeth, and lips devouring her.
“I’m burning that damn dress,” I said into her neck. I bit her shoulder.
She cried out in pleasure, and I went back to her mouth. Kissed her. “Do you want everyone to hear us?” I asked between kisses.
“I don’t care,” she said and sucked on my bottom lip, her teeth tugging, making me ache. I groaned, liking the way she knew me. I wanted her to do that to me for the rest of my life.
I licked her throat. “I’m going to let you go, and you’re going to stand there and not move.”
“Yes.”
With care, I let her hands rest, and she collapsed against the tree, arms dangling at her sides. Taking my sweet time, I kissed down each arm individually, to her elbows, to the palms of her hands. I went to my knees. Kissed her stomach. Sucked on her hipbone.
Emotion tore at me. Regret. Lust.
Love.
Real love.
“I’m so damn sorry,” I said against her skin. “I’m sorry I couldn’t commit to you in the kitchen when you told me you were done with Hartford. I’m sorry I’m terrified of losing you. But I want to try. I want to be yours and you be mine. I want to wake up next to you, put my nose at your throat and just . . . breathe. I want to hold you in my arms. I want to carry you up to bed when you fall asleep. I want to kiss you wearing a mask where we pretend like we don’t know each other. I want to live in my house with you.” I pressed my forehead against her. “Just . . . don’t . . . hurt . . . me.”
She pulled my head up, stared into my eyes, and sank to her knees. We faced each other. “I will never hurt you. It’s why I came here tonight. When I left your house, it dawned on me that maybe I needed to be the one to fight harder for you if you couldn’t.”
I kissed her. “I was just getting ready to leave here, hunt you down, and take you back to my house. Seeing you leave today—I can’t ever lose you again. I’ll die without you,” I said, cradling her face. “We are meant to be, Remi.”
Her blue eyes gleamed. “
Fate always knew
. She tried three years ago to get us together and failed. She tried again in London and failed. But here and now, we’re listening.”
She kissed me, her hands cupping my face and sliding into my hair.
I shivered against her, melting into her. “God, I love you, Remi.”
“I love you,” she whispered.
We kissed, our arms wrapped around each other, and nothing could tear us apart.
I didn’t intend to ever let her go.
Grabbing her hand, I pulled her back up. “I haven’t been able to forget London—or Cadillac’s. I want to own you, body and soul.”
She shuddered. “I’m ready for you.”
Reaching behind my head, I tugged off my shirt, stepped out of my jeans and kicked my shoes off. She watched. Bending down, I fished a condom out of my wallet and slipped it on my hard cock.
“Let me put my back to the tree,” I murmured, my gaze heavy and low.
“Not sure I can move. I—I think it’s the only thing holding me up.”
“Love, I’m gonna hold you up.”
I picked her up and she straddled me, her legs tight around my waist. I backed up against the tree and her feet clung to it. Using every muscle in my body, my hands cupped her bottom as I eased into her wet sheath, dipping in and then backing out, groaning.
She tossed her head back and shuddered, her muscles clinging to me.
I teased her mercilessly, going slow and getting used to the stance of holding her, sliding inside her heat, then coming out to rub across her nub.
Yes, baby, yes. I could go all night like this.
“Please,” she whispered, clinging to my shoulders and writhing, her mouth sucking on my neck. “All the way, Dax.”
Finally, I slammed my cock home.
“Fucccckkk,”
I roared, leaving the gentleness behind and taking her with powerful strokes, oblivious to the tree marking up my back.
I cupped her arse and owned her. She moaned when I adjusted my angle, biceps quivering as I worked to press down on the most sensitive part of her skin.
She tugged on my hair until I kissed her.
“Yes, love,” I murmured. “Lean up a little. Get closer to my mouth.” She arched into me, and I went for her tits, laving her nipples. Sucking. Biting.
We devoured each other, our bodies syncing together, knowing innately how to make the other feel good. Sweat dripped down my face and onto her skin.
She was the best sex I’d ever had.
Always had been.
She yelped as she went over the edge, her muscles pulsating around me, legs locked around my hips as she spasmed.
I didn’t stop.
With my mouth deep over hers, I eased down the tree until I was lying on the grass and she straddled me. I tugged on her pearls, bringing her to my mouth. “Ride me.”
She sent me a heated look and took all of me, her eyes finding mine as we moved together.
Soft. Slow. Easy.
I cupped her face, my heart full. “I’ve dreamed about us for so long. I just didn’t know how to say it—didn’t know what it was.”
She leaned down and kissed me, her face radiating love. I ran my fingers down her spine.
She was mine.
Beautiful Remi.
“Here, let me,” I said eventually when she grew tired. I took over the hard work, my hands lifting her hips to get her where I wanted.
I hissed as I moved inside her, grinding my skin against hers, the top of my cock brushing against her clit.
“Dax . . .” she cried.
She was close.
With intense need driving me, I pulled her hair back, the arch of her neck a beacon as I latched onto it and sucked hard.
Yes. This.
Getting into a steady rhythm, I hammered into her ruthlessly, my mouth at her throat. I’d never get enough of her. Never.
The sounds of our sex, wild and rough, made me crazy. Sensation built in my spine, my strokes fast.
“Dax, yes, please,”
she called, as if my name was a benediction. Her nails dug into my shoulders, tugging me closer, even though we couldn’t get any closer.
She screamed out her orgasm, her body clenching me. I told her I loved her, whispering it against her shoulder and came right after, yelling into the night. My heart pounded like a train. Fuck. Would it always be this crazy-hot with us? I suspected so.
Panting, I pushed hair out of her face. “Are you okay? Did I hurt you?”
“Never,” she murmured.
A few minutes later, I crawled around, found our clothes, and spread them out on the grass. I carried her over as if she were fragile, laid her down, and we held each other.