It was going to be a long night.

Rinsing my mouth and grabbing my phone off the counter, I crossed the hallway and slipped back into the bedroom.

“Still—”

My words cut off as my eyes landed on the bed.

Elle. Spread out. Naked.

All creamy skin and perfectly round tits tipped with rosy pink nipples.

She ran a hand down her body as she spoke. “I know there are probably better ways to handle everything that happened today, but I can’t think of one right now. I just … I need you.”

And that was all she had to say.

I crossed to the side of the bed, slid my phone on the nightstand, and dropped my drawers. I needed her too. With the insanity of everything today, I just needed to check out for a while—because there wasn’t a goddamn thing either of us could do to change what had happened. All we could do was clean up the shattered pieces left from the mess.

But that could wait.

Until Lord had shoved his boxer briefs down his hips, I’d been completely freaking out this had been the worst idea ever. But still, I wanted to beat back the specter of death that seemed to be creeping up on us from every angle.

Lord said nothing before he lowered his head and took my mouth.

This wasn’t a regular, ordinary kiss. This was … all of the pent up emotions and uncertainties pouring out through the meeting of lips.

I wrapped both hands around his neck, pulled him closer and kissed him harder. The energy rolling off him carried an edge of danger. But I wasn’t going to shy away from it. Instead, I spurred Lord on. Dragging my nails down his shoulders, I sank them into the muscles of his back. He groaned into my mouth, lowering himself on his forearms to get closer. His lower half—and his rock hard cock—pressed into me.

My body seemed to liquefy on contact. It didn’t matter what was happening outside this room—the entire world could be falling apart—and still I’d want this man. Anywhere, anytime, and any way I could have him.

Lord pulled up a few inches.

“I need this. Need you. You’re the only fucking thing that makes sense right now.”

“I need you too.”

He squeezed his eyes shut before lowering his lips again, this time landing on my jaw and dragging them down my throat, to my collarbone. Nips and scrapes of his teeth sent goose bumps prickling across my skin. He moved lower still, mouth closing over my nipple and his hand finding my other breast to cup and tease the peak.

Heat and slickness pooled between my legs, and my hips bucked against him, seeking more and more pressure. More and more Lord.

All thought faded from my brain, replaced by the pleasure shimmering and rippling through me.

Lord traded one nipple for the other, driving me higher still. His hand slid between my legs, his fingers finding my clit.

“So fucking wet,” he said, lifting his head from my breast. “Can’t wait to be inside you.”

“Then what are you waiting for?

“I’m trying to take this slow.”

I shook my head, “I don’t want slow. Whatever you need is exactly what I want.”

His finger speared up inside me, and he pumped it in and out before adding another. Each motion sent me closer to the edge. Tonight, I was tightly strung, every emotion so close to the surface.

Changing the angle of his hand, he found my G-spot, and pleasure spiraled through me.

“I’m gonna come,” I whispered.

Lord said nothing, just watched as I splintered with the force of the sudden orgasm.

I’d hardly recovered when he was pressing into me.

I didn’t need to recover.

I never wanted to recover.

I wanted this man to wreck me for the rest of my life.

“It gets better every time. How is that even possible?” Lord breathed as his cock sank into me inch by inch.

He stilled when he was seated to the hilt. His eyes found mine, and he pushed the errant strands of my wild hair away from my face.

“You’re so beautiful. So goddamn smart. You’re the whole package, and I’ve got my cock buried inside you. I don’t know how I got here, but I never want to leave.”

“I can work with that,” I replied. The words were hushed when they fell from my lips. My inner muscles clamped down on Lord’s cock.

He groaned. “You’re stealing my control, woman. Before I even get a chance to make you come again.” He withdrew and slammed home, sending more shivers of desire radiating through my limbs.

I buried my face in the crook of his neck to muffle my cries as I came. When Lord emptied himself inside me, he did the same, his teeth scraping along my shoulder. The sensation kept my body on edge as the orgasm flared through every pleasure receptor I had.

Neither of us moved for long minutes. The only sound in the room was the drawing in of heaving lungfuls of air.

Lord finally lifted his head and pressed a kiss to my forehead and then my lips. “I love you, Elle. So goddamn much.”

“I love you too. More than you know.”

He pulled away, and a tissue box on the nightstand provided the means to clean up. When he shut off the light, Lord wrapped me in his arms and held me close. I’d never been a fan of spooning, but this man had converted me for life—so long as they were his arms I was sleeping in.

In the darkness, our breathing slowed, and I swore I could hear his brain start to churn again.

“Go to sleep,” I whispered. “You’ll hear your phone if it rings, and until then, there’s not a damn thing you can do.”

“I know. That’s not what I’m thinking about.” The words ruffled the hair sliding forward over the side of my face.

“Then what?”

“Even though I wish I didn’t know, I’m glad I do. Now I can do something about it.”

“It’s good to have the mystery solved … even if it had to be solved this way.”

He pressed another kiss to my hair. “Yeah. Tomorrow’s going to be a hell of a day, so we better sleep.”

He was undoubtedly right. My mom would be awake and sober, and I needed to tell both her and my stepbrother that my stepdad had been murdered because of me.

That wasn’t going to go well.

The ringing of my phone ripped me from the dream I’d been having about being trapped in my basement shooting range, staring down the barrel of a gun. Needless to say, I was really glad to wake up.

I reached for the phone and every ounce of that gladness drained away.