Destined (The Rangers of Ridge County #1)

Chapter Forty-Four

CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR

MILLIE

Y es, yes, yes.

My mind repeated the word like a mantra as I raced toward my release. Emmett’s fingers on my clit paired with his words of praise in my ear would have me soaring in a matter of seconds.

I needed this. Fuck . It’d been a long damn month. It’d been an even longer year. And I was long overdue for a release I didn’t have to give myself.

I was so damn close. Right on the cusp of something life-changing.

Until Emmett’s fingers disappeared.

I cried out in frustration, eyes springing open to find his locked on me. He was panting, and his large dick was still hard between my legs.

“Answer me,” he growled.

He asked me a question? I hadn’t heard anything after his declaration.

The confusion must have been evident on my face because he smirked. “I asked if that answered the question.”

Any other time, I might have drawn this out. Made him wait. Edged him. But he had me caught in a lust trap. The longer I held out, the longer I would deprive myself.

I leaned in, my lips brushing his as I said, “Yes. I’m yours. ”

His eyes sparked, and his fingers returned to where I needed them most, instantly rekindling the fire burning in my core.

Rocking forward, my lips found his—the burn in my lower belly swiftly engulfing my entire body. I pulled back far enough to cry out as my release blazed through me before he claimed my lips once more.

Deepening the kiss, Emmett continued to devour my incoherent moans of pleasure. Even as I came back down, his fingers lingered—creating small aftershocks that made me tremble.

I reached down to cup his erection, intent on returning the favor, but he pushed my hand away.

“Not yet,” he murmured. “If you touch me right now, I’ll have a hard time being gentle.”

“And that’s a bad thing…?” I questioned, furrowing my brows—confused because that was exactly what I wanted and thought we were leading up to.

“I’m wound too tight right now,” he explained, a low rumble evident in his tone. “And I’ve wanted this for too long.”

Determined, I reached down again—my hand tugging at the waistband of his underwear.

“Millie,” he warned but didn’t move to stop me.

Wrapping my hand firmly around his hard dick, I gave it a single pump. The moan that spilled from his lips had me eagerly continuing. His breathing hitched as he pulled my bra down and exposed my breasts.

Pinching my nipples hard enough to send a jolt straight to my center—he dragged another moan from me in response.

“You like that?” He smirked as his hands trailed a path down to my hips. His grip tightened there—firm enough I wondered if I would be left with bruises. The idea of him marking me with his possessive hold had need building in my core once more.

“Yes,” I whispered breathlessly—aching for a second release.

His kisses became insistent as we both barreled toward the fast approaching finish line. I continued to pump his length, my strokes erratic as his hand found my center again.

One touch was all I needed.

I fell over the edge, and Emmett tumbled after me—bellowing into the night .

My head dropped to his shoulder, and I stayed there as I caught my breath. His hands caressed my back as the water continued to bubble around us.

Leaning back, I met Emmett’s gaze but couldn’t quite decipher the emotion I found there.

Moving to cover myself, a twinge in my side had me wincing.

His face morphed into concern as his eyes roamed—gently inspecting me as if I were fragile. Breakable.

“I hurt you,” he whispered—his words laced with remorse.

“Bullshit,” I growled. “You just gave me two of the best orgasms of my life.”

I expected a smug reply, but my confession was met with silence.

Did he really regret what just happened?

“You think I don’t know my own limits?” I clipped, pushing back and putting an arm’s length between us.

Frustrated, I moved to the other side of the hot tub. Falling unceremoniously into the spot I had been in before Emmett spun my entire world off its axis. I grabbed the wine bottle and threw it back, taking a long drink.

He reached over and stole the bottle from my grasp before draining it in one gulp.

I sat there gaping, and he laughed—the sound echoing off into the night.

“I’m certain you do,” he said as he stood. “But I don’t want to do anything that could potentially delay your recovery.”

And how could I argue with that? I didn’t have to be happy about it, but I definitely couldn’t argue.

He took my hand, pulling me out of the hot tub with him. The night air was a bitter contrast to the warm water.

Racing across the patio, we hurried into the basement.

Emmett disappeared in the laundry area, reemerging wearing dry sweatpants with a towel and one of his shirts in hand. While he went to grab my sling and our other clothes from the patio, I placed my wet underwear in the designated hamper and slipped into his shirt. It was oversized and hit high on my thigh which was good considering I didn’t have anything on underneath.

When I stepped back into the main space, Emmett was lounging on the sectional—remote in one hand. The other rested on the back of the couch. He’d pushed my laptop onto the far end, but it was still open. I went over to it, waking it so I could power it down for the evening. My inbox appeared on screen, and I noted four new messages. Three from the boutique hotel I’d been in contact with.

I starred the message thread—a reminder to reach back out to them soon. Though, that many messages in the course of an evening seemed excessive for a business I hadn’t even taken on yet.

The other was from Wells Harrington.

I looked over to Emmett whose eyes were roaming my body. “Get over here.” He smirked, finally meeting my gaze. And I was more than happy to oblige.

So I made quick work of shutting down my laptop, deciding Wells could wait until tomorrow.

Grabbing the blanket I’d been covered up with earlier, I walked over to Emmett. Sitting then snuggling in close, his arm moved from the back of the couch to curl around me. Pulling me flush against him, my hair fell over his sculpted abs as I nuzzled into his chest. And it felt more like home than anything I’d ever known.