Reclaimed (Powell Sanctuary #5)

Chapter 18

18

Aiden

Keys rattle in the door and the alarm panel beeps slowly. At the sound of the code being keyed in, I scramble up to gather the trash littering the floor and head out to the living room. Each step drawing me closer has me fighting to keep my pulse under control.

“How’d it go?”

Isla kicks off her shoes and hangs her keys on the hook by the door. Juniper pets Chevy twining between her feet.

“Manny wasn’t too happy, but I did it,” Isla says. She just returned from putting in her two weeks’ notice. The second week in November will be her final shift. The timing couldn’t be better. We’re about to start getting snow, and not having to drive all the way to the club during the winter while she’s pregnant will be one stress we can take off the table.

“I think it went okay.” Juniper rises with my cat in her arms. “God, I love this little guy.”

His loud purr fills the room.

“I still can’t believe you don’t have a dog.” Isla moves into my side and plants a convincing kiss on the underside of my jaw. A hot flush hits my cheeks.

“The cat distribution system reached out first. If the dog distribution system ever gets in touch, I won’t say no.” I squeeze Isla’s hip.

“Your family runs the dog distribution system. I’m pretty sure you can take your pick.” Juniper rolls her eyes.

Forcing my gaze away from Isla’s is a difficult endeavor. “That’s not how the distribution system works. The pet picks you.”

“So you’re saying that if I believe in good conscience that a dog chose me, I can just show up with it and you won’t kick it out?” Isla bats her lashes up at me.

As if we’ve done it hundreds of times rather than only a handful, I lean over and kiss her. “Now you’re getting it, beautiful.”

Isla looks at me a little dazed, and I laugh. I run the pad of my thumb beneath her lower lip to fix her lip gloss. “Want to see your surprise?”

“You got me a surprise?”

I thread my fingers tight with hers. “Check this out.”

I tow her down the hall with Juniper on our heels. Chevy is taken hostage for the ride as my sister-in-law refuses to put him down. He’ll be meowing up a storm later once she leaves and he wants someone to hold him like a baby. With Isla now staying here, he’s going to be extra spoiled.

The first door to the right stands open. Evening light from the window filters into the hall. Fighting my smile is hard as I tug her inside.

“Oh my god, you didn’t!” Isla releases me to step further into the room and wrap her hand around the chrome pole. She walks in a circle with her arm outstretched, her black skirt swirling with the motion.

“You two are getting freaky.” Juniper gripes from the doorway. “Lee and I weren’t this bad, were we?”

I throw my chin to my shoulder and smirk. “You tell me where the two of you disappeared that day we played paintball with the family and I’ll tell you if you compare.”

The blush coloring her cheeks reveals I accurately hit my mark.

“That’s probably my cue to leave.” Juniper lowers Chevy to the ground with a final scratch underneath his chin. “I think the two of you need some time alone and Lee and Lincoln are waiting on me for dinner. We’re going out with Cortney and Oliver to celebrate him passing his drivers’ test.”

Ollie is my nephew and Lincoln’s best friend. Those boys have been inseparable since elementary school. We watched them grow up playing baseball together and the family knew Lincoln long before Juniper and Lee became a couple. Her brother is part of the reason she and Lee slot together so nicely. Lee coached Lincoln’s little league team before he hit high school and they were forced to see each other at games and practices. “I can’t believe they’re going to be driving.”

“Me neither. I told Sutton and Silas they better keep their eyes out for those boys.”

“They probably stand a better chance dealing with the Stones than dealing with you or Lee.”

“That’s exactly what I said.” Juniper grins. “Anyway, bye you guys. Will I see you this weekend?”

Another week, another dinner at Mom’s. Though having Isla by my side makes me less interested in ignoring the invitation. The overly sympathetic stares and remarks have practically ceased since we publicized this fake relationship.

The simple act of not having my existence constantly tied to that awful day has eased the darkness some. For the first time in months, I feel like I’m actually starting to move on.

I smile, and it’s genuine. “We’ll be there.”

Juniper beams at the two of us. “Great! I’ll let everyone know.”

“I’ll walk you out. I need to check the alarm.” Isla still isn’t used to setting it and sometimes she fully arms it rather than setting it in daytime mode. Juniper and I exchange a quick hug goodbye, and I wait until she’s safely on the road before moving back down the hall.

“Want to get takeout for dinn—” I slam to a halt in the middle of the hall. “I’m so sorry. I’ll go.”

“No!” Isla frantically beckons me closer, not a shy bone in her delectable body. “I want you to stay.”

My tongue feels swollen as I ease myself back into the room. In the few minutes I was gone, Isla dropped her flowy skirt and kicked it into the corner. She’s wearing nothing except a skintight white bodysuit that cuts high across the cheeks of her ass, biting just a little bit into the plump skin to reveal how soft she is. The top hem is edged in lace that showcases just enough cleavage to cross the line from sassy to sexy.

“I thought you’d like to see my debut run.” With a hand above her head gripping the pole, she walks sensually in a full circle. The tips of her toes are painted in a shimmering gold. Fuck, even her bare feet look sexy. Lifting her leg, she fits the pole in the crook of her knee and effortlessly picks herself off the ground. The pole slowly spins, twirling her in a full circle before she straightens her legs into another three-sixty.

This is nothing like the dozens of times I’ve watched her on stage. The intimate performance breaks through the barriers I kept in place while we were in public. Blood pumps intensely through me, a fair amount rushing south, tightening my jeans.

“Take a seat, lover.” She throws her arm out in the vicinity of the love seat shoved against the wall. Evening light streams into the otherwise dark room, casing Isla in her own personal spotlight as she dances.

I drop heavily, bracing an arm across the back. With an ankle crossed over the opposite knee, I rest my other arm on my thigh. My attention is riveted on the beauty in the center of the room.

Music pipes in from her cell phone on the floor. I’m so awestruck I failed to notice it. The white static in my ears recedes enough for me to hear the quiet strains of a moody pop song she rolls her hips to.

I wish I had a drink. I wish I had something to chase away the strong feelings flooding my system. No matter how hard I try to fight them, it’s clear how badly I want her. How I’d do just about anything to have her. She performs a well-practiced choreography from memory with an ease that reminds me this isn’t as special to her as it is to me.

I don’t even care about her career or the men who’ve sat in a room while she danced for them just like this. I’ll have her any way I can. That doesn’t stop me from hoping, if only for a moment, that this could be what it’s like between us. Something real only the two of us share.

With one hand above her head and the other below, she inverts herself, her legs spreading into a V as the pole spins her around. The concentration on her face gives away her professionalism as well as her passion.

I fix my jeans over my cock, the material unnaturally tight. My fingers tingle as I watch her sway and grind against the metal between her legs. When she drops to her knees and imitates a crawl, those cinnamon-colored eyes locked on mine, I bite my tongue to stifle a groan. She pops back up and lifts herself back onto the pole, moving into a sort of flow of different moves that demonstrate her strength and sexuality.

As the strains of the song slow, Isla gracefully lowers herself back to her feet. She twerks a little with a giggle and a smile spreads across my face.

I clap at her enticing performance. “Well done, starshine.”

“Oh, I’m not finished with you yet.”

I watch curiously as she sashays closer and straddles me on the couch. My hands immediately find the beautiful crease where her thigh meets her hips. Fuck. If only she knew how hard I was just inches away. Nothing but the strip of her bodysuit separates me from the little piece of heaven I’m dying to experience again.

“No touching.” Her small fingers circle my wrists and pry my hands away. I relax and let her guide my limbs until my hands are on the back of my head. “Keep them there.”

“You let me touch you last time.”

Lust flares in her eyes. Her pink tongue swipes across her lips. “I remember.”

With her access unhindered, Isla slides forward until she’s pressing her pussy directly over my cock.

“Fuck,” I grunt, arms twitching above my head, but I keep them there. By the flush on her chest, she’s getting as much out of this as I am and I’m curious to see where this goes.

Her little gasp goes straight to my cock. Her hips roll, running her center over the ridge she can surely feel beneath her.

“Isla,” I warn. My arms lower halfway before she pushes them back without missing a sensuous beat.

“Be a good boy, Aiden.”

A tremble runs through my body. I grip the strands of my hair. “Baby, please let me touch you.”

She leans in so close, the scent of her flowery perfume surrounds me. Our faces nearly touch, her lips an inch away from mine. The heat of her breath fans across my mouth. “Like here?” She closes the gap.

The kiss explodes with passion. I surge upright, my hands leaving my hair to wrap tight around her. She rocks against me, going backward before fighting me for the upper hand. One of my hands slips down to grip her ass, and at her gasp, I taste her. The velvet feeling of her tongue against mine nearly has me coming in my pants. I’m needy and desperate with lust flowing through me, and it’s never been clearer.

I want her. In all the ways a man can have her.

The way she grinds on my lap, I think she wants that too.

“Please,” I pant against her luscious lips, diving back in, not wanting to be long without. I’m so dizzy I want to drown in her. “Let me touch you.”

At her nod I’m pawing at her clothes. My hand dives between us, wedging into the incredibly tight space between her pelvis and mine, and I yank open the snaps. The tension of her bodysuit falls away and the fabric springs up around her hips, exposing her entire lower half.

She’s naked.

Oh my fucking god. Her entire pussy is naked on my lap.

I suck in a sharp breath and with a twist of my wrist, I drill two fingers inside her. I swallow her shrill gasp and moan down her throat. She’s warm and oh, so fucking wet. My thumb strums across her clit, and she convulses in my lap.

The muscles of my lower stomach jerk, hollowing as her fingers dip beneath the hem of my tee shirt. Her slender digits dance across the ridges of muscles, tracing the valleys between them. She slips a finger beneath the waistband of my jeans. I twitch so hard I nearly throw her off like an ornery bull.

“Sensitive, lover?”

“You could say that,” I grunt against her mouth.

The click of the button and slow crawl of the zipper has goosebumps skittering across my skin. “I want to touch you too,” she pants.

I watch myself finger her, focusing on something other than the anticipation of her touch. I haven’t had a hand that wasn’t my own wrapped around my dick in a couple years, and even then the incidents were few and far between.

A few drunken encounters that I thought could go all the way but pulled back. Every fucking time.

But this is different. With her, everything is different. We’re a roller coaster cresting the peak without breaks, about to enter a devastating freefall.

Her hips undulate on my hand, taking me deeper with each forward stroke. I crook them and rub against the front wall, feeling the way she tightens and the liquid pooling in my palm. I relish at the way she trembles from my touch alone.

Cool air hits my cock as she parts my jeans and rolls down the band of my underwear.

“Oh my god, Aiden.”

My gaze shoots to her face, only to find her staring intently at my lap. “What?”

“What do you mean what? You didn’t tell me you were carrying an actual Maglite in your pants.”

A sharp huff of laughter breaks free. “It’s not that big.”

“Your fingers are buried in my pussy right now. Does it feel like you’re going to be able to fit this in there?”

On the next inward glide, I add a third finger. “If you’re worried, I’ll just have to prepare you a bit more.”

Her head falls back and she bites her lip as she rocks on my hand. “That feels so good.”

“I have something that will feel even better.”

“Yes.” Her cinnamon eyes find mine in the waning light. “Please fuck me. Sleeping next to you has been literal torture.”

The bottom falls out of my stomach. This is happening.

Fuck!

Sweat beads on my upper lip, and with one final swipe against her clit, I withdraw my fingers from between her thighs.

“You’re sure?”

Her palms curl around the sides of my neck as she strokes her thumb along the light stubble covering my jaw. “I’ve never been more sure.”

“This isn’t a random fuck for me, starshine.” My heart hammers a staccato rhythm in my chest. If she were to move her palms any lower, she’d feel it thunder beneath her hands.

“It’s not for me either, Aiden.”

I lift my hips as she curls her fingers into the top of my jeans and yanks them beneath my ass. This is going so fast. Oh, god. She wraps her palm around my shaft and strokes me long and firm, the tight grip making me impossibly harder. I should tell her. Before. She deserves a chance to back out before I reach the point of no return. Or come on her hand if she keeps stroking me like that.

Rising on her knees, she positions herself over me. The heat of her dripping cunt radiates against the tip of my dick. A mere inch separates us.

“Isla.” I squeeze her hips and she stops with her lips opening above the crown. For the first time in my life, my dick is touching a wet pussy.

I whimper.

Her gaze snaps to mine, a feral lust present that I feel within my own.

“I’ve never— fuck ,” I moan as she sinks down a torturesome inch.

“You might be too big, Aiden.”

“It’ll fit, starshine ,” I bite out. “It was made to fit.”

She flattens her palm to the center of my chest.

“Wait.” I grip her wrist and try to tell her again.

“I can’t.” Her lashes flutter. “You feel too good. I’ve been dreaming about this.”

I move so fast my hand is a blur as I catch her chin between my thumb and fingers. “I just need you to know that I’ve never done this before.”

She blinks. “You’re a virgin?”

“Was. Because unless you say stop right now, this is happening. I need to feel you.”

Redness spreads across her chest and she nods. It’s all the confirmation I need to grip her hips and drive home.

A full shudder wracks my body, and my eyes roll back. “Fuck, baby.” My moan is loud, bouncing around the room. I couldn’t hold it back if I tried.

“You feel so good,” Isla pants above me.

“So do you,” I grunt. She’s full of my cock. My balls press against the crease of her ass. Nerves spark to life in places I’ve never experienced before this moment. That I didn’t even know existed. My heart hammers as her tight pussy keeps me warm. I reach behind my head and drag my shirt off by the collar, throwing it to the floor.

“Are you okay? Can I ride you?”

I grit my teeth. “You can move, baby, but I have to warn you, I’m not going to last.” I could come already. My swollen balls draw up tight.

Her white teeth flash in the dim room. “I understand.” The sound of her proud, husky murmur sends a tingle down my spine.

She picks her beautiful ass up and drops it in my lap. I moan again, completely out of control for this woman. Her pace picks up, mimicking my urgency. The sound of skin slapping together fills the room. The symphony a soundtrack I could replay for the rest of my life.

I curl my fingers into the bottom of her bodysuit and drag the light cotton over her head. “Need to taste these,” I growl and take one of her tits into my mouth.

“Oh!” She gasps as I tongue her tight nipple and roll the bead around in my mouth. With a palm flattened on her lower back, I urge her back and forth.

“So close, baby, so close. I’m going to come,” I babble deliriously between playing with her tits. The sensation in my balls is otherworldly, unlike anything I’ve managed to produce with my own hand.

“Please, Aiden,” she whines.

I roll my thumb over her clit. I don’t have time to get her there, but I can bring her to the edge.

“Ah, ah, ah! Fuck!” I shout. A blinding orgasm shrouds me in pleasure. My cock pulses so hard, so deep in her pussy I guarantee she’d get pregnant if she wasn’t already. The spine-tingling sensation makes my eyes water.

Chest heaving, I recline against the back of the loveseat, catching my breath as Isla threads her fingers through my hair. Opening my eyes to half-slits, I find her watching me with her own haze of lust written in her expression.

“Welcome back,” she teases.

Leaning forward, I lick her nipple, pulling the tight tip into my mouth. It’s her turn to grit her teeth and moan.

“You’re a goddess, starshine.”

A layer of goosebumps erupts on her arms.

“That’s it? No love declarations?”

I roll my tongue once more around her nipple before releasing her with a final lick. “I’m not a fifteen-year-old church boy. I’m a thirty-two-year-old man. I can separate love and sex.”

The corner of her mouth tilts up.

I blink, softening my gaze. “Did you want one?”

Her shoulder lifts in a shrug. “No, I suppose not. I wasn’t sure what to expect. I’ve never taken anyone’s virginity before.”

“I hope it exceeded your expectations.”

Heat flares in her eyes. “It did, Aiden.”

“Good. I hope that means you’re willing to take it again.”

“You want to do it again?” The surprise in her tone is like a thorn in my thumb. “When?”

“How about…” I sit up and flip her over so her back is on the couch. I push her legs apart. One rests on the ground. I hook her other ankle on the back of the loveseat. Her bare pussy is red and leaking, begging for my touch. “In about fifteen minutes. After I’m done making you come with my mouth.”