Briggs (Carolina Reapers 7)

I flipped her to her back on the outdoor sofa, then broke the kiss only so my mouth could worship every inch of skin down her neck and across her collarbone. She was wearing a long, black dress with tiny buttons from neckline to hem, so I flicked them open one at a time, kissing a path down her body. She moaned when my thumbs grazed the hard nipples that distended the fabric of her lace bra.

That sound was always my undoing.

I loved the sound of Bristol’s pleasure more than the roar of the crowd or even the siren when I scored on the ice. Hell, the only thing better was listening to her scream my name.

Inch by inch, I undid the buttons of her dress, revealing miles of skin that was softer than silk, until I reached the very bottom and splayed the two sides open, revealing her beautiful body in its entirety.

“Fucking gorgeous.” My entire body went taut at the sight. She was so damned perfect, and the way she looked up at me—like I was someone worthy of her—made my whole fucking chest ache. This wasn’t just sex. Not anymore.

It hadn’t been just sex for some time now…at least not on my part.

My hands slowly stroked down her sides. Right here, this was what I lived for, every second I was able to spend with Bristol.

There was only one reason I’d risked flying up here, knowing even the seven-a.m. flight would be cutting it close for our morning ice time tomorrow. There was only one reason she was the last call I made at night and the first in the morning. One reason I looked for her at every game, even knowing she was busy building an empire here in New York. One reason I couldn’t keep my mind off her. That swelling ache in my chest was the very opposite of what I thought would happen when it came to Bristol McClaren, but it was there, nonetheless.

I was in love with her.

She lived in New York.

I lived in Charleston.

None of it mattered. We’d figure it out. We had to.

“Cormac?” she asked gently, concern etching her features.

“Just planning my attack,” I answered with a wry grin, keeping the rest of my thoughts where they belonged—to myself. “I think I’ll start here.” I grasped the tiny strings that held her underwear together and then snapped them one by one, careful not to hurt her.

“That. Was. Expensive.” She arched a brow.

“I’ll. Buy. More,” I countered, letting the material fall through my fingers to the floor of the deck. “They were in the way.” Then I lowered my mouth and hooked her thighs over my shoulders.

The first swipe of my tongue against her swollen, slippery flesh had her moaning.

“You always taste so fucking good.” I licked at her over and over, taking my time to work her up to the edge with flicks and swirls. Then I fucked her with my tongue until she came, her thighs squeezing against the sides of my face as she muffled her own cries with her fist.

“Again,” I demanded, sliding two fingers inside her as I worked her clit with my tongue and lips, but it was the graze of my teeth that set her off that second time.

“Oh my God,” she groaned, going limp as I eased her out of her second climax. “I think I’m dead.”

“I hope not.” I flipped her over to her belly, helping her out of what was left of her dress, and shed my clothes, taking the extra moment to roll a condom over my shaft. “You owe me at least one more.”

“Oh, I do?” she asked, looking back at me over her shoulder as I climbed back onto the couch, kneeling between her thighs.

“You always come at least one more time than I do. It’s the rule.” My hands roamed up the columns of her thighs to squeeze the tantalizing curves of her ass.

“Says who?” Her words may have been teasing, but she pushed up on her forearms, putting that ass right where I wanted it.

Need slammed into me with every heartbeat, like I hadn’t just come down her throat twenty minutes ago. Fuck, I needed her more now than I had before our first time, but I didn’t just want her body. I wanted her heart. I wanted everything she had to give.

“Says me.” I lined the head of my cock up to her slick entrance and looked back over the city, which was mercifully blocked by the privacy screen on the lower half of her balcony. “I need you, Bristol.”

“Then take me, Cormac.” She rocked back, and I slid in the first few tight inches of her pussy.

“Fuck,” I hissed at the pleasure that flooded every nerve in my body. Then I drove forward, taking her in a single, hard thrust. “Duchess,” I groaned.