Brothers of Paradise Series

“So fuck him.”

She barks out a surprised laughter. “Hayden!”

“What? I respect the man, but it’s your life, Lils. You have to live it.”

Her fingers trail up my arm. “You’re right. I’ll see if I can start the paperwork tomorrow.”

“Mmm. And let me know if you need any help.”

She looks up at me. “Help?”

“Getting the place in shape. Hanging paintings. Reviewing art classes… Posing as a model.”

Lily giggles. “You’d pose for me?”

“Yes. Nude would be best.”

She leans in closer to my side and presses a kiss to my neck. Her lips are soft against my skin, moving gently down to the collar of my shirt. “I’ve drawn nude men before. It’s a lot of fun.”

My arm tightens around her shoulders. The response is involuntary. I picture another man, eager and college-educated, lying on a couch for her. I imagine what happened after.

Lily’s voice is low against my skin. “In class. We had to learn how to sketch muscles, to draw movement.”

My shoulders relax. “I want to see what you’ve painted in the last few years.”

“It’s not much.”

“I’m sure that’s a lie.”

She turns and sits with one leg on either side of me, in my lap. Her hands find their way around my neck and for a long moment I can only stare at her, at the wonder of her long fiery hair and beautiful eyes. At the smile she’s giving me. Now that I’m back in her life, I’m astonished I ever survived without her.

I lean forward and take her mouth in a kiss. It’s too easy, with her, to lose myself entirely. To forget who I am and what I’ve done.

She presses herself closer, her breasts flattening against my chest. I let my hands slide down and cup her bottom, to fit her more tightly against me. I’m so damn aroused it’s difficult to concentrate on anything but her weight against my groin.

“How long will you torture us both?” Lily murmurs, letting her hand trail across my shoulders. She rolls her hips and I have to grit my teeth against the sensations that ripple through me. “It’s been over a week since the greenhouse now. We’ve been on three dates.”

It’s hard to concentrate through my desire. She’s too important to me, and I need to make sure there are no regrets.

But that doesn’t mean I can’t give her some relief.

I kiss her again, stronger this time, and smile at the sound of her low moan. Her skin feels hot to the touch. It burns my hands and my lips, and still I want more of the fire.

Grabbing her hips, I flip us around. Lily grins as I spread her out on the couch beneath me. The fabric of her flimsy sundress bunches around her waist, taunting me with the expanse of pale, freckled thighs.© 2024 Nôv/el/Dram/a.Org.

I kiss down her neck, touching my lips to her collarbone.

“All right,” I murmur, letting my hand skim down her body. I flick her taut nipple and I’m rewarded by the sound of her gasp. “Let’s check this…”

She pulls at my shoulders when she realizes where my hand is going. “Hayden-”

“Yes?” I ignore her faint protest as my hand lifts the hem of her dress. The skin along the waistband of her panties is soft as silk to the touch. It’s easy work to slip my fingers underneath it, to reach down and tease her soft warmth.

Lily lets out a moan, and I can’t help but smile at her. The blush on her cheeks is magnificent. “You weren’t lying,” I murmur, my fingers parting and circling. I slip a finger inside her, and I’m rewarded with another breathless moan. “You really are that eager.”

She nods against my neck, wriggling and writhing. It makes it harder for me to focus on touching her, until I realize what she’s trying to get a hold of. I angle my hips away and she sighs in frustration.

“Please.”

It takes me a moment to respond, with her body pressed so close to me. But she’s too important to me. I have to make sure there are no regrets.

And in my desire-addled mind, I say that.

“No regrets,” she whispers. “None at all. Hayden, I want you.”

And God knows I’d wanted her forever, from the first time I saw her, and would until my last dying day. She’s everything I’ve ever dreamed of.

“All right, baby,” I murmur, curling my finger inside of her. “Let’s get you into bed and taken care of.”

Lily doesn’t protest when I lift her up, carrying her into her bedroom and onto the oversized bed. She just presses closer to me. “Finally.”

Lily

Hayden lays me down on my bed and wastes no time in getting back to what he started on the couch. He folds me back and tugs my panties down my legs. Strong hands push my legs apart, fingers curling over the soft skin of my thighs.

I close my eyes at the first touch of his tongue. It’s too much, what he’s doing to me. But I bury my hands in his hair nonetheless. It’s silky between my fingers, the thick, black hair he’s had since the first day I met him, over twenty years ago.

Hayden keeps his hands on my hips to keep me in place, but I wouldn’t move for the world. Every skillful motion of his tongue and fingers brings me closer, closer to an edge that threatens to undo me.

Hayden’s touching me like he owns me-like all of me is his and he’s reclaiming it. A very small part of me wants to object.

The rest is in complete agreement. I am his. I always have been, deep inside, my soul calling out to his. It’s physical, but it’s so much more than that, too.

Hayden breaks off momentarily to laugh softly against my skin. He presses a kiss to my inner thigh and looks up at me. “So far, you haven’t changed a bit, Lily.”

He’s driving me insane, the desire coursing through my body too strong to override. “Let’s talk later.”

“So impatient.” He does something with his fingers that makes me gasp, a wicked smile on his face.

He devotes himself entirely to my pleasure again and I break apart under his tongue. I can’t control my movements, gasping as my back arches and toes curl. It’s heavenly, this release, all with him.

Hayden rests his head on my hip and runs a hand lazily around my nipple. He’s watching me through hooded eyes. “I’d forgotten how beautiful you are when you come.”

My cheeks heat up. I run a hand through his hair, stopping right at the nape of his neck.

“God Lily, you’re too sweet,” he murmurs, pressing a kiss to my hipbone. “That was a good start.”

I frown and tug at his shoulders. He crawls up my body, lying down next to me, a strong hand around my waist. I think it’s meant to reassure me, but I don’t feel the least bit calm.