Property of Prime Final, page 9
I didn’t know what tomorrow would bring or what the past would uncover next, but for tonight I wasn’t going to drown in memories or fear.
Tonight belonged to Prime and me.
And for the first time since stepping foot on this island, I was looking forward to something.
Chapter Thirteen
Prime
Shay fit against me like she’d been carved specifically for this couch, this room, this night, and for me.
The movie flickered across the dark room, throwing flashes of green and orange across her skin as a car exploded on-screen. Live Free or Die Hard. Good mix of action to distract us, humor to lighten the bullshit in our heads, and explosions to drown out any sound outside.
We were halfway through it with Bruce Willis blowing up half a city like it was just another Tuesday. Shay was curled into my side like she belonged there with her knees tucked up, head on my chest, and fingers hooked loosely in my shirt like she wasn’t even thinking about it.
I couldn’t focus on the movie.
Not when she was warm against me. Not when her hair brushed my chin every few minutes. Not when I kept catching the soft vanilla smell of her shampoo.
She didn’t know what she was doing to me. Or maybe she did.
Hard to tell with Shay.
The explosion on-screen faded into a quieter scene, and I reached for the remote to turn the volume down.
“You want popcorn?” I asked.
She tilted her head up toward me, those big green eyes widening at the question. Then she shook her head slowly. “No, I’m good.”
But there was something else in her eyes. Something that flickered and disappeared before I could reach for it.
I stared at her for a second. “You okay?”
She hesitated. That was my first clue.
“You can tell me anything,” I said. “No matter what.”
Her breath caught, and then it all spilled out of her in one sharp exhale. “Why is this so easy?”
I blinked. “What?”
She threw her hands up a little. “This. You and me. It makes no sense. You literally showed up to my work, told me a crazy guy was trying to kill me, and now I’m sitting on your couch watching a movie with you. This is not normal. This is not how any relationship I’ve ever been in has gone before.”
My eyebrows went up. “Relationship?”
She rolled her eyes. “Even that, you questioning me saying ‘relationship,’ wasn’t weird or awkward. That’s my point.”
She pressed a hand to her forehead. “All the guys I’ve been this close to before have hurt me one way or another. Whether it was with their words, by cheating on me, or…” Her voice trailed off.
My jaw locked. “Or what?” I growled, already knowing and already pissed.
She’d told me pieces before. Small glimpses of the asshole who’d thrown the word ‘relationship’ in the dirt.
“Hit me,” she whispered.
A fire lit in my chest so fast it stole my breath. I closed my eyes and tried to smother the rage clawing its way up my spine.
I felt her fingers, gentle and warm on my cheek, as she pressed her thumb to the bridge of my nose.
“I don’t like when you look so mean,” she whispered.
I opened my eyes and looked at her. “Yeah, well. That might have something to do with the asshole who thought he could lay his hands on you.”
She gave me a small, heartbreaking smile. “That asshole is gone. You don’t have to be mad at him anymore.”
“Oh, you may have left him,” I said darkly, “but I can still kill him.”
“Prime,” she laughed softly. “You’re not killing… him.”
“Tell me his name.”
She shook her head. “Nope. If I do that, you’re going to figure out who he is and get yourself into a whole lot of trouble.”
“I never get caught, babe.”
A shiver ran straight through her body. I felt it. All of it.
She swallowed. “I think we should talk about something else.”
Her fingers trailed along my cheek again, slower this time, like she knew exactly what she was doing.
I let out a breath I didn’t know I’d been holding. “You keep touching me,” I warned, my voice dropping, “and we’re gonna do a whole hell of a lot more than just talk.”
She should’ve pulled away. She should’ve tucked herself further into the couch. She should’ve been scared after everything she told me.
She wasn’t.
She did the opposite.
Shay slid closer and pressed herself fully against me, her chest brushing mine and her thigh sliding over my leg.
And that was it. My control snapped clean in half.
I cupped the back of her head and pulled her up to me. My lips crashed into hers with a need I’d been holding back since the day I first saw her at work.
She kissed me back like she’d been waiting for this, too.
Her mouth was soft, warm, and sweet.
Her fingers curled into my shirt and pulled me closer.
Every breath she took hit my mouth. Every sound she made went straight to my spine.
Heat roared through me.
I shifted, lifted her easily onto my lap, and she straddled me without hesitation as her knees braced on either side of my hips.
My hands ran up her sides, slow at first, then firmer and hungrier. Her shirt lifted under my palms, and her skin was warm and impossibly soft.
She broke from the kiss just long enough to tug my shirt off over my head and tossed it somewhere near the TV. Her eyes dragged over my chest, the tattoos inked down my ribs and across my arms.
“You’re beautiful,” she whispered.
I huffed out a laugh. “I’ve been thinking the same about you.”
She flattened her palm over the tattoo on my shoulder. “We look like we go together.”
“Yeah,” I murmured and pulled her back in, “we do.”
We kissed again—deeper, slower, and then hotter—until the movie might as well have been playing in another universe. Her hands skimmed along my chest, over my ink, and down my stomach. My mouth traced her jaw, her throat, and the place beneath her ear where she let out the softest sound I’d ever heard from her.
The clothes came off slowly at first, then faster, more urgently, and dropped across the floor in a trail that led toward the bed.
I lifted her easily and carried her the few steps to the mattress. Her arms wrapped around my neck, her lips still on mine.
Her laugh whispered against my mouth as I laid her down gently.
“Prime,” she breathed, her fingers in my hair.
I kissed her again, slower this time, and poured everything I wasn’t saying into it. She kissed me back with the same hunger, need, and want that made my heart pound against hers.
Every breath between us was heat. Every touch felt like gravity locking us into place.
I trailed kisses down her throat, across her collarbone, down her stomach. The room was quiet except for her sharp inhale, the hitch of her breath, and the soft whisper of my name on her lips.
She arched up toward me, and her fingers tightened in the sheets.
“Prime…”
Everything inside me clenched. I kissed my way back up her body, taking my time to savor every sound, every breath, and every shiver she gave me.
“Say you’re sure,” I whispered against her lips.
“I’m sure,” she breathed with zero hesitation. She pulled me down into another kiss that left us both shaking.
Her mouth opened under mine, soft and greedy, and I felt that yes go straight to my spine. I slid my hand up the side of her throat, my thumb brushing the flutter of her pulse. She wasn’t scared. She wasn’t uncertain. She wanted this, wanted me, and that knowledge hit harder than anything else tonight.
Shay arched, pressing her body to mine, and I pulled back just enough to look at her. My eyes took in her flushed cheeks, parted lips, the way her chest lifted with each breath, like she was offering herself to me.
“Prime…” She reached for me, and her fingers curled in the waistband of my jeans, tugging like she needed me naked right now.
I wasn’t about to make her wait.
I got rid of my jeans and my eyes never left her. She lay back on the pillows with her knees parted, inviting me in without a single word. My cock throbbed at the sight of her.
“Fuck,” I muttered, and crawled up between her legs. “You’re killing me.”
“Come here,” she whispered, and pulled me down.
I braced on my elbows above her and let my chest brush hers. Her nipples tightened against me and dragged a groan from the back of my throat. I kissed her again, deep and slow, like I needed to taste the truth of her yes. She lifted her hips, grinding against me, and I felt how ready she was.
I slid my hand down between us and ran my fingers through her slick heat. She gasped as her hips jerked, and her eyes became hooded with desire.
“You’re soaked,” I murmured against her ear. “You want me that bad?”
Shay’s breath hitched. “I want you inside me.”
That did it.
I lined myself up, rubbed the head of my cock through her folds, and let her feel exactly what she was asking for. She whimpered softly, needy, and her hands flew to my shoulders to hold on.
“You okay?” I asked, even as I pushed just the tip in. The tight heat of her wrapped around me instantly.
“Yes, God, yes, Prime, don’t stop.”
So I didn’t.
I slid into her slowly, inch by inch, and watched her take me. Her head tipped back into the pillow, and her lips parted on a sound that went straight to my damn soul. When I bottomed out, I stayed still, giving her time to adjust to my size.
When she rolled her hips in a silent go, I started moving.
Slow at first. Deep. Controlled.
Her nails dug into my back and dragged down as every thrust pushed a new gasp out of her. The bed creaked softly beneath us, and all I could hear and think about was Shay.
“Prime,” she moaned as her legs tightened around my waist.
I kissed her messy, hot, and hungry while my hips picked up rhythm. I slid into her harder and deeper. She met every thrust as her body opened for me. Her moans welcomed me, and she clung to me like she’d been waiting her whole damn life for this.
“You feel so good,” I growled into her mouth. “So fucking good.”
Her breath stuttered. “Don’t stop—don’t stop—”
I reached down between us and found her clit with my thumb. She gasped loudly as her whole body arched beneath me. Her pussy tightened around me so fast and so hard I had to grit my teeth.
“That’s it,” I murmured and rubbed slow circles as I thrust into her. “Come for me, Shay. Give it to me.”
Her cry broke against my mouth as she shattered beneath me. Her body trembled, and her pussy clenched around me in pulsing waves. I held her through it and kissed her while she came undone underneath me.
Her release dragged mine out of me fast and violent. I buried myself deep and groaned against her neck as pleasure ripped through me. My hands clenched in the sheets beside her head as I came hard, pulse after pulse emptying into her until I had nothing left.
When it finally eased, I stayed there, braced above her, my breathing hard. Shay ran her hands up my back, soft and slow, like she wanted to memorize every inch of me.
I brushed my lips against her temple. “You okay?”
She nodded as she tried to catch her breath. “More than okay.”
I eased out of her, rolled to my side, and pulled her with me. She curled into my chest without hesitation, one leg thrown over mine, and her hand rested over my heart.
I wrapped my arm around her, held her close, and felt her settle into me like she belonged there.
She did.
Chapter Fourteen
Shay
Prime’s chest was the first thing I felt.
Warm. Steady. Solid.
My cheek was pressed against him, my arm thrown across his stomach, and one leg tangling with his like I was trying to anchor myself to his body. The blanket was twisted somewhere around our hips as sunlight cast soft gold streaks that made his tattoos look darker, sharper.
But the very first thought that hit me?
Easy.
It was just so… easy with him.
The world outside this room was a mess full of danger, secrets, shadows, and a killer no one could catch, but here, with him, it felt like the safest place I’d ever been.
And the happiest.
I’d never been this happy with a man.
Never this peaceful. Never this held.
Prime was everything I’d never had.
When I was scared… he made me feel safe. When I didn’t know what to do, he helped me think. When life got too heavy, he took the weight off my shoulders without asking for anything in return.
I didn’t know what I had done to deserve him, but I knew one thing: I wasn’t going to take it for granted.
“I can hear you thinking,” Prime muttered groggily.
I lifted my head and blinked sleepily as his dark eyes opened to meet mine.
“Hi,” I whispered.
A smirk tugged at his mouth. “Hi.”
I swallowed and blinked up at him shyly. “Shouldn’t this be awkward?”
He looked around lazily and stretched an arm above his head. “I think the only way this would be awkward is if we weren’t in my room… or if the whole club was looking at us.”
I wrinkled my nose. “Yeah, that would be awkward.”
He reached up and brushed my bright red hair from my face to sweep it behind my ear, then leaned down to kiss me. Soft and slow, like it was just something he did naturally.
“If this were awkward or hard,” he murmured against my lips, “I wouldn’t be doing it. Two people being together should be easy and fun.”
My heart stuttered.
“I…” I started.
His eyebrow lifted. “You want?”
I swallowed. “I guess I’ve never had that before. Life has just always been hard.”
He grunted. “Not anymore. Not as long as your ass is in my bed.”
And that was that.
He said it like a simple fact. Like gravity. Like something no one could argue with.
“So we’re…” I started.
But Prime was already rolling out of bed, stretched again, and headed into the bathroom. He shut the door lightly behind him.
I stared at the ceiling with the blanket pulled up to my chin and tried to figure out what the end of that sentence should have been.
So we’re what? Together? Something? Everything?
The bathroom door pushed open a minute later.
Prime came back out naked, drying his face with a towel, completely unbothered by gravity or dignity or the effect his body had on my brain.
I swallowed hard.
He glanced over at me. “We’re what?”
I stared.
At all of him.
Every inch.
And then the towel in his hand hit the floor, and I lost any remaining brain function.
“Huh?” I croaked.
He chuckled deep, and the warm sound vibrated through the room. “You started saying something, babe. What was it?”
“Oh,” I said and pulled the blanket tighter around me, “uh… I was just making… I mean, I wanted… I just…” I squeezed my eyes shut and tried to get my brain to work. “We are a we?” I couldn’t think with Prime standing there naked.
His chuckle got even deeper. “Was that French?”
I cracked one eye open. “I’m asking for some clarification,” I muttered. “You and I… became a we?”
Prime walked toward the bed and leaned down over me until our lips were a breath apart.
His voice dropped. “I’ll make it easy for you, babe.”
Then he kissed me slow, sure, and claiming.
He pulled back just enough to whisper, “Yes.”
My breath caught. “Okay.”
“Okay,” he repeated, his eyes dark and warm.
We weren’t dancing around anything anymore. No wondering. No holding back. No almost.
Just… yes.
He pushed off the bed. “Property of Prime, babe.”
It was crazy, but I liked that. I liked belonging to Prime.
“We should probably get going. Pearl’s gonna burst in here if we don’t show up for breakfast soon.”
He turned toward his dresser, and I watched the muscles shift in his back.
I adjusted the blanket and it slid completely off me. “Oops,” I whispered.
Prime froze mid-step and slowly looked over his shoulder at me. His eyes dragged down my body. And then back up.
A heat flickered in them that made my toes curl.
“Shay…” he said slowly, voice thick.
I smiled sweetly. “What? You said we had to get going.”
He raised an eyebrow. “Babe, you’re naked in my bed.”
“And you could be too if you would get back over here,” I pointed out.
He took two steps back toward the bed. “Shay.” Another step. “You keep looking at me like that…” Another step. “And we’re not leaving this room anytime soon.”
I tossed the blanket all the way off. I liked the sound of that.
His eyes darkened like storm clouds.
And then he was on the bed again, braced over me with his breath warm and fast as his hands slid up my thighs as if he couldn’t help it.
“You’re unbelievable,” he whispered and kissed the corner of my mouth.
“I can’t help it that you are easily distracted,” I murmured and threaded my fingers into his hair.
He groaned, actually groaned, and lowered himself until his body was flush against mine.
I kissed him back, deeper, and pulled him down as my legs wrapped around his hips. His hands moved up my sides, slow but hungry, and mapped the lines of my body like he’d memorized them last night and was re-learning them now just because he could.
He kissed me like he’d missed me during the five minutes we hadn’t been touching.
