“She was half asleep when we finished reading her book,” I murmur as he licks up the side of my neck, pulling a moan from the back of my throat.

“I think you need to be punished for all your back-talking today. What do you think?” he asks, causing my core to convulse, my knees to tighten around his hips, and my hands to wrap tightly around his shoulders.

“Okay,” I agree without thinking then close my eyes when I feel his chest vibrate with laughter against mine. “I mean no,” I retract, letting my legs fall open and my hands slip from his shoulders.

“Sure you do,” he says, raising his head above mine, smiling down at me and, not for the first time, I’m struck by how absolutely gorgeous he is. Lifting my hand, I run my fingers over the scruff along his jaw then over his bottom lip, remembering how it feels against mine every time he kisses me.

“The first time I saw you, my world stopped,” he says, catching me off guard, and my gaze goes to his. “Nothing else existed but you, and then it stopped again when I held Hope for the first time. And since that moment, there have been a million pauses, each one giving me something beautiful to remember,” he explains, and I feel my vision go blurry with tears. So I do the only thing I can: I lift up and press my face into his neck, where I whisper, “I love you,” while wrapping my legs and arms around him, soaking in the feeling of being in his arms.

“Let me check on Hope, baby,” he says, pressing a kiss to my temple after a few minutes. Letting him go, I roll to my side and watch as he leaves the room and walks down the hall, coming back a few seconds later and pulling off his shirt when he enters the room. “She and the puppies are asleep,” he whispers, leaving the door cracked behind him, then he turns on the monitor next to the bed that will let us know if she wakes as he toes off his boots and unhooks the buttons of his jeans.

Captivated by his torso, I blink up at him when he commands, “Loose the shirt,” so softly the words are barely audible. Looking at the door, my eyes fly back to him when he growls, “Now,” in a tone that has wetness gathering between my legs. Reaching for the hem of my shirt, I slowly slide it up my thighs then belly, pausing below my breasts when his eyes grow darker. Swallowing hard, I pull it over my head and drop it to my side, feeling my hair slide over my breasts.

“So perfect,” he rumbles, stepping toward the bed, running a single finger over one nipple then the other. “Now the shorts.”

Pulling my lower lip into my mouth, I sit up on my knees and pull my small sleep shorts down over my ass then sit to the side, pulling them off and dropping them onto my shirt.

“Are you wet?” he asks, pulling me to sit back up, with my knees in the bed in front of him. Nodding, because the words are locked in my throat, I feel his fingers slide down the middle of my chest, over my belly then my pubic bone, through my folds, collecting wetness before circling my clit. Causing my hips to jerk forward and my hands to land hard against his bare chest. “Easy, baby,” he says, gathering the hair at the back of my head into his free hand, forcing my head back and my eyes to meet his.

“I love this pussy. I love how wet you are.” He nips my bottom lip hard as two fingers plunge into me. “I love how tight it is,” he growls against my mouth, pulling those same two fingers out, only to thrust them back in. “I love how I can feel it begging for me to fuck it,” he says harshly before swiping those fingers over my clit in a tight circle as his hand in my hair tightens and his mouth covers mine in a brutal kiss. That has my hips rotating, fucking myself on his fingers so hard I feel the walls of my core clench.

“Not yet,” he groans, pulling his fingers away and bringing them up between us, swiping one over my bottom lip, which feels swollen then licking over it. “Lay back and spread your legs for me.”

Oh, God.

Doing what he orders, I lay back and timidly spread my legs then bring my hands up, covering my breasts.

“Unless you’re going to pull on your nipples for me, don’t cover them,” he demands, and my hands fall away to my sides as his slide down over my knees and inner thighs, where I feel his thumbs pull me open. Feeling my body shake with nervousness and excitement, I watch his face lower and his tongue come out, licking between my folds then curling around my clit, tugging it between his lips.

“Jax,” I whisper as my back arches, and my hands move back to my breasts, cupping them and pulling my nipples between my fingers.

“Show it to me, Ellie. Let me watch you as you come in my mouth,” he commands as his fingers move and two slide deep inside me, curling up and hitting that spot that pulls a mewl from deep within my chest. Pressing my tiptoes into the bed, I raise myself higher and grind myself against his mouth, coming so hard the world shatters around me, causing stars to cloud my vision and heat to race through my system like wildfire.

Coming back slowly, I hear the sound of plastic ripping then feel the weight of him settle over me. “So fucking perfect,” he says as our eyes meet, and he slides slowly into me, stretching and filling me. Pressing one hand into the bed near my head, his other wraps around the back of my thigh, pulling it tighter and higher against his side, causing the head of his cock to rub against my g-spot with frightening accuracy.

“Harder,” I beg into his mouth as his lips cover mine and his hips pick up speed. “Please, harder,” I tell him again when I realize he’s holding back.

Pressing my head into the pillow, I lift my hips with each of his thrusts, scrape my nails down his back, and then hold onto his ass, feeling the power of each movement as he slams into me over and over. Closing my eyes, I open them when he flips us over, settling me on top of him with his hands on my ass.