SWNOVELS The Faceoff: Chapter 29
The air leaves my lungs in a rush. I feel the color draining from my face as I stare back into his eyes. My heart clenches, my throat constricting. Part of me doesn’t want to believe him, but the other part of me knows he wouldn’t dare speak those words if he didn’t mean them.
“I’ve been in love with you for longer than I wanted to admit,” he tells me, his voice soft and gentle. “I thought we could keep things the way we did, but what I didn’t realize was I was falling for you. And by the time I realized what was happening, it was too late. You worked your way into my heart and made yourself a home.”
My breath catches in my throat that is already thick with emotion. Tears prick the corners of my eyes and I don’t bother fighting them as they begin to fall down the sides of my face. His words, they reach deep inside me, tangling within the fibers of my soul. I don’t know whether to hate him for this or to wrap my arms around the back of his neck and pull him to me.
“I love you, Eden Finley,” he says again, stepping closer into my space until we’re standing toe to toe. He slides his hand under my chin, tilting my head back to look up at him. “I’ve never felt this way about anyone else in my life and I know I never will. You are it for me.”
A ragged breath slips from my lips and my hands shake as I lift them to cup the sides of his face. “I’m afraid to believe you,” I admit, my voice barely audible. “I’m afraid of what you might do with my heart if I hand it to you.”
Hayden tilts his head to the side. “I’ll handle it with care, baby. I’ll protect it with my fucking life. You’re all that I see, Eden, and you’re the only person I could imagine spending my future with.” He pauses for a moment. “I want you to be my girl and I want everyone to know.”
“If I dive in with you, I have terrible depth perception. I don’t know if I can survive a heartbreak from you, if we get in too deep.”
A smirk plays on his lips. “We’re already in deep, baby. There’s no way out now, unless you want to swim to the surface. But I can promise you, I won’t let you get there without me swimming after you.”
Emotion consumes me, the tears falling from my eyes again. I shift my hands, wrapping my arms around the back of his neck. “I love you, Hayden. And I kind of hate you for it. I tried so hard to not let it happen, but I couldn’t stop it.”
“Just go with it, baby,” he murmurs, sliding his hands to cup the back of my head as I look up at him. “But go with me. Tell me you’ll be mine.”
“Only if you tell me you’re mine.”
Hayden chuckles, his face dipping down to mine. “I’ve been yours for a long time, Eden. But, yes. This is official. We’re defining this shit now. I’m going to make sure everyone knows we’re together now.”
“Just don’t break my heart.”
“Never,” he breathes, his mouth colliding with mine. His lips are warm against mine, soft and gentle as we move in tandem together. Hayden spins me around, backing me up until the backs of my legs are hitting the bed.
His tongue traces the seam of my mouth and I part my lips, letting him in. His tongue slides across mine, both caught in a torturous dance as they tangle together. I’m so lost in him, in the moment, it’s as if nothing that happened before matters. We’re the only thing that matters.
We both finally revealed our cards and spoke our truths into the universe. I don’t know what we’re really doing, but we’re doing it together and that’s the only thing that matters. He promises that he won’t break my heart and neither of us know if that will really happen.
Life is full of risks and loving Hayden is one I’m willing to take.
He strips me of my clothes, pulling the jersey over my head and the other layers I wore underneath. Last to go is my bra before he’s dropping to his knees in front of me, taking off my shoes and pants. Rising back to his feet, he wraps an arm around the back of my neck and the other around my lower back before he eases me onto the bed.
Hayden stands by the edge of the bed, his eyes filled with emotion as he stares down at me. “You’re breathtaking, Eden Finley. My heart is yours to do whatever you want with it. Keep it safe or break it. I don’t fucking care as long as it means I get to be loved by you.”
Tears prick the corners of my eyes as he begins to strip himself of his own clothes, leaving them in a pile on the floor with mine. I scoot back on the bed and he lowers himself down on his knees. Crawling toward me, he doesn’t stop until he’s hovering above me, settling between my legs.
Parting my thighs wider, I give him full access. His mouth drops down to mine as his cock presses against my pussy. Shifting my hips, I lift up as he slowly eases into me. There’s a small amount of friction as he slides in, but it quickly dissipates as I get wetter just from his touch. He stretches me wide and I moan into his mouth as he shifts his hips, slowly moving in and out.
There’s a shift between us. Before, there would have been more urgency. Instead, this is fueled purely by emotion. By love. And I’ll let him love me for an eternity if it feels like this with him. This side of Hayden—I’m obsessed. And this part of him is mine and mine only. Something he’s never shared with anyone else.
We’re lost in each other, lost in the moment, as he continues to thrust his hips. His cock strokes my insides and I lift my legs, wrapping them around his waist. Pulling him closer to me, he slides his hand down to cup my ass as he lifts it into the air. It allows him deeper access and he fills me to the brim with one thrust.
Hayden moves his mouth from mine, trailing his lips up and down the side of my neck. He tastes and teases my skin as he continues to fuck me. Each thrust is harder than the one before and he’s driving both of us closer to the brink of ecstasy.
His lips brush the outer shell of my ear. “Come for me, baby,” he murmurs, nipping at my lobe. “I want to feel you come all over my cock.”
His words are all that I need to feel myself nearing the edge. One simple demand and the warmth is spreading through my body like rapid fire. I feel it in the pit of my stomach as my pussy clenches around him. He thrusts once more and my orgasm tears through my body like a hurricane. I’m a mess, moaning his name as I come completely undone around him.
“That’s it, Eden,” he groans as his thrusts become harder. “I love the way your pussy feels, clenching me like a vise grip as you lose yourself.”
“Come with me,” I breathe, completely in a daze as pleasure continues to flow through my system.
Hayden thrusts again, spilling himself inside me as he reaches his peak. We’re falling into the abyss, wrapped up in one another with our souls tangled together. He slowly pulls out of me, both of us riding out our highs. My head is soaring through the clouds and I notice him abandon the bed in a daze.
He’s only gone for a short amount of time before he’s walking back into the room with a warm washcloth. Kneeling between my legs, he cleans me up before tossing the cloth onto the floor. Crawling up the bed, he falls onto his side and pulls me close to him until my back is flush against his chest.
His arm is warm and I feel at home as he wraps it around me, holding me to him tightly. “I love you, Eden. And you better get used to hearing me tell you that over and over again.”
A smile tugs on the corners of my lips. “I’ll never get tired of hearing it.”
“Good.” I hear the smile in his voice as he presses his lips to the back of my neck. “Because I’m going to tell you that every chance I get.”
“Don’t stop.”
“I’m never going to stop, baby. What we have is a forever love, and I’m going to make sure you never go a moment of your life not feeling the love that I have for you.”
Relaxing in his arms, I settle against Hayden. The guy I’ve loved longer than I was willing to admit. The one who holds my heart in his hands, and I hope to God he never lets it go.
My Hayden.