Ever After Awaits (Layla) novel Chapter 144

Chapter 144: Layla POV

รณ

The fire crackles softly to my left, casting golden light that flickers across the sand and dances over the faces of the boys who are sprawled around it. Someone–I think Hunter–just added more logs, and now the flames are licking higher into the sky, warm and restless. The scent of charred wood and grilled meat from earlier still lingers in the air, mingling with the last remnants of a warm

summer’s day.

But I barely notice any of it.

Because I’m humming, pulsing. Wrapped in the aftershocks of AJ’s whispered dirty words by the grill carlier, and the way he gripped my waist like he could shape the heat in me with just his fingertips. He didn’t kiss me. Not really. But my body hasn’t caught up to that fact. I still feel every not–quite kiss, his every breath along my jaw, and every graze of his lips just shy of mine.

Add to that the looks, the words, and the feelings our game earlier stirred up, and it’s no wonder my skin feels too tight, and my thoughts sound too loud.

Cade’s eyes were pure sin when he drank after the ‘fantasized about someone here‘ question–like he wasn’t even pretending to play innocent. Hunter’s smirk said more than words ever could, but it was the way Xavier looked at me–quiet, steady, like he was already undoing the layers of me in his mind -that nearly undid me. And AJ… AJ didn’t need to say anything–the heat in his gaze alone told me he’d already fantasized about me in full technicolor.

I’m flushed, and floating in the thick, honeyed air of want. And it seems like I’m not the only one.

Across the fire, Xavier watches me intently. His posture is relaxed, his arms draped casually over his knees, but his jaw is tight. His emerald eyes burn through the flames, steady and unreadable–but they hold a different kind of heat there as tension simmers just below the surface. I recognize it now, in the same way I’ve come to recognize the storm he keeps caged behind his calm.

When I yet again meet his eyes, he doesn’t look away. This time, he tips his head slightly, indicating I should follow him, then rises. He doesn’t speak. He doesn’t have to.

And I follow eagerly.

I catch up to him, and he laces our fingers together, before guiding us to a barely visible gap in the tree line. The fire and laughter fade behind us, replaced by the hush of the lake and the faint, distant chorus of various night birds. The trail he leads me down is narrow, tucked behind a wall of trees, while the pine needles are soft beneath our feet. We break through to a small clearing–a crescent of sand cupping a quiet piece of the lake I didn’t notice earlier.

1/4

10:18 Thu, Sep 18

Chapter 144: Layla POV

:>))

75

There’s a massive boulder jutting from the earth at an angle, half in the water, half along the shore, a couple of feet from where we spilled out of the forest. It’s smooth, ancient, and most likely still warm from the sun.

I don’t make it more than two steps before Xavier turns, crowds me backwards, and then pins me gently against the stone.

His body is a hair’s breadth from mine, his left palm braced above my shoulder, and the other settling low on my left hip. My back hits the boulder, but not hard–just enough to root me there. His mouth hovers over mine as his eyes search mine.

“Tell me to stop,” he says, all gravely and low.

I don’t. I can’t. And so he kisses me.

It’s hard and deep, with absolutely no hesitation. His lips claim mine with a hunger he’s held back for way too long, as his hand slides from my hip to the small of my back, drawing me even closer into him. I rise onto my tiptoes, my fingers curling into the front of his T–shirt like I need the physical touch so I can keep breathing.

His mouth moves leisurely down to my jaw, then my neck, trailing fire in its wake. His teeth graze just below my ear, and I gasp, my thighs pressing together instinctively.

“Tell me I can touch you, Layla,” he murmurs against my desire–heated skin.

My breath hitches as I breathily say, “Yes.”

“Tell me I can make you feel good,” he demands in my ear, the tip of his tongue coming out to quickly lick its lobe.

I nod, my lips parting as I beg, “Please.”

His right hand slips from my back and over my waist, and it’s not rushed, nor frantic. Just certain.

He nudges my legs apart with a gentle press of his knee, then slides his middle finger beneath the edge of my swimsuit without hesitation. His knuckles drag along the inside of my thigh as he explores–slow, reverent, maddening–and goosebumps erupt all over my body.

When he finds my slick folds, his touch is confident but careful as he draws a slow circle around my oversensitive nub, and it causes my hips to twitch involuntarily.

2/4

10:18 Thu, Sep 18

Chapter 144: Layla POV

“You’re already shaking, and soaking wet,” he whispers, his voice rougher now. “Just from this?”

I can’t speak, so I just nod, as my head falls back against the boulder.

He adds another finger and then moves them with purpose, applying gentle pressure and shifting them around at a precise rhythm. He watches me the whole time as his left hand comes down from next to my head and slips beneath the fabric of my swimsuit at my back to keep me close to him.

Each motion of his talented fingers builds heat–delicious, unbearable heat. I grip his right forearm and feel its strength underneath my fingertips. His thumb finds my clit, rubbing tight circles, as his other fingers find my entrance, but they don’t dip inside quite yet.

My body arches, and my breath catches as I plead with him, “Xavier-”

75

“I’ve got you, Princess,” he murmurs, his mouth brushing my cheek. With one fluid motion, he pushes two fingers inside my quivering, slick channel and curves them just right, commanding, “Let

go.”

And I do.

The orgasm hits low and deep, blooming from the depths of my core like something ancient and inevitable. I fall into it, into him, as I gasp his name into his neck, all while my legs tremble. His fingers slow down but don’t stop, working me through my climax, drawing it out until I’m quivering and boneless in his arms.

When I finally come down from the high, he withdraws his hand gently from between my legs, smoothes my swimsuit back into place, pulls me tightly against his chest, and tucks my head beneath his chin.

For a long moment, we don’t speak. We just stand there in the evening light, wrapped up in silence and each other.

Eventually, he presses a kiss to the crown of my head. “I needed to remind you what you do to us,” he says softly. “What you do to me.”

I breathe in against his chest, and my fingers curl into the front of his shirt. And smile.

My world might still be burning at the edges… But here, underneath the star–sprinkled night sky, and in Xavier’s arms, I remember how good it feels to truly be alive.

3/4

Ever After Awaits

ลด

675