Saving Hailey: Dark Academia, Enemies To Lovers, Mafia Romance (Shadows of Obsession Book 2)

I love you has been echoing in my head for almost two hours, keeping me wide awake. Not even the crispy clean sheets smelling of fresh linen can lull me into sleep.

I’m thinking, overthinking, and dissecting every moment Carter and I have spent together since the day he knocked me off my feet in the cafeteria. Both literally and figuratively.Ccontent © exclusive by Nô/vel(D)ra/ma.Org.

The bitter taste of his lies has faded bit by bit every day since he rescued me from Noretto’s mansion. Every lingering look and touch, every word, promise, and truth brings me a step closer to that trust he wants so badly, but nothing’s hit me as hard as this evening.

Carter didn’t need to take me with him tonight. He could’ve dumped me off at this guest house. He could’ve delegated some men to keep an eye on me, God knows he and Dante have enough to spare between them, but instead, he bolstered the already strict security in Delta because he wanted me close. Wanted me at his side.

He didn’t have to show me off as his, hold my hand, or soothe my worries. He didn’t have to send Pam and her giggling friends scuttling away with their tails between their legs.

And he didn’t have to say he loves me.

I would’ve given him the evidence regardless. He knows it, yet he keeps proving I mean more to him than anyone else.

Kicking the comforter aside, I get up, silently crossing the room. Broadway, Koby, and Ryder came over minutes after Carter went back downstairs.

Their voices grow louder as I soundlessly descend the stairs, stopping at the bottom. My knees are week, but my mind is made.

It’s almost two in the morning, yet the guys don’t look like they’re done for the night, chatting over a bottle of Bourbon, a pile of documents littering the coffee table.

“Um… sorry to interrupt.” I squirm when their heads whip toward me.

Carter’s eyes narrow as he takes me in. He told me not to parade around unless I was decent and I’m sure the same rule applies here, but putting on layers would defeat the purpose of my trip downstairs.

His men immediately find something other than me to look at when they notice I’m in my night dress.

Carter gets up, lips in a thin line. I know his reactions off by heart. He’s annoyed that his men can see me dressed like this but he’s also turned on by the sight.

“What is it?” he asks, a greedy sparkle in his dark irises. He takes measured steps toward me, using the bulk of his frame to screen me off.

I almost feel guilty that this is his go-to reaction to me these days. Like all he wants, all he’s waiting for, is my order… no matter my whim, he’s ready to accommodate it, starved for those rare moments when I want something from him so he can prove I can count on him. That I can trust him.

“What do you need, pretty girl?” He stops so close I have to tilt my head back.

My entire body tingles when he crowds me like this. I love his tall, muscular frame, the greedy, feral look crossing his face, how safe and precious I feel when he’s close.

He wants me to trust him and… I do.

He’s come clean about the lies, answered every question I’ve posed, gone above and beyond to show me how much I mean to him, and that my safety is his utmost priority.

It took me a while, but tonight I finally understand that the heaviness which has been cinching my chest for weeks is neither a broken heart nor a broken trust… it’s the pain of fighting a battle I lost a long time ago.

“Hailey…” he emphasizes, crowding me further. “What do you need?”

“You. I trust you and I need you.”

There’s enough intent in my words that he can’t have any reason to doubt them. He’s always composed. Ruthless and calculated. Always commanding the room, but right now he’s emanating a raw vulnerability I’ve never seen before. He sucks in a sharp breath, momentarily losing his iron control and…

He’s on me.

His soft, familiar lips crush into mine, snatching the breath out of my chest when I get my first real taste of him in weeks. I could tell he was holding back in Delta.

Not anymore. Now I’m getting all of Carter’s psychotically territorial, possessive glory. No inhibitions. His big hands grasp handfuls of my thighs as he scoops me off the floor into his arms, every move urgent like he worries I’ll change my mind.

Butterflies take off in my stomach, syncing with the tremor passing through him when my arms wrap round his neck and my legs surround his hips.

He sucks my bottom lip, catching it between his teeth, and pulls slowly, breaking the kiss long enough to bark, “Get. Out,” over his shoulder.

Claiming my mouth again, he ignores the flurry of movement behind his back and pins me against the wall left of the stairs.

“Call us when it’s safe to come back,” Broadway says, as three pairs of heavy boots thunder over the hardwood floor. “That’s if you still want to go over the plan for the hundredth time.” His steps falter at the threshold as he opens the door. “Have fun, kids,” he adds, amusement clear in his tone. “Don’t break the bed!”

I barely register the meaning of his words because Carter’s squeezing my ass, his tongue tangling with mine.

“Ten bucks says they won’t even make it to bed.” Ryder’s laugh is cut short by the door closing behind them.

As soon as the lock clicks, Carter breaks the kiss, resting his forehead on mine, our chests heaving. I bask in the heat radiating off his toned body, soaking up the feelings he evokes. He doesn’t say a word, just holds me close, eyes closed, lips parted as he inhales a long breath.

I scrape my nails along the back of his neck, every muscle there wound up tight. “Will we?” I whisper, drawing small circles at his hairline. “Make it to bed…?”

He’s quiet for a long beat, the thump of his heart against mine filled with vitality as he leans into me while his long fingers sink into my thighs.

“We will.” He breaks his silence. “Eventually. Fuck, baby… I knew I missed you, but I didn’t realize just how fucking much.”

“I missed you more.”

He looks at me, dark irises almost completely swallowed by blown pupils. “Say you trust me. Say you know I won’t leave you. Ever.”

“I know and I trust you.”

“Finally.” Another tremor passes through him, tension hissing out of his muscles. “What’s my name, Hailey?”

I move one hand to ghost the line of his jaw while the other tangles in his short hair. It’s a simple touch. Nothing special, but I can feel how much it affects him.

Every brush of my fingers along his scalp raises goosebumps in the crook of his neck.

“Please, baby…” he whispers. “Say my name.”

“Carter.”

“Fuck…” He seals my lips, sucking the lower one into his mouth along with a trembling breath. “Again. Say it again.”

“Carter,” I whisper. “Take me to bed. I need you.”

As if it’s a magic spell, he pulls us away from the wall, and starts climbing the stairs, every step to the top more rushed. Our lips work in breathless sync as he stalks blindly toward the bedroom.

My stomach twists into pleasant knots. I’m slick between my thighs and I’m not wearing any panties.

I think he feels that, because he pushes me against the wall before we’ve reached the door. One hand supports me while the other glides along the inside of my thighs, his lips still on mine, working in a desperate tempo that rekindles the fire burning us both from the inside out.

A low groan ricochets off the walls when his fingers swipe between my pussy lips, putting enough pressure to make my nerve endings sparkle with pleasure.

“So wet,” he grits out, the hard bulge in his boxers pulsing against my thigh. “I need to remind myself how you look when you come for me.”

“Yes, please,” I mewl when he pushes a fingertip inside. Just past the first knuckle, but it’s enough to make me clench around it, flooding his hand with arousal.

He gently finds my G spot, playing it like an instrument. I’ve missed this so much. I’ve missed having his warm body this close, the way his muscles ripple down his abdomen and flex on his arms, making the ink dance along his skin. He takes his time, the tempo excruciatingly slow but oh so perfect.

He coaxes my orgasm to the surface, dipping his head to shower my neck with small, biting kisses. He savors every moment like he has all the time in the world. Like all he wants is to watch me fall apart in his arms in this exact position forever so he can watch my face.

He only holds me with one hand, my ankles crossed over his back, barely any space between us, just enough that he can keep moving his finger inside me. Slowly, he adds another, exactly the way I love. His ring finger joins his index one, and he moves them in the same torturous, delicious tempo, bending both in a come here motion to tease my G spot.

“Gorgeous,” he rasps, his dark eyes never leaving my face, the word a hungry growl. “You’re close, aren’t you?”

“So close,” I moan, my nails digging into his shoulders. “Don’t stop.”

“I won’t. Don’t think, just feel.”

The pleasure stacks up, tightening my stomach muscles. My moans fill the guest house, but I can’t control the volume. I can’t control the way my hips writhe, craving a little more friction. I have no leverage. I’m wrapped around him like poison ivy. He holds me pinned against the wall, so I use him for leverage, jutting my hips enough to take his fingers deeper.

“God, you’re fucking breathtaking, Hailey. Where’s my orgasm? Don’t hold back.”

Any and all words I could say melt into incoherence when he takes half a step forward. His chest touches mine, and he hardly has any space left to work his long, calloused fingers into me.

“There, right there,” he coos, squeezing my ass with the hand he’s holding me off the ground with. “Come, Hailey. Show me how good it feels when you’re with me. Show me how pretty you are when can’t control yourself.”

Everything inside me boils to unbearable levels. I can’t contain the pleasure frying my nerve endings and don’t try. I want everything Carter can give me. I want him closer, his fingers deeper. I want him inside me right fucking now, but neither of us are going anywhere until I come.

The orgasm hits, winding me tighter and tighter until my vision blurs and the moans I’ve never been able to hold at bay spill from my lips without filter.

“That’s it, that’s it… good girl, ride it out.”

The back of my head hits the wall. My lips part, eyes close, and I quiver in his arms, the orgasm stripping all my firewalls. It renders me speechless, stealing my breath for a few delirious seconds while black spots dance across my eyelids.

It’s been too long.

Not one of the orgasms I gave myself while I knew he was watching me in the control room downstairs had half the potency of this one.

Carter knows how to play my body. He knows what I need and how to elevate the high. He slowly drags his fingers from between my legs to pop them both into his mouth, licking them clean as he holds my gaze.

It’s so fucking hot seeing how much he loves my taste. Seeing the longing in his eyes and knowing he missed me so much he can’t wait to dive between my legs for a feast.

I’m mellow. So boneless my arms can barely hold onto him. It doesn’t matter. I could go completely slack and he’d keep me in position, never letting me drop. It’s one of the things I adore about Carter. His strength, height, build. He’s a predator.

Now I know his chosen line of work, I realize he truly is lethal. A weapon sculpted from hard muscles, no inhibitions, and a ruthless streak he only ever tames for me.

“I guess Ryder won ten bucks,” I mutter when we finally enter the bedroom.

“He’ll never know.”

He drops me on the bed, my back hitting the mattress with a delicate bounce. His muscles shuffle as he takes a knee, hooking my thighs in his elbows. In one hard tug, he yanks me to the edge, letting his warm breath fan the most sensitive parts of my skin. His soft lips pepper my inner thighs, a low growl filling the room when his nose brushes the strip of hair at the apex.

“I always loved your blonde hair here,” he admits, inhaling a deep breath. “You smell divine, Hailey. Delicious.” He tears a gasp from my mouth, finding my entrance with the flat of his tongue. Slowly, he drags it up, licking a path to my clit. “You taste even better than I remembered,” he tuts, pulling me even closer so my ass half hangs off the bed.

I have nowhere to rest my legs other than over his shoulders. I do just that, my thighs framing his face when he flicks my clit with the tip of his tongue, teasing.

His hands move up, pushing my night dress higher to reveal my boobs. As soon as his big hands find the hard peaks of my nipples, Carter’s measured control snaps.

The hungry, greedy beast I know so well finds a way out.

He sucks me into his mouth, playing both breasts in time with the precise, thorough licks that send me hurtling toward another orgasm faster than his fingers did in the hallway.

God, this man fucks like sin.

His gun-wielding skills have nothing on his mouth. I doubt any other man could get me to the brink this fast.

And he knows exactly how to touch me and keep me right here, perched on the edge, balancing a tightrope, waiting, almost ready to beg for a little extra, just a little more, so the orgasm will hit.

It’s a good thing he told his men to leave or they’d be in for quite the symphony of moans and gasps. Though I’d be lying if I said I don’t miss Carter’s hand covering my mouth, muffling the sounds.

“So close,” I mewl, my back arching off the soft mattress, my hands fisting the sheets so hard my fingers are stiff. “Don’t stop.”

A low groan vibrates his chest, the sound so erotic it’s almost enough to make me come.

Almost, but not quite.

Seeing that he’s not giving me enough, I brace against the bed, working my hips to press my pussy further into his mouth, demanding he gives me what I need. Demanding the orgasm that’s so close I can almost taste it.

I twist myself into an impossible angle for the best position to ride his face. It does the trick. Holding his head between my thighs, I grind into his tongue, getting the pressure I needed, and I tip myself over, coming with his name on my lips.

“Shameless,” Carter tuts, his lips curling into a smile against my clit. “Next time, you’ll sit on my face and ride me just like that.”

He grasps my thighs, holding me in place while my spine bows off the bed so hard it almost makes a U. He licks me right through the release, every long stroke of his tongue driving me half incoherent. I’m oversensitive, delirious. Absolutely mellow.

“So damned sweet,” he murmurs, unhooking my legs.

He rises from his kneeling position and scoops me further up the bed, his dark, hungry eyes roving my body. I love when he watches me like he can’t decide what he wants to do with me first.

Taking his time, and giving me a moment to catch my breath, he slowly unbuttons his shirt, showing off the pane of hard muscles rippling underneath. Black tattoos dance across his chest, ribs, and abdomen, curling around his arms and neck.

He’s a masterpiece, this man… my masterpiece.

The white shirt hits the floor. Carter flicks the button on his black pants, then slides the zipper. I watch his every move until all his clothes are gone, the steel-like monster between his legs standing to attention.

The mattress dips under his knee as he climbs over me.

“You can say no,” he says, probably worried about my head after everything I witnessed at Noretto’s mansion. He sits on his calves, his cock leaking precum. “No matter how far we—”

“Shut up,” I clip, my fingers scraping up his thighs. “I’m fine. I want you so you better show me how much you missed me.”