Chapter 65 His Wait Ends
Chloe didn't say a single word. She simply nodded softly, her eyes fluttering shut as she turned her head, completely burying her flushed face in the crook of his neck.
It was a gesture brimming with absolute, terrifyingly complete trust and surrender.
The cold metal zipper was pulled down agonizingly slowly, inch by excruciating inch.
The heavy, pearl-studded satin parted, falling away to expose the pale, smooth expanse of her bare back.
Nathan's large hands physically trembled against her spine. The process of undressing his ghost bride felt violently sacred and profoundly, physically agonizing to him.
When the zipper finally hit the absolute bottom of the track, the structured bodice of the wedding dress lost its anchor. The heavy silk began to slide down her bare shoulders.
Chloe cooperated, shifting her collarbones slightly. The pure white gown immediately cascaded down her body like flowing water, pooling into a massive, shimmering halo at her feet.
Beneath the extravagant gown, she wore absolutely nothing but the whisper-thin, black silk slip, its sheer fabric clinging violently to every single contour of her body.
Nathan's gaze completely blanked out.
He stared down at her for a heavy, breathless ten seconds, completely paralyzed, as if he were frantically etching this exact, impossible vision deep into his soul before she could vanish.
Then, he moved. He bent down, effortlessly sweeping her into his arms, one large hand wrapping securely beneath her knees and the other deeply cradling her bare back, lifting her entirely off the floor.
Chloe let out a soft gasp of surprise, her arms instinctively flying up to hook tightly around his neck.
Nathan carried her across the dim room, step by heavy step, toward the massive bed.
His stride was terrifyingly steady, yet beneath his dress shirt, his heart was pounding so violently against his ribs it felt like a physical assault.
He gently laid her completely flat on the dark blue sheets. Instead of backing away, he immediately followed her down, lowering his massive frame completely over her, propping his heavy weight up on his elbows so he didn't crush her.
He didn't frantically rush to rip off her clothes. He just hovered over her, gazing deeply into her golden eyes. His expression held the blinding ecstasy of finally retrieving what was stolen from him, mixed with a reverent, agonizing tenderness that bordered on religious devotion.
"Nathan..." Under the suffocating weight of his intense, worshipful stare, Chloe felt a sudden flutter of genuine shyness. She reached up, her trembling fingers gently tracing the sharp line of his jaw.
He instantly caught her hand mid-air. He turned his head, pressing a hot, searing kiss into the center of her palm, before trailing his lips down to the frantic pulse at her inner wrist.
His kisses turned aggressive and scorching as they rapidly traced a wet path up her forearm and directly over the delicate ridge of her collarbone. Finally, his mouth paused exactly at the sensitive hollow of her neck, his teeth sinking into her skin to suck a deep, possessive bruise.
Chloe's entire body violently shuddered, a soft, helpless moan tearing from her lips.
Her fingers completely buried themselves into his thick, dark hair, her grip tightening aggressively against his scalp.
That single, desperate reaction was all the permission he needed.
Nathan's movements instantly grew starved and intense.
He kissed her parted lips, then her jawline, completely mapping the territory before his mouth returned to her collarbone and descended further.
One strong hand braced completely flat against the mattress beside her head, while his other hand possessively traced the sharp curve of her waist, aggressively feeling the violent heat and terrifying softness radiating beneath the sheer black silk.
His fingers found the delicate, thread-thin strap of her slip. He didn't use his hands. He leaned down, gently hooking the strap with his teeth, pulling it aside before pressing a wet kiss completely down the curve of her bare shoulder.
The other strap was dispatched exactly the same way.
The front of the silk slip pooled loosely against her chest.
Nathan lifted his head, his dark eyes locking completely onto hers, demanding absolute eye contact.
He hooked his fingers under the hem of the silk at her thighs, and slowly, deliberately dragged the fabric upward.
Chloe lifted her hips slightly in response, allowing the final, sheer barrier to be completely stripped away and tossed onto the floor.
Now, she was completely, absolutely exposed to him.
The soft, golden light from the floor lamp filled the room, casting deep, beautiful shadows across her pale body against the dark sheets.
Nathan's breath violently hitched in his chest, instantly turning into heavy, ragged gasps.
He leaned in, no longer merely kissing her, but aggressively exploring with an almost terrifying, greedy intensity. He used his mouth, his tongue, and his large hands to violently memorize every single inch of her skin, desperate to experience its undeniable, tangible reality.
His rough palm completely covered her bare breast, feeling her frantic, hammering heartbeat beneath his hand.
He lowered his dark head, taking her peak directly into his hot mouth, aggressively teasing it with his tongue. He heard her breath violently catch, a high-pitched, stifled moan ripping from her throat.
His other hand relentlessly roamed down her waist and over her flat abdomen, relishing the absolute smoothness of her skin and the subtle, violent tremors born of absolute tension and starved anticipation.
Chloe couldn't take the torment anymore. Her nails aggressively scraped hard down his back, violently dragging across the fabric of his dress shirt.
The sharp, sudden sensation sent an explosive jolt straight through Nathan's nervous system.
He pulled away from her body for exactly three seconds. He frantically grabbed the collar of his expensive dress shirt, completely ripping the fabric open, utterly oblivious to the violent pop of three buttons tearing off and scattering across the hardwood floor.
He aggressively shed the ruined shirt, tossing it blindly. When he dropped back down over her, his broad, violently muscled chest finally collided with her bare skin without any barrier between them.
The scorching, unbelievably real friction of skin-on-skin made them both let out a long, ragged groan.
The tight, aggressive union of their bodies brought immense, immediate satisfaction, yet instantly ignited an even deeper, violent craving that demanded absolute closure.
Nathan's heavy knee aggressively pressed between Chloe's thighs, forcing her legs apart.
She could feel the absolute, terrifying heat and taut desire of him pressing directly against her core.
His mouth violently crashed back onto her lips, a punishing, open-mouthed kiss conveying an undeniable, territorial sense of absolute possession and decades of deep, agonizing longing.
"Chloe..." he murmured her name between desperate, wet kisses, his deep voice completely thick with restrained agony and extreme, blinding desire. "Can I? Tell me... tell me I can."
"Yes..." Chloe gasped against his lips, completely opening her legs for him and violently tightening her arms around his broad, slick back. "Nathan, please. Just take me..."
The absolute microsecond he received her verbal affirmation, Nathan's final, desperate shred of ironclad restraint completely shattered.
He lowered his hips, aggressively entering her body slowly, stretching her completely, until he was buried to the hilt.
In that explosive instant, they both went completely, violently rigid.
The overwhelming, blinding sensation of absolute fullness, and the immense, terrifying emotional impact of physically regaining what was brutally stolen from him, completely consumed Nathan's brain.
He collapsed forward, burying his face deep into the crook of her neck. His massive body began to violently, uncontrollably tremble—not from lust, but from the almost painful, terrifying completeness of a fractured soul finally snapping back together and finding its home.
Chloe let out a sharp, breathless gasp, feeling entirely, fundamentally fulfilled by the heavy, burning presence of him locked deep within her. Her fingers violently dug into the tense, knotted muscles of his broad shoulders.
The frozen pause lasted only a moment.
Nathan began to slowly move. Each agonizing, deep thrust and withdrawal was carried out with cautious, desperate exploration and the utmost, terrifying tenderness. He constantly, obsessively kissed her face—her bruised lips, her fluttering eyelids, and the wet tear streaks that had slipped down her temples unnoticed.
"It's real," he murmured repeatedly, a desperate, raspy mantra directly against her ear as he slowly thrust into her, as if he were frantically convincing his own shattered mind. "You're really here... God, you're here. Chloe... my Chloe..."
As the agonizingly slow rhythm violently quickened, the initial, reverent tenderness completely gave way to an intense, aggressive, and deeply feral desire that had been violently suppressed for twenty-three years.
Nathan's thrusts grew brutally strong and incredibly deep.
The massive wooden bedframe creaked steadily and violently against the wall.
Hot sweat dripped from the tense, corded muscles of his back directly onto her flushed skin.
Chloe's moans completely shattered, becoming ragged, high-pitched, and entirely uncontrollable.
She lifted her long legs, violently wrapping them completely around his waist, locking her ankles together. She aggressively met his brutal movements, lifting her hips to drag him even deeper inside her core.
The desperate position made their union terrifyingly tight, violently multiplying their pleasure until she was seeing stars.
Nathan gasped heavily, his jaw clenched, his forehead completely slick with sweat.
He opened his dark eyes, gazing fiercely down at her dazed, blown-out pupils, her violently flushed cheeks, and her bruised, parted lips—everything was so impossibly real and blindingly vivid.
He lowered his head and kissed her fiercely, violently swallowing all of her broken gasps and desperate whimpers directly into his mouth.
The final, shattering moment arrived with an explosive, blinding intensity.
Nathan's broad back muscles violently locked up like hard stone as his brutal movements reached their fastest, deepest peak before abruptly, violently halting. A dark, guttural growl ripped from deep within his chest as his entire body convulsed violently, completely emptying himself deep inside her.
Almost simultaneously, Chloe's entire body went rigid like a board. Her nails left long, violent, shallow scratches straight down his back, and a broken, sobbing climax ripped from her throat as she shattered around him.
The violent, blinding waves of absolute pleasure slowly, agonizingly began to recede.
Nathan didn't pull away immediately. He couldn't. He completely surrendered his massive weight, collapsing heavily on top of her. Panting violently against her neck, he lay there, the slick sweat firmly binding their bodies together.
Pressed chest-to-chest, he could feel her rapid, hammering heartbeat thumping violently against his own ribs with every single beat.
After a long, completely silent five minutes, he slowly pushed himself up on his trembling elbows, looking down at her flushed face.
Fresh tears glistened in the corners of Chloe's eyes, and a profoundly satisfied, deeply weary smile touched her swollen lips.
She slowly raised her heavy hand, her fingertips gently wiping the damp sweat from his forehead.
Nathan instantly caught her wrist, pressing a soft, reverent kiss to her palm.
Then, he carefully, slowly withdrew from her body. He rolled onto his side on the mattress, and immediately, aggressively dragged her completely back into his embrace. He pulled her flush against him, her bare back pressed tightly against his warm chest, his heavy arm locking like a steel band completely around her waist. He rested his chin firmly on the crown of her messy hair.
Neither of them spoke a single word. They simply lay in absolute silence in the dark room, entirely immersed in the profound, suffocating peace and absolute contentment that followed their ultimate reunion. They simply listened to each other's gradually steadying, synchronized breaths and heartbeats.
Nathan closed his eyes, burying his face deeply into her hair, aggressively inhaling the faint, delicate scent of vanilla and sex.
This time, the heavy embrace was completely real. The blistering warmth was real. The living, breathing woman locked safely in his arms was absolutely real.
His twenty-three-year nightmare was finally over.