Page 27 of When the Walls Come Down
Two small words had never held so much power. Scratch that—everything she’d said had meant so much. I’d never been praised or thanked or acknowledged that way.
How did she know it was exactly what I needed to hear?
Her mouth danced around mine, inviting me, drawing me in. Her curls fell from side to side as she patiently waited for me to give her what she’d asked for.
“I’ve been dying to put my mouth on yours all fucking day. Hell, last night too. But I’m afraid I’ll come on too strong. That I’ll go too far.” My hands ached to pull her even closer, and my grip on the outside of her thighs tightened.
She pulled back, just enough to look me dead in the eyes, her palms coming up to hold my jaw. “Don’t you get it? You don’t have to hold back with me.”
“Good, because I fucking can’t anymore.” My mouth claimed hers and it was the last time I let any thought of the past or future hold me hostage. I only had right now, and I wouldn’t let it pass me by.
Somehow, in just a day, Maggie Peach Light Gray Italian had chipped away at a piece of the wall I’d built inside myself. Made of regret and held together by fear, the damn thing didn’t stand a chance against this petite, vivacious, and gorgeous woman.
As I clutched her in my arms, she seemed to climb my body. Our mouths warred, as if they’d both been starved and left in the cold, alone for far too long.
My hand tangled in the hair at the nape of her neck, and where I’d held back before, this time I did no such thing. I nipped and sucked and explored her until she was grinding against me. Sighing and moaning when I happened upon places she liked most.
“God, that feels so good,” she breathed. Her fingers wandered my chest, unfastening the few buttons at the bottom of my sweater, and no longer than it took her to yank it off, she quickly pulled my shirt over my head too. Her palms smoothed over my chest and around my ribs. “You’re just perfect,” she said as she kissed the hollow spot at the base of my neck.
I loved that she didn’t hold back what she was thinking, not that she ever had so far. I could do the same; I owed her that. “Stay the night with me.”
“I thought you’d never ask,” she answered and lightly chuckled against my jawline. “Now, take me to bed.”
She was bossy and headstrong. Confident in ways I wished I were, and that night—if it was all this turned out to be—I was going to show her how special she was. For at least one night, she was all mine. To please and care for. To touch and explore.
I wrapped her legs around me, and she hung on to my neck with one arm and shed her naughty sweater as I walked us through my apartment. Kissing and smiling, I wondered how I’d ever gotten so lucky.
I sat on the bed, and she straddled me, her mouth wild against mine. Her tongue was a she-devil and fuck if she wasn’t kissing me like our lives depended on it.
It was as if we were both looking for something we’d been missing. Or maybe it was like we’d finally found it instead.
She attempted my belt and zipper, but in that position, she struggled and groaned when she couldn’t get to what she wanted. It was sexy as hell that what she wanted was in my pants. But instead of giving up or waiting for me to take over and help her, she did something only Maggie would. She shoved me back against my pillowtop mattress. Stretched out, she could see through my pants how excited I was. Her blue eyes flared, and she slowed her rampant mission to get inside them. With her palm and fingers, she gripped me over my jeans and stroked.
“Whoa, easy,” I warned, my brow bunching and my mouth drying from hanging open. Fuck, it felt almost too good.
“Did I hurt you?” she asked, concerned, and leaned over so that we were chest to chest.
I fucking loved that she took the lead, but if I were going to be of any measurable use to her, I’d need to control things a little more.
“No, not at all. But if you keep touching me like that, things might be over before they get started, Peach.” I inclined my neck, cupped her cheeks, and pressed a kiss to her lips. “It’s been a while for me.”
Her flushed lips formed an O. “Shane, no holding back. Fast, slow, quick, or otherwise…I’m not going anywhere, and I don’t plan on doing much sleeping tonight.” Then a clever grin bent her mouth. “I know you’re old as hell, but it’s okay.”
