Page 98 of Seven Summers Ago
With the release of my confession, the resistance band finally snaps. He spins his hat backward and leans in closer, the hard plane of his body pressed against mine. I suck in a breath as a blaze of yearning rushes between my thighs. Achingly slow, he lowers his mouth to mine and greediness has me pushing up on my toes to meet him partway.
At last, his lips brush mine, setting fire to them on contact. It’s soft at first, almost as if he’s scared to trust it. But the gentleness is intimate and has my mouth answering greedily. Like it’s been waiting its whole life for this moment. For this exact kiss. Like it’s never known a kiss this amazing could even exist.
My mouth moves over his with ease and desperation all wrapped into one. When he licks the seam of my lips and forces his tongue inside, a soft moan escapes me. He slips a hand inside the front of my shirt, his rough and calloused hand gliding over my ribs, and a shiver runs through me.
When his hand inches further and discovers I’m not wearing a bra, he releases a guttural groan. “You’re killing me,” his words grate out. He skims a thumb across my nipple before cupping my breast. My knees go weak, and I sink against the door as my head goes dizzy.
Beck pulls back reluctantly, gazing down at me with heat radiating in his brown eyes as I lick my lips. A gritty groanbreaks free from him. “I need you, Rosie. I need to have you. Right now,” he rasps as he sets his warm lips to my neck and plants a row of kisses until he meets my eyes again. “But if you tell me no, I’ll let you go. As much as it will completely shatter me. I will.” He clasps his free hand to the back of my neck and forces me to look at him. “Just say the word.”
“You have me. Take me, please.”
A cocky grin pulls at the corner of his mouth as he drags the pad of his thumb across my lower lip. “No need to beg, honey.”
I roll my eyes and shove him in the chest. Chuckling, he leads me toward the sofa and sits, yanking me into his lap so I’m straddling him. With his large palms splayed across my back, he leans in and presses gentle and purposeful kisses to my neck, leaving a trail of fire in his wake.
“What about your dad?” I pant out.
“He’s gone. He left early to go fishing with his buddies. It’s just you and me.”
At his words, I melt.It’s just you and me.
Beck’s hand finds the back of my neck, fingers curling around it with a hint of possessiveness that kicks my craving into drive, and he guides my mouth toward his again. But he pauses midway and forces my gaze to meet his.
“I’ve waited seven years for you,” he whispers, the rush of breath from his words reaching my lips.
“I know, me too,” I agree softly.
“No, I mean…there’s been no one else…since you.”
Air catches in my throat at his confession. I rear back. “Wait. What are you saying?”
“I meant my marriage vows, Rosie. Every single one.”
My eyes water again.
“You’re my wife,” he says, his voice haughty. “You’re mine.”
“Beck,” I whisper, a few tears slipping out. Guilt presses against my chest, threatening to cave it in. Even though therehas only been West, I’ve been reckless with my vows. Reckless with Beck’s heart.
“It’s okay,” he says softly. “I didn’t expect you to wait. Honestly, I didn’t expect me to wait.” A small smile appears on his lips. “It’s not like I didn’t have the opportunity. But none of them were right. None of them were you. None of them were…my wife.”
And because I know Beck, and know his words are genuine, I know there’s no animosity there. My chest expands again, and I thread my fingers through the hair at the back of his neck. “There’s nothing I love more than when you call me your wife,” I admit, then scrape my fingers over the facial hair on his cheek. “And I want you to see what you’ve been waiting for.”
He gives me a teasing grin, leaning in close and nipping at my lip with his teeth. “Good. Show me.Wife.”
30
BECK
We take our time. Even though we need to catch the ferry soon. But we shut out the world and it’s just me and Rosie. No one else.
She slips her hands inside my shirt, skidding her palms across my abs and chest and making me quiver beneath her touch. As she kneads her fingertips into my skin, it heats the more she touches me. My mouth can’t get enough of hers, sliding, nipping, tasting. It’s all familiar but at the same time, different and new.
With her in my lap, her auburn hair hangs down to frame her face and I can’t stop from staring. She’s beautiful. I want the visual of her, just like this, to be seared into my memory forever.
Rosie takes a hold of the hem of my T-shirt and slowly tugs it up my sides, her fingers teasing my ribs and making me chuckle. I lean forward so it’s easier for her to slide the fabric up my back and tear my mouth from hers while she tugs it over my head. Her eyes drag across my bare chest, and she draws her lower lip in between her teeth. A smile pulls at my lips. No doubt she likes what she sees.
“Your turn,” I say softly but with a hint of a growl. My greedy hormones are desperate to get my own look at her.
