Page 206 of Break Away
“I’m done,” I whispered.
His mouth found mine again, and I opened for him, letting the kiss take me under. His hand slid beneath my sweatshirt, higher now, his palm spanning my ribs as his thumb brushed just under the edge of my bra. He paused there, his breath harsh against my lips, waiting.
I arched into his hand.
His answering sound was ruined.
“Words,” he said, barely holding on to the command.
“Yes.”
His thumb moved, slow and deliberate, and my fingers tightened on his back. Heat spiraled low through my body, sharp enough to make me gasp against his mouth. He kissed the sound from me, deep and hungry, his hand learning me through fabric and skin, patient until patience turned into something that shook both of us.
His skin was warm now, rain cooling at the edges, his chest rising hard beneath my hands as I touched him.
He looked down at me. “I want you naked, Aura.”
I nodded.
He didn’t rush. His fingers found the hem of my sweatshirt and lifted slowly, giving me time to change my mind with every inch. I didn’t. I raised my arms, and he pulled it over my head, dropping it beside his shirt.
The room stayed soft around us.
Lamplight. Rain. His breath on my skin. His eyes moved over me, and for one terrible second, fear tried to rise out of old habit. Then his hands settled on my waist, warm and steady.
“Just you and me,” he said.
I exhaled.
“Just us.”
He lowered his mouth to my shoulder, then the curve above my bra, kissing me like every inch deserved an apology and an introduction. My fingers threaded through his wet hair as his mouth moved lower, his hands holding my waist, my ribs, my hips, never grabbing without giving me the chance to breathe into it first.
The tenderness made me ache worse than the roughness ever had.
“East,” I whispered.
He looked up, his mouth against my skin. “Tell me.”
I swallowed, my hips shifting beneath him. “I don’t want to think anymore.”
His eyes burned. “Then don’t.”
He came back up my body, kissing me hard enough to empty my head and soft enough to fill my chest. I wrapped my legs around him again, pulling him closer, and his restraint slipped another dangerous inch. His hand slid down my thigh, hooking my knee higher against his hip as his body settled into the cradle of mine.
The friction made us both stop breathing.
His forehead dropped to mine. “Aura.”
I smiled, breathless and trembling, and touched his mouth with two fingers. “Yours, remember?”
His hand tightened on my thigh.
“Mine,” he said, his voice rough enough to scrape.
Then he kissed me again, and the word disappeared between us, swallowed by rain, heat, hands, and the sound of both of us finally reaching for something that wasn’t meant to hurt.
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