Page 72 of Ride or Die

I reach a hand up, cupping her cheek and stroking her pretty soft skin with my thumb as I stare deep into her eyes.

“I need you to tell me that this is okay, baby. Thatyou’reokay. That this is what you want,” I whisper, my words trembling with the overwhelming fear of rejection that racks through me, like she might possibly come to her senses and say no.

“Yes.” She nods, almost frantically, her hands landing on my chest, my skin lighting up beneath the feel of her warm palms pressing through my shirt. “This is what I want.Youare what I want, Cole.”

Fuck, her words hit me harder than I was expecting and I’m forced to close my eyes a moment, allowing them to sink in. She wants me. Me. Not just… this.Me.

Forcing my eyes open I meet hers again, something passing between us I know we both feel. And ducking forward, I rest my forehead against Clara’s, taking a moment to look her in those pretty blue eyes as I breathe her in.

I lean in again, grazing her soft lips with mine, allowing my mouth to linger for a beat. “Fuck, if all I could do was kiss you for the rest of my life, I’d die a happy man.”

“Cole,” Clara breathes out, meeting my eyes, a knowingness in her gaze that hits me in my heart and my dick.

Cupping her ass, I scoot back into the truck bed, bringing her with me until my back is pressed up against the rear of the cab. And fuck me, the look in her big blue eyes is just about my undoing. I cradle the back of her head and urge her closer,grazing my lips against hers and reveling in the way her warm, sweet breaths pant out against my mouth.

I slide my tongue between her parted lips finding hers, our tongues dancing together in unhurried strokes. My fingers track down her smooth thigh, toying with the frilly hem of her dress, up and down her buttery soft skin as our kiss deepens, her hips moving—searching—with every thrust of my tongue.

Fuck, I can’t remember a time I’ve ever needed anything more than the way I need Clara right now. My cock is aching, straining against my zipper to the point it fuckin’ hurts. But tonight ain’t about me, or my greedy dick. I’m not gonna claim her here, in the back of my truck, in the north fuckin’ pasture. When I finally get to claim Clara, when she’s truly ready to be wholeheartedly mine in every way, I want her in my bed, her curves entangled between my sheets. But fuck me, the way she’s grinding needily against me right now, the soft breaths and whimpering moans tumbling from her mouth and into mine, right now I’ll give her whatever the fuck she wants, and I’ll take whatever she’s willin’ to give me. Everythin’. Nothin’. Any damn thing.

Blindly, my hands find Clara’s hips, and I urge her movements, encouraging her to take what she needs, to use me in whatever way she wants. And as her arms tighten around my neck, she moans softly, her breaths shuddering, and I am balancing on the edge of no fuckin’ return.

“Oh my god,” she mewls, riding my thigh unabashedly.

Reluctantly, I tear my lips away from hers, dotting kisses over her jaw, following the curve of her neck before attaching my mouth to the base of her throat and licking the trigger point I know is there.

Clara throws her head back, her hips bucking, and as I lick and suck her skin, I lift my gaze, watching her. She looks so fuckin’ pretty. Eyes closed, lashes fanning against her flushedcheeks, lips parted to make way for her hurried, frenzied, breathless sounds. But just as she starts to get close to where I know she needs to be, she stops suddenly, sucking in a gasp and pulling back, gaping at me incredulously.

“Shit.” She slaps a hand over her mouth, her eyes wide as they search mine.

“Clara?” My eyebrows knit together with confusion and I cup her cheek again, trying to ease her sudden panic. “What is it, darlin’?”

“I’m sorry, I—” She swallows hard, looking around for what I don’t even think she knows.

“Hey, look at me,” I urge, cocking my head to catch her eyes.

“I just…” She shakes her head, her hands trembling as she pushes her hair back from her face. “I’m?—”

“Clara?” I say her name a little firmer, steadying her with a serious look. “Talkto me.”

Exhaling hard, she covers her mouth with her hands, her gaze flitting between mine, and that’s when I see something flash deep in her eyes that I wasn’t expecting. She’s embarrassed… fuck, she’s ashamed.

“Hey, it’s okay. It’s just me. You’re safe with me, remember?” I cup the back of her neck gently, thumb stroking the curve of her jaw.

“It’s just that it’s… it’s been so long, I—” Again, she stops herself, shaking her head, huffing an exasperated laugh. I think I know what it is she isn’t telling me, and I offer her a soft, understanding smile.

“How long?”

She shakes her head again, doing all she can to avoid my eyes. “I… god, I can’t even remember. It’s not really been a priority, y’know?”

“I get it.” I nod. “But right now, makin’ you feel good is myonlypriority, baby.” I duck my head, finding her eyes and holding her gaze. “You trust me, don’t you?”

She nods without hesitation, offering me a small hint of an adorably shy smile, and I trail the pad of my thumb up over her chin, following the curve of her plump bottom lip.

“Let me take care of you,” I whisper, leaning in and ghosting her lips with mine. “I’m gonna make you feel so fuckin’ good, darlin’.”

She whimpers when I lick the seam of her lips, sliding my tongue inside her mouth, and I kiss her firm, my hand dropping between us and slowly, ever so gently I ease up the hem of her dress.

When my knuckles skate across the front of her panties, I can’t even contain my own groan at just how fucking soaked she is, the cotton damp and a little sticky. Something possessive and primal tightens around my chest as every last sliver of my waning self-control hangs on by a frayed fuckin’ thread.