Page 22 of A Lifetime of Afters
Digging his fingers into my hips, he thrust against me, my soft leggings doing nothing to shield my tender flesh from that which he wished to give me. Not allowing me up for air, his mouth worked mine feverishly, his body straining to meet my need.
His hands, his strength, his want, his need, his body working under mine, taking what I so readily offered, giving back tenfold.
The first flutter hit, and I had a moment of panic. “Can I…”
One of his hands went to my lower back, the other wound into my hair and pulled my head back.
His mouth latched onto my neck as he rolled his hips harder into the cradle of my pelvis. “Fucking come, Noelle.”
My body seized. I sobbed out my release as his hips slowed to ease me through it.
As the last tremors faded, his hands followed the length of my spine, rounded my hips, stroked my hair back from my flushed face then drew my head down to his chest as my bones turned to liquid.
One breath.
Another.
One tear. Another. Unbidden. Unwanted. Uncontrollable. I fisted my hands in his shirt.
Quietly retrieving my hands, he wound my arms up around his neck, then smoothed his palms from my wrists to my shoulders, along my ribs, back to my hips.
And still the tears flowed.
“Shh, baby,” he soothed. “I’ve got you.”
“I don’t know why…”
He interrupted, “Don’t speak, honey. Just lay here and let me see to you.”
Slow, heavy hands traversed my back and hips. Talented fingers tunneled into the hair at the back of my head, rubbing gentle circles before sweeping back the hair at my temple only to begin all over again.
With my nose pressed to his chest and his heartbeat in my ear, my body melted against his, and my tears dried.
Pressing his lips to my forehead, he heaved in a deep breath. “I need you.”
Three little words.
Not the ones I longed for, but I’d take them.
I lifted my head to find raw need etched into the lines of his face. My body immediately readied to receive him. “I’m here.”
Pushing forward to the edge of the couch, he tucked his big hands underneath me where my butt met my thighs. With a jolt, he heaved me up his body and stood.
I wrapped my legs around his waist and cupped my hands to the back of his neck. Unable to bear up under the intensity of his stormy gaze, I closed my eyes and pressed my forehead to his.
Halfway to the bedroom he stopped. His voice gruff, he gave me one more out. “You sure?”
A truth I’d always known, for which I now had irrefutable proof, hit me anew. “I’ve never wanted to be anywhere else.”
He tensed, his hold on me tightening momentarily.
Had I revealed too much? Would this be over before it began? Was this all I was to have?
My body and spirit ached at the thought.
“Shh,” he soothed, brushing a kiss across my forehead.
I wrapped my arms around his shoulders and tucked my face into his neck. Inhaled his scent. Pressed my lips to the wonder of his skin. A miracle. A gift.
