Page 20 of A Lifetime of Afters
Twice he parted his lips to speak.
Twice he changed his mind, then, rolling out the kinks in his neck, he leaned back and stretched his arms across the back of the couch before issuing his challenge.
“Kiss me.”
I rose on shaky legs.
He watched me cross to him, his eyes trailing up from my feet to hold my gaze.
I swallowed. My lips parted. My fingers twirled madly in the ends of my hair before dropping back down to my thighs where they didn’t seem to fit. Every step brought me closer to a tiny piece of heaven.
He didn’t move when I reached him. Didn’t take my hand or grasp my waist, he simply stared up at me. Waited. Challenge and warning in his eyes.
I met the challenge and ignored the warning by boldly slinging my knee over his thighs and settling myself astride his lap. Bracing my palms on his hard chest, I flexed my fingers into his hard muscles, watching first my fingers at play, then his eyes as I touched him. If this turned out to be one and done, I wanted to take my time.
His eyes flared to life like a fantasy come true.
Beneath me, his hips flexed, his body answering the question posed by mine. Gripping the back of the couch, he tipped back his chin. Through hooded lids, he studied me, my name a low warning on his lips as I reached for his beautiful face.
My trembling hands reverently cupped his bearded cheeks. My eyes greedily followed the path my thumbs traced along his sharp cheekbones before I closed them. Focused all my attention on the waking dream unfolding under my palms. The pleasure of touching him swelled and filled my chest as my fingers tentatively threaded through his dark curls.
Opening my eyes, I lifted my gaze to his as I recalled my vow to give of myself. If not now, when?
“I’ve waited a long time for this.”
His Adam’s apple bobbed in his throat.
I cocked my head to the side. My eyes blazed a path my lips yearned to follow. “Hawkley,” I breathed. “Are you sure you want this?”
Are you sure you want me?
“At this point, I’m not sure I can live without it.”
Eyelids heavy, his gaze dropped to my mouth and his lips parted in anticipation. “It’s your dare, baby.”
Would he regret me in the morning?
Would he tumble out of bed, turn his back, run?
Curving my hands around the back of his neck, I edged closer, watching the need build in his eyes.
Jaw tight, body taut, his hips flexed again, rocking me ever closer to the promised land without laying a single finger on me.
One man.
One woman.
One purpose.
I dipped my face closer, allowing my eyelids to drift shut as I took in the sweetness of his breath mixing with mine. A heady drug.
My body hummed in anticipation, the scent of my arousal easily detectable in the tiny space between us. If there were room for any other emotion, I’d have been embarrassed by my body’s desperate plea to be under his.
Opening my eyes, my lips a whisper from his, I silently prayed, ‘God, please, don’t let this be over in the morning.’
Tunneling my fingers up through the back of his hair, I grasped the silky strands in my fists. I took a breath, knowing this moment marked the before in a lifetime of afters, and pressed my mouth to his.
Chapter Nine -Irrefutable Proof
