Her words shoot through my rage, straight to my heart. I wouldn’t give up the twelve years I had with my dad for anything. And as painful as it was to lose him, I had a dad who loved me. Raven’s never felt that.
Who am I to say that Dominick’s intentions aren’t good? Maybe he does want a relationship with Raven. I’d bet my balls that’s not true, but if I don’t allow her to find out for herself, if I stand between her and the possibility, she’ll never forgive me.
I brush my thumb along her lower lip, feeling it quiver beneath my touch. “Okay, baby. I get it.”
Her eyes smile through her tears and she kisses my thumb.
With a tug, she’s up from her barstool. I wrap my arms around her waist. She locks her hands behind my neck, holding me to her.
“You’ll call me when you get there.” I’m so close to her mouth, I can smell the sweet tea on her breath.
“Yes.” Her answer is breathy and full of need.
My girl. Always so responsive.
She puts pressure on my neck to bring me to her, but I’m not finished.
“And you’ll call me when you’re finished.” I slide my hands down to her ass, drawing her hips closer.
“Mm-hmm.” Her answer comes out on a moan.
“Not when you get in your car, not when you get home, but when you’re walking away, you call me.” I tighten my hold to make sure she understands. I’m not fucking around.
“Yes, Jonah, I’ll do anything. Just kiss me, please.”
“That’s more like it.”
I drop a soft kiss against her lips. She pushes up on her tiptoes, pressing hard against me searching for my lips, but I hold back. She whines adorably, and I reward her by feathering another kiss on her lips.
“Please.”
Her final plea shatters the last of my control. I cover her mouth with mine. My hand slides up her shirt along her spine, desperate to feel her skin. She arches her back, and pulls me in, shifting her weight so that our torsos are touching from chest to hip.
With her body soft and pliable in my hands, the taste of her tongue flooding my mouth, my chest tightens with feelings I’m only beginning to name. She owns me completely. The pull I felt toward her when we met, waking up with her in my arms, my conversation with Owen, my compulsion to protect her, everything jumbles in my head until need coils in my sternum. Not the usual need that rips at me, but something stronger. It’s been seeping in slowly and now crushes me from the inside out.
I hold her to me, hoping the strength in my arms will give me the power to do what I’ve never done before. Breaking the kiss, her eyes lock on mine, questioning. Even through my nervousness, in this moment, nothing has looked as clear or as obvious.
“I love you, Raven.”
She gasps and her body jerks. She looks at me as if seeing me for the first time. Her shaky hand covers her mouth. Her head rocks back and forth slowly in what looks like disbelief. She doesn’t say it back and I don’t care. I love her. If she’s not there yet, I’ll wait as long as it takes until she is.
Without warning, she launches into me, our lips fusing together in wild passion. Her tongue slides into my mouth along with a soft moan that shoots to my throat. I tilt her head to plunge in deep, walking her backwards to the closest lounger. I crave Raven in a way that makes the dozen yards to the house seem like miles.
Laying her back, I brace my body above hers to keep from crushing her. I flex my hips into the warmth between her legs. She grinds into me, and I fight the urge to claim her here by the pool. Not like this. She deserves better.
I move to my spot at her neck and feel her racing pulse against my tongue. Her hands slide from my lower back to my stomach where she runs her fingers along the waistline of my shorts. She pulls at my zipper.
“Not yet, baby. Soon, but not tonight,” I whisper against her skin before nipping at her earlobe.
Her hands fall away on a hopeless sigh. I nuzzle her neck to avoid the look of rejection that I’m sure colors her face. My body screams to join with hers. To show her how deep my feelings run. But I’d never forgive myself for taking her in my backyard like a cheap party date.
“Baby, I’m sorry. I want you, I do. But you deserve—”
“It’s okay. But you said soon. Promise?”
I grimace at the dejected sound in her voice.
My lips skate along her jawline to her mouth. “Yes. I promise.”
Sliding my hand against the smooth skin of her belly, she writhes against me. I pull her shirt over her head and take in her bright green bra. My thumbs make firm passes over the sensitive tips through the silk. Feeling isn’t enough. I need to see them. I tug the fabric down, releasing her full breasts to the tepid night air. Fucking gorgeous.
I kiss the valley between them, breathing in her subtle sweet fragrance. She arches her back in a silent plea. I smile against her eager little body before taking her breasts into my mouth, first one and then the other. The sweet taste of her delicate skin increases my appetite for more.
I pop the button of her shorts, and she lifts her hips for me to slide them down her legs.
“Good girl.”
“Jonah—”