“You always underestimated yourself,” she says, then swallows. Her hand absently strokes the base of my skull, cascading shivers down my spine. “But you are an amazing person, and it made me sad you didn’t see it back then. I hope you do now.”
“I also missed the way you chew on the ends of your hair when you get nervous,” I press on. I can’t fight the compulsion to spill everything out now. “How you never made fun of me even though my life was so fucking weird. And most of all, I missed the opportunity to touch you just once, kiss you just once, and there was no way I was going to fucking die out in the desert until I could do so.”
Her chest rises and falls from her rapid breaths, and her mouth is parted. My thumb inches closer to her lower lip, and I can’t resist—I stroke the soft flesh there. My pulse is pounding in my throat, my skin is taut, my cock aching to get out of my pants and plunge deep inside her. I want her so badly I hurt.
“Cole,” she whispers, and I can see emotions warring in her eyes. Despite her fear of this…thing happening between us, I can see her pupils dilating again. Her gaze darts down to my mouth.
Then the tip of her tongue reaches out and brushes my thumb, a gesture so fast if I hadn’t been looking at her face I might have missed it. But it’s enough to slam my cock against my zipper.
I move my thumb and plunge my mouth onto hers, drinking from her again, this time not waiting for her to set the pace. Suddenly it’s the most important thing ever for her to understand how much I want her.
She shifts in my lap, her hip brushing against my dick, and I groan into her mouth. Both of her hands slide around to cup my neck. Her mouth is warm and wet and she opens for the stroke of my tongue. I sweep my thumb along her collarbone, my palm resting right above her breast, fingers itching to slide down and cup its weight. But the sane part of me keeps in check. I won’t touch her there until she shows me she wants me to.
Though it might be torture.
Her teeth bite down on my lower lip, and a rumbled groan erupts from my chest. Fuck yeah, this is the sexiest torture I’ve ever imagined. I spin her body until she’s straddling my thighs, her limbs wrapped around my waist, and pull our torsos flush against each other, our crotches separated only by a few layers of fabric. So fucking close, yes.
Her breasts are crushed against my chest and we kiss on and on. I weave my hand into her glorious hair and tilt her throat back the way I’ve wanted to for so many years. I slide my mouth along her jaw line and try not to roar when I feel her shudder, then her bones going limp in my embrace.
“Yes,” she whispers, “That feels so good.”
My cock might explode. I push it up against her only as much as I’ll allow myself to, seeking relief from the pressure building in me. She responds in kind, grinding her hips in one fluid motion against mine, her breaths growing erratic. My mouth feasts on the curve of her throat, down to the junction of her neck and shoulder.
Her skin is so ridiculously soft.
I let my other hand roam along her back, then slide down to stroke the upper curves of her round ass. Her pelvis starts working against me harder, and her breasts rub along my pecs.
“I want you, kitten,” I tell her baldly. “I need to make you come.”
In the background, the furnace kicks on in a soft sound that I barely hear. Other than that, it’s totally quiet except for the rasps of our breaths, the rubbing of our clothed bodies against each other.
“I…” She swallows, her body stiffening, and seems to struggle with what to say in response to my admission.
I can’t help the swift kick of disappointment that punches me in the gut. She’s going to tell me to stop, and because I love her more than my own life, I’ll do it, but it might just break me in half. I pause myself from licking her flesh, my nose nuzzled into the collar of her dress shirt.
“I don’t know what’s happening here, but I can’t lie to you,” she finally says, then pulls her torso back and looks me in the eye. I can’t remember the last time I’ve seen her so serious. “I…want you too.” The words are a breathy admission spilling from her lips.
Triumph screams through my body, and I make myself not rip her clothes off and plunge into her right here and now.
I pull her off me, though my cock agonizes over the loss of her warmth, and situate her until she’s sitting on the blanket again. I take the spot opposite her. It’s time to explore Lauren’s desires. How does she feel about me taking control? Will she acquiesce or push back? Time to find out.
“Take off your shirt,” I tell her.
Her eyes widen just for a flash, and I see a pulse jump at the base of her throat. “We… Are we…”
“We’re not going to have sex,” I say. I’m not going to let my first time with her be in the basement of my family’s bar. Fuck that. She deserves better.