And then there was his bed.
His headboard was made of wooden slats and they stretched horizontally along the entire king-sized frame. It was a dark mahogany color with a solid footboard that matched. He had a dark gray blanket with the fluffiest pillows I’d ever seen. It looked manly and comfortable all at the same time. I wanted to climb atop it and snuggle down, but I also knew I would have a hard time sleeping a wink in Hayes’s bed.
He pressed his body into mine—his front against my back—and rested his chin on my shoulder, his hands on my waist. His words were whispered next to my ear, the breath of them caressing me and making the hairs on my arm stand on end and the swallows in my stomach take flight.
“We don’t have to both sleep in my bed, Kenz. I can sleep in David’s room if you’re uncomfortable. There’s no rush or expectation here.”
His offer, to sleep away from me, made my heart hurt. The very last thing I wanted was to be apart from him, especially during this one night where we had, what seemed like, a finite amount of time to pretend like we were carefree, like we were normal. I was definitely some messed-up version of Cinderella, and sooner or later, my coach was going to turn back into a pumpkin.
I turned slowly in his arms, my hands automatically coming to his chest, and I looked up at him.
“I would be uncomfortable if you were anywhere but next to me.”
He leaned down and I was expecting a kiss, but his mouth went directly to where my neck met my shoulder and he breathed me in. It was a tender moment, a moment in which I felt as though he was treasuring me, committing the two of us together in his room to memory. A moment in which, possibly, he was memorizing what it was like to hold me because he was afraid one day he wouldn’t be able to. Or maybe it was me who was doing that.
He walked me backward slowly until the back of my thighs ran into the mattress. He pulled his mouth from me, only to bring his hands to my face, eyes peering into mine.
“You’re in charge, Kenzie. We’ll take this as far as you want to go. You tell me if you want me to stop.”
“I won’t want you to stop,” I whispered, pressing up on my toes to capture his mouth. He groaned against my lips as soon as our mouths met, and I reached down to pull his shirt over his head. I didn’t necessarily want the experience to happen quickly, but I did want to feel his skin pressed against mine as soon as possible. He apparently shared my view on the matter because my shirt was being lifted over my head next. My skirt was pulled down my legs, his pants were kicked off his feet, and we were tumbling together onto his monstrous bed. He was kissing me and I was scooting back, trying to reach the head of the bed, when I suddenly started laughing.
“Your bed is enormous.” I finally gave up and flopped down right where I lay. He was leaning over me, hands on either side of my head, holding himself up, gazing down at me. And he was smiling at me as if I were his whole world.
“I love you,” I blurted out, the words rising up in me like lava, spilling out, sprouting wings and flying away. “I love you more than anything.”
His smile softened, almost disappeared, only to be replaced with the most intense expression of love. I knew how much I loved him, could feel it in every cell of my body, but I also realized his love for me went even deeper. No matter how hard I tried, I’d never be able to love him as much as he loved me.
His elbows bent slightly, and his forehead rested against mine as he let out a soft sigh. “I’ve always loved you,” he said, then pressed a kiss to my throat right below my ear. “I love you now.” His next kiss landed just below my other ear. My body arched up into his, just the sensation of his lips on me making all my synapses fire. “And I’ll love you forever,” he said just before his lips met mine.
Oh, God. He was so much better at love than I was.
He kissed me just as his arm wrapped around my waist, picked me up, and pulled me until my head rested against his fluffy pillows. My knees parted and he settled between them, one hand holding him above me, while the other took its time grazing over my bare skin.
I reached around him, my hands splayed wide over his shoulder blades, moving down, my fingers trailing through the valley of his spine, feeling all the contour of the muscles, the map of his body, until I came to his narrow waist. The elastic band of his boxer briefs slipped easily over my fingers as I explored lower. Both of my hands gripped his rear and he reacted by grinding into me.