Chapter 14 #2
"These are nice." He traced a finger over the edge of her boy shorts.
"The style or the fabric?"
"Just the way they look on you. But they have to go." He hooked his fingers in the waistband and yanked.
"What are you, a magician? Or are you just a master at undressing women? More importantly, should I be insanely jealous?"
"None of the above. I'm just really excited." He licked his lips before tracing a path with tongue from her belly button down to her clit.
"Oh, God." Shamelessly, she raised her hips. The rasp of his stubble against her thighs sent sparks ricocheting along her skin. She'd forgotten what it was like to completely let go. To let someone else make her come unglued.
His tongue flicked across her clit, and his fingers slid inside her in a deliberate rhythm as she rolled her hips against him. She bit her knuckle to keep from screaming his name. It worked, but it didn't stifle the series of soft groans that escaped.
He sucked on her, hard, fingers digging deep, then went back to the slow circles over her clit with his tongue that drove her mad with pleasure. It built like a rollercoaster making its final climb before the biggest drop.
Threading her fingers through his hair, she pressed her heels into the mattress and braced for it. "Oh, my… God." Her climax broke, leaving her with the sudden, breathtaking weightlessness of a freefall. Her insides jerked and quivered.
It was as if a dozen orgasms exploded all at once.
Flattening his hand over her stomach, he gently brushed his thumb across her skin, as if to soothe the tornado twisting and turning inside her body.
She inhaled sharply, letting it out slowly. She did that five more times before she could even see straight. Dropping her head back, she craned her neck, blinking and caught the gaze of the turtle over the headboard.
He kissed the inside of her thigh, her hip, her stomach, and continued with a path to her neck. "This might be an awkward two-part question," he whispered. "But do I need a condom, and do you need some time to recover?"
She covered her mouth. Now was not the time to laugh. But she couldn't help herself. She laughed. Hard.
"At least my ego is intact after that, because I'm quite proud of myself."
"As you should be," she said. "But your turtle is judging. Harshly."
"He's opinionated." Sterling lifted his head. "So, the condom question. I haven't had sex in fifteen months—not that I'm counting. I hate those things. But there's more than one reason to use them."
"I haven't had sex since Mark died, and I'm on the pill.
" She held his gaze, and for a few seconds, she worried she might have destroyed the moment.
Bringing up her late husband while naked with another man might not have been a good move.
But it was an honest one. And she'd been lying long enough. No more. Not with Sterling.
She could handle losing a job. An assignment. Even a career.
But not another person she truly cared about.
He brushed the hair from her face. Serious Sterling had returned. But perhaps a softer, more refined version as the wrinkles around his eyes weren't as pronounced and he hadn't narrowed his gaze. He just looked at her with kindness. Not pity. Just softness.
"I told you before, this isn't a passing fling with me," he said. "I care a great deal for you. More than I've ever allowed myself to feel for anyone, and I want you to know that whatever happens with us in the future, I wouldn't ever want you to erase your past."
Tears stung her eyes, but she'd be damned if she was gonna let them fall. She also wasn't going to respond in words. She didn't need to. Didn't want to. She was falling hard for this man, and right now, words would just muck it up. She’d trip over what she wanted to say.
Instead, she straddled him, cupped his face, and kissed him, hard. It wasn't romantic, and it certainly wasn't pretty. It was wet, sloppy, and wild. It carried every emotion she had for Sterling that she'd been bottling up for months.
And the perfect man that he was, he didn't try to stop her, slow her down, or control her. He let her take charge and do what she wanted. What she needed.
Reaching between them, he guided himself to her, thrusting inside her, matching her desperation.
She broke the kiss, pressed her hands against his chest, and ground against him. His fingers tightened around her hips, and he locked gazes with her, holding her captive. Or maybe she held him.
It didn't matter.
They were together. Riding out the last wave of this moment. The connection between them was so intense. So real. So deep.
Her climax rippled through her body. It shook her muscles. Twisted her insides. She tensed as he thrust his hips, freezing for a long moment as his orgasm collided with hers.
She collapsed on top of him, nuzzling her face into his neck.
His fingers danced up and down his spine as his lips brushed against her shoulder.
For a long moment, they held each other like that until their breathing settled into something normal again.
Rolling her to the side, he pulled the covers over their bodies.
He wrapped his arms around her as she snuggled in close, resting her head on his chest.
"I wouldn't be opposed to doing that again in the morning."
"That can be arranged." He kissed her temple.
She closed her eyes and let herself fade. For the first time since coming to Calusa Cove, the weight she carried had lessened. It was still there. And new pieces had been added.
But she wasn't carrying it alone.