Twenty-six
Levi couldn’t stop kissing Jillian long enough to actually pull in a full breath, and he didn’t care. He’d hyperventilate if that’s what it took to keep kissing her. All he could see, feel, and think was wrapped up in touching her, getting as close to her as humanly possible. He was drowning in her and didn’t want to be saved. What made it all the more amazing was neither did she. With hurried hands and near-desperate kisses, she made it clear she didn’t need air if the option was that or them.
Her fingernails scratched across the back of his neck, sending a full-body shudder through his system. His hands went back to her jean-covered thighs, squeezed even as they moved to her ass, to lift her off the counter. He needed more space to explore every inch of her, to savor and devour her, to cherish her and show her how much she meant to him.
“Bedroom,” he ground out, unable to say much more as her lips moved along his neck, up to his ear, and her teeth closed around the lobe. “Jillian.”
He felt wild, nearly outside of himself. He’d never felt this way; so completely consumed.
“Far corner, front of the cabin.”
His long strides ate up the space between where they were and where he wanted them to be in seconds. He didn’t need the light. Whisper-thin beams from the moon flickered through the slats in the blinds. When his knees hit the edge of a mattress, he fell forward, his arms under her to cradle the landing.
She gave a small “oof” followed by a laugh and his heart strained so hard in his chest, he thought she might be able to feel it against hers. He lifted his upper body, or attempted to, but she laughed and held on to his neck tighter, trying to keep him exactly where he was.
“One second. I want to feel your skin against mine,” he whispered. “Want” was a mild, entirely too-tame word for the storm of emotion raging inside of him.
She dropped her hands to her sides, stared at him through lowered lids, a sweet, sexy smile curving her lips.
With her legs still locked around him, he couldn’t move far, so he slid his hands to her thighs, down her calves, unhooking her ankles from behind him, smoothing his fingers back up, watching her face. The gentle tick, tick, tick of a clock on the nightstand was the only sound other than the slide of the linens and their breathing.
His eyes grew accustomed to the dark but he didn’t need to see Jilly to see her. He could close his eyes and picture her with startling accuracy, like he’d memorized every angle and curve of her face. The way her top lip was a touch thinner than the full bottom one. The way her nose turned up the tiniest bit at the end.
What he felt for her was so much deeper than he’d ever felt for anyone. Had he held back in the other brief relationships he’d had? He didn’t think so. Until this moment, until Jillian, he hadn’t known he had all of this need, all of this love, inside of him to give. Levi moved his hands, up, up over her hips, beneath her sweater, his fingers grazing bare, warm skin. She sucked in a breath as he moved the fabric away, pushed it farther up, her lip slipping between her teeth for a second.
“I never really lost all the baby weight,” she said.
Levi met her gaze in the darkness and hoped like hell she could see the honesty in his, the lust and longing he felt in every cell of his body.
“You’re the most gorgeous woman I’ve ever met.”
He tugged the shirt up, smiling when she adjusted, lifted, so he could pull it over her head. He tossed it in the direction of the floor then returned his gaze to the woman in front of him. The woman he’d wanted for half of his life.
When she fell back to the bed in just a plain white bra, everything in his body coiled at the sight. He was startlingly aware of every muscle, every breath, every pump of his heart. She was perfect. Her hands went to her stomach.
“Mine came with rolls instead of ridges like yours,” she said.
Levi laughed because she was funny and he couldn’t help it. But at the same time, he took her hands, held them away from her body, stared down at the softly rounded belly she tried to hide. Pushing her hands to the side, he lowered himself to his knees so he could feather her silky-soft skin with kisses.
She relaxed under his touch, against his mouth as his tongue dipped into her belly button. His name left her lips in a breathless whisper. He levered up, rising over her so he could look her in the eyes. Resting on his side along the length of her body, he kept his hand on her stomach and spoke from his heart.
“You’re stunning, Jillian. Everything about you, from your smile to your stomach. Your skin, your eyes, the curve of your waist, your hair.” He let his lips move over her jaw, and his hand traced up, along her side, over her breast, up to her shoulder and down her arm until their fingers were linked. The seconds, the frantic pace, slowed, tugging them both under as his mouth trailed light kisses along her collarbone, over the swell of each breast. She shifted beneath him, her breath deepening. He smiled against her skin, felt victorious when her other hand roamed restlessly, trying to touch him wherever she could. Eventually, those fingers sifted through his hair. He continued kissing every inch of skin he’d exposed, taking his time, moving down, lingering along the way, moving from one side of her stomach to the other so she could realize how special she was. How perfect. For him.
“Levi,” she whispered in the dark, making his blood heat and his heart soar.
Slowly, intentionally, he popped the button on her jeans, lowered the zipper, the sound all but echoing in the quiet. He continued moving down, letting his feet touch the floor so he could stand up and remove the rest of her clothing. He held her gaze, making sure she was on board with every single second of this. Hooking his fingers in the waistband of her jeans, he waited for her nod.
“Stop stalling,” she said.
He hadn’t expected to laugh while undressing her, but everything about Jilly was surprisingly and delightfully new. Levi tugged and pulled her jeans down her long legs, revealing them inch by gloriously beautiful inch. He tossed them on the floor, unable to hide the wonder he felt just from looking at her.
When he started to climb back onto the bed, over her, she lifted her knees.
“Uh-uh, Bright. Your shirt, my shirt. My jeans, your jeans.”
He’d never felt so turned on and so buoyant in the same moment. Taking his time, he arched his brows, let his fingers hover over the button on his jeans. She bit her bottom lip and he had to stifle a groan.
When he unbuttoned his jeans, she went up on her elbows to watch and he couldn’t stop the grin from taking over his face. She laughed when, finally shimmying them down, he kicked them off, sent them sailing.
“Can I come back now?” He waited, letting her stare at him like he had her, tension mounting in every fiber of his being. His body was an elastic band stretched to its very limit, mere seconds from snapping.
“Yes,” she whispered, lying back and holding her arms out to him. Welcoming him like they belonged together.
His heart inflated so full it stole his breath, made his ribs ache . Jillian Keller, with her gorgeous hair tumbled around her shoulders, her beautiful body laid out in a way he’d never imagined he’d be lucky enough to witness, wanted him, and a piece of him couldn’t believe it.
“You fucking humble me, Jillian. You’re so beautiful. All of you. Your heart. Your mind. Your body. Every bit of you.”
She lowered her gaze and he knew she trusted his words; felt the truth in his touch, his look, his every breath. He wanted to find out every secret she possessed, everything she loved and craved, and he wanted to give her those things. He wanted to give her everything.
Slowly, carefully, he crawled back up over her, framed her face with his hands, doing his best not to crush her body with his.
Her hands went to his waist, slid around to his lower back, her fingers teasing just under the band of his boxers before she used her hands to urge him closer.
“I’m heavy,” he warned. He hadn’t thought much about the differences in their height and weight but as he held her beneath him, she felt precious and breakable and he didn’t want to do anything to hurt her in any way. He felt overwhelmed with the need to cherish her. Protect her. Show her how amazing she was.
“I want that. I want you. All of you.”
He’d hear those words in his dreams for the rest of his life. A sense of tranquility washed over him as he gave her what she asked for. Jillian arched up into him, shattering his restraint with a kiss that sent them both spiraling into a haze of pent-up desire that had started, innocently, years ago and become a living, breathing force neither of them could hide or run from.
She whispered his name, their hands never stopping as both of them fought to get closer while feeling like nothing could be close enough. He felt the sheen of sweat on his back, the taste of it on her neck, her shoulder, down her arm as he pressed kisses everywhere he could.
Nothing else existed outside of this woman and the sounds she made, the feel of her heart, and her breaths mingling with his own. Every kiss, every touch, every sigh and whisper spurred them both on, turned them both inside out.
As they came together, his gaze held hers and he knew that no matter what else happened in his life, Jillian Keller was his future.