Chapter 21 #4
“I will,” he said, pressing his cheek into my palm. “I promise I will.”
“And I promise I will too.”
Another long moment passed as we looked into each other’s eyes.
I hadn’t thought it was a real thing anyone experienced outside of romance novels, but there was a connection between me and Remy that I’d never felt in my life.
And it was a connection I wanted to cherish and nourish more than anything else.
So, I kissed him again.
It wasn’t the same as the other kisses. It wasn’t fueled by shock and adrenaline or born out of desperate longing. No, it was a slow, tender kiss, opening the door to wherever the night would take us.
And holy fuck, the way that Remy practically melted into me, made me feel closer to him than I thought was possible to be with another human.
Well… Not exactly human, as I had learned. But close enough.
It was a moment of peace between the two of us. No bills to worry about. No kids about to come in the door. Just Remington and Jeannie getting to be just Remington and Jeannie.
I couldn’t say how long we stayed like that, and it didn’t really matter. The kiss lasted exactly as long as it needed to, and when we finally broke apart, Remy looked into my eyes with a question he didn’t even need to ask.
“Yes,” I said with all the enthusiasm I could muster. I meant it right down to my soul. I’d been bearing the responsibility for my own life and Max’s for basically ten long, long years, and it was time for the both of us to enjoy something that was just for us.
That was all he needed. He pulled away from the wall and carried me toward the bed like I weighed absolutely nothing.
I wound my hands through his thick hair, his curls soft but strong beneath my fingers, my lips moving against his with fervor. That passion that had taken a backseat to safety was front and center again, burning with an urgency that couldn’t be denied.
And I wasn’t about to deny it.
I was totally lost in the kiss until Remy turned around. I was confused enough to stop kissing him, but that lasted only a moment when I realized that he had changed our orientation so he could sit far enough back on the bed and have me straddle his lap comfortably.
Even when he was melting my mind, he was still such a thoughtful man.
Fuck, that was far sexier than it had any right to be.
So, I spread my legs, relishing that burning brand that was fighting against his jeans as it pressed into my fleece-lined leggings. For once, I wished I actually bought the thinner, cheaper kind that provided no warmth at all.
Even that layer of material wasn’t enough to stop me from feeling Remy’s length straining for me. If his larger belt-buckle wasn’t in the way, I could slide up and down until I came right then and there.
As greedy as I was, however, Remy held my hips once I started to move too much, his lips going back to my neck, but on the other side so I would have a matching set of his marks.
Fuck, fuck, fuck.
He wasn’t marking me to own me, but to tell the world that we were linked, that his mouth had been on me and no other would be.
Whoa, slow your roll there, girlie. The somewhat practical part of my mind came swinging in with one last gasp of air before it slipped through the cracks of my brain.
Things between us would no doubt irrevocably change, even if only in small ways. There was no guarantee that what we were sharing now would happen again. Or would even fully happen. The only thing that mattered was now.
“Green?” Remy asked and for a moment I was confused, but then I caught on. After all, what kind of romance editor would I be if I didn’t know safe words? Unexpectedly, my heart surged at the fact that he wanted to be so certain I was not only on board, but that I was into it.
Because I most certainly was into it with every fiber of my being.
“Green.”
It was like he had been waiting for that signal, because his hands slid under my shirt, caressing the rolls I had always been a little self-conscious about. But the hiss of pleasure he made at just touching my skin had me forgetting any insecurities I had about my body.
His fingertips were firebrands, tracing up the length of my spine before reaching the back of my sports bra. I wished I was wearing something sexier, something that would make me feel like a real bombshell, but this was just about the last thing I’d expected to happen when the day started.
Remy didn’t go for the bra, though. He gripped the fabric of my shirt and pulled it up over my head.
I raised my arms to let him, realizing he expected it to come off like men’s clothes did.
As convenient as that would be, I knew from experience that women’s shirts had much narrower armpits than men’s shirts, and that was what led to the different styles of removing them.
Now, I didn’t know why I was aware of that fact, nor did I care.
No, what I cared about was the fact that I was now bare from the waist up with the exception of that rather plain sports bra.
“So fucking beautiful,” Remy whispered as if he were in a church service, his hands shifting from my back to slide up my front, his touch almost worshipful across my soft, soft tummy and love handles.
“Remy...” I whimpered, arching my back and trying to push harder down onto his cock. I wanted it, I wanted it so bad that I could almost taste it.
Now there was an idea.
I shifted a bit, fully intending to get off the bed and kneel between those amazingly thick legs of his, but he stopped me short when he gripped my bra.
“Stay, gorgeous. I’m not done with you.”
Oh my god. Was it possible to spontaneously combust? Because I felt like I was about to.
“Okay,” I whispered, mouth completely dry.
I didn’t know it was possible to be so entirely possessed and enraptured by one man, but that was exactly what was happening now.
All those little insecurities, those mean voices that liked to come out when it was too quiet or I was too tired to keep my guard up, faded to nothing.
“Aren’t you perfect, sweetheart?” Remy drawled in response before tugging the bra over my head.
I raised my arms again, and the movement seemed to give those aforementioned voices a new round of energy.
Suddenly, I wondered if my deodorant had held up during the hike.
If his enhanced senses thought I was stinky.
If he was turned off by the bright, red marks of the elastic against my skin or that my breasts weren’t perky now that they weren’t being held up by the tight fabric.
I should have known better, because Remy’s eyes were on me like I was a great treasure he’d been hunting for.
His teeth were still sharp, and his eyes almost had a glow to them, like the animal energy within him was fighting to get out.
And when he reached up to cup my breasts, touching ever so gently, I noticed that his nails were slightly longer, sharper, and darkening toward the base of his thick, sand-hued fingers.
“Please,” I practically mewled, and I knew if I thought about that later, I’d be embarrassed, but whatever. Future Jeannie could worry about that. Present Jeannie was about to get her world rocked.
“Oh baby, baby,” Remy said, his voice so low it could barely get out past his fangs. “You don’t have to ask for anything. I’m going to take care of you.”
“I—” I had no idea what I was going to say to that. There wasn’t even a sentence remotely loaded and ready to go in my brain. Remy sealed his mouth over one of my nipples, tongue swirling in a perfect way. “Fuck!”
He rumbled in delight, and I didn’t know if it was from the feel of me, or a response to my reaction.
It was such a relatively small sound, but it sent pleasure zipping through every inch of my body, starting at my breasts and going straight down to my clit.
My chest was heaving, but it didn’t seem to bother Remy as he pinched my other nipple between his thumb and forefinger.
With my hips freed from his hold, I saw an opportunity to push a little, to taunt. I began grinding again, picking up the pace until I was rocking against him.
It wasn’t enough pressure, not nearly enough, but it was a delicious appetizer that only fed my desire. My underwear was soaked, and soon my leggings would be too, which was going to make the next day a bit awkward. Eh, Future Jeannie could deal with that.
God, could he smell how aroused I was? How wet I was? I hoped so. I wanted him to know exactly how he made me feel. How he had my body wrapped around his little finger—or rather, his tongue.
Just when I felt like my mind was about to go completely offline, his mouth stopped, as did his fingers, and he pulled back. I tried to follow after him, but he held me in place.
“Get up, gorgeous.”
Get up?
I didn’t know if I could, but his strong arms supported me, lifting me.
I knew he could yank me off my feet, so the delicate manner with which he treated me combined with the roughness had me nearly dripping.
I loved the dichotomy of it all. The push and the pull.
I needed to be careful, because this would be a life-changing experience I couldn’t go back from.
Might as well enjoy it while I had it.
I stood in front of him on shaky legs, and Remy spread his legs invitingly. Did he want me to kneel before him? I was totally up for that. I’d always had a bit of an oral fixation, and I’d love nothing more than to get to know that hidden cock of his with my tongue.
But as my knees began to bend, he stopped me and gave the slightest shake of his head.
Oh, we weren’t doing that?
I was puzzled, but then he tucked his fingers into my waistband and slid my leggings down my thighs, inch by agonizing inch. I wanted him to just rip them off, to be bare before him so he could see how much he affected me. I hadn’t shaved, but what kind of bear was offended by a little bit of fur?