Thirty-Two
Montana
This would be one of those things I looked back on one day, and it was either a fond memory or the one that forever haunted me. All I knew was that I had been miserable when Than and I weren’t speaking. His silence and the loss of the tiny taste of friendship we’d developed was hard. Something I’d only had for such a short time shouldn’t be that difficult to lose, but then Than Carver was special. I imagined he had a trail of hearts he’d broken that was miles long.
He had been honest from the start. He wasn’t leading me on or promising me anything. Just friendship. And until I left this place, I wanted that and him. At least the parts of him he was willing to give me. Momma would be shaking her head if she knew what I had agreed to. Telling me that I was being stupid, and maybe I was. But this was my mistake to make.
I was walking into this with my eyes open. No matter how this ended, Than would never be a regret. It just seemed impossible. Especially when he smiled at me and held me against him, like he had on the sofa tonight. His fingers brushing little patterns on my upper arm, where his hand rested while we watched a movie, had kept me from really paying attention to anything other than him. I liked being with him.
Pulling back the curtain that separated the bedroom from the bathroom, I paused for a moment at the sight of Than lying on the bed in only a pair of black boxers with his hands behind his head. He turned to look my way, and his gaze as it drifted down my body sent a warm rush through me.
“Remember our agreement,” he said. “There’d better not be panties under those shorts.”
Grinning, I walked over to the bed. “Well, you have on underwear.”
“Six, if you wanted me naked, all you had to do was ask,” he said while pulling back the covers for me.
I rolled my eyes at his comment and slipped beneath the sheet and blanket. Than stood, maneuvered his body so he could do the same, and then he was there. Beside me. His warm, hard body against mine. I shivered as his hand slid down my back to cup my butt and pull me closer to him.
“Mmm, this is a hell of a lot better than the sofa,” he murmured, burying his nose in my hair and inhaling.
I slid my hand up his biceps and rested it there. Thoughts of him being over me and how the muscles in his arm had flexed turned into me thinking about how he’d look if he’d gone in all the way.
He brushed my hair away from my neck, then pressed his lips to the area just below my ear before moving down to the curve of my neck. While he continued to lick, nibble, and kiss that specific spot, he slid one hand inside my bottoms so that he was squeezing my bare butt. With his other hand, he grabbed my thigh and hitched my leg over his hip, causing my entire body to be pressed against his.
The hard ridge of his erection hitting the achy spot between my legs caused me to moan. A deep rumble vibrated in his chest before the hand he’d been groping my butt with slid down until his middle finger met the slickness of my arousal. My body instantly rocked against his touch, wanting more.
“’You need more?” he asked close to my ear.
Feeling frantic, I nodded, wanting to grind against him to ease my ache. Than’s hand was gone, and I started to cry out in frustration when he flipped me onto my back. I stared up at him, dizzy with desire.
“I take that back. I want you naked in bed,” he said, then took the edge of my camisole and pulled it up.
I lifted my hands so he could remove it. Once he tossed it away, he stared at my chest and groaned before taking my shorts and giving them a hard tug, then sliding them down my legs.
My thighs were pushed apart and then spread open. For a moment, I felt vulnerable, but it was brief. Than lowered his head, and then the first swipe of his tongue over my clit caused all other thoughts to vanish. A heady rush of pleasure had me crying out and lifting my hips off the bed to get closer.
With a dark, sexy chuckle, he lifted his eyes to look up at me while continuing to lick. I’d never wanted to be this intimate before. The idea of having a guy’s mouth on me like this had always seemed daunting. I’d been wrong.
Than’s tongue flicked against the swollen bud of nerves, ready to ignite, and I grabbed handfuls of his hair as I whimpered, rolling my hips, desperate for more.
“Fuck,” he growled, spreading me open with his fingers, tasting me. “This pussy tastes good.”
I watched him, held in a state of bliss as he began to penetrate me with his tongue, then ran the tip all the way up.
“Oh GOD! Please, yes. Oh, oh, there, yes.” Words fell from my lips as the frenzy building inside me reached its peak, and I arched my back as I came apart.
Than was over me instantly, his boxers gone. He pumped his thick length in his hand while staring down at me. When he brushed the head through my wet folds, I whimpered. His neck muscles flexed, causing veins to stand out, and his nostrils flared.
“Easy,” he said in a hoarse whisper. “Just let me feel you.”
I gripped handfuls of the sheet beneath me, bit my bottom lip, trying to remain still, but with each slow drag of its pulsing tip, my body became more feverish with a craving for something I didn’t understand. Something I’d never had. Yet it yearned for it, to the point of pain.
My hips lifted, pushing against his gentle prod, and he hissed.
“Stop. Be still.” He ran his fingertips over my inner thigh. “Just let me ease in a little. Don’t move.”
I nodded, unable to speak.
The head sank in with Than’s sharp intake of breath. “That’s a good girl. Just let me feel…fuuuck, baby.” He closed his eyes, and his body shuddered. “A little more, okay?”
He pushed in until it burned.
“Oh,” I gasped.
He pulled it out immediately. I hadn’t wanted that. I wanted him back inside me.
He stared down at me and ran his finger inside, as if checking to make sure I was okay. “You’re good,” he breathed. “Fuck, you’re so damn tight that I was afraid I went too deep.”
“Do it again,” I pleaded, wiggling.
He seemed tortured as he looked at me, then down at my open legs. Then he nodded. “Try not to move.”
“Okay.” I would agree to anything if he did it again.
A deep, low groan came from his slightly parted lips as he slid the tip back inside. “Ah fuck,” he panted, then stayed still, not going deeper. “I’m going to barely pump in and out.”
I nodded, but he didn’t look at me. His complete attention was on where we were joined. I dropped my gaze to see his engorged shaft slip inside me, then come back out again. Than’s breathing was ragged and heavy as he began to pick up pace. He placed the pad of his thumb over my clit, and I cried out, bucking on instinct.
“Fuuuck.” He stilled as he stretched me. Still barely inside, but deeper than he had been. “Don’t move,” he warned me, then closed his eyes. “That feels incredible.”
“Please,” I begged.
“Shhh,” he said, then began to rub his thumb on my pleasure point while going back to moving in and out slowly.
“Oh God!” I cried out just as I fell over the edge, and another orgasm took me.
Than pulled out of me with a strangled shout, and thick white ropes of his release shot onto my stomach as his body jerked over me.
While we were both panting, our eyes locked. Without speaking, we stayed like that, letting our bodies cool. We hadn’t had sex, but I couldn’t imagine ever feeling this connected to another person. I was afraid it wouldn’t matter if we didn’t have sex. I was going to lose my heart to Than Carver regardless.