Chapter Nine
MAE
“Why do you want to kiss me?” I heard myself asking.
My mind silently volleyed a question back at me. Really? You're going to ruin Rowan wanting to kiss you?
Well, yeah, I was. What we’d had before loomed large in my memory—the intensity of my crush on him when we were friends, and my worries he didn’t return the feeling followed by sheer joy upon learning he did.
A few hot kisses and then feeling as if life had thrown a boulder at me.
Emotionally, that is. I’d been crushed and ashamed and hadn’t known how to climb out from under the weight of what happened that fated night.
No matter how many times I tried to remind myself Rowan had nothing to do with it, he was entwined in the dark memory because he was the reason I’d been there that night.
I opened my mouth to clarify, but he beat me to it.
“Because I want to kiss you. So, so much. You’re the only person I’ve wanted to kiss in a long time, and I want this chance with you.”
“What does that mean?” I pressed. I hated the vulnerability rising swiftly inside me. I hoped it didn't show in my voice and on my face.
“Just that you're the only girl I want to kiss, and I’m not about to let you slip away again. I won’t rush, but I don’t think I’m alone in how I feel. Am I? Just tell me if I am.”
I stared into his green eyes, my heart hammering in my chest and desire rushing through me. “You’re not,” I whispered, the words slipping out before my defenses could stop them.
“Okay?”
I swallowed and nodded. The next few seconds felt interminable because my impatience had me nearly vibrating.
Whether he sensed my restless need or not, he took his sweet time.
He caught that loose lock of hair again, spinning it around his fingers and tucking it behind my ear.
His calloused fingertips brushed along my sensitive skin, and goose bumps rose in a prickling rush with a hot shiver chasing down my spine.
His hand slid over the curve of my shoulder and then down around my waist as he stepped closer.
His palm came flat against my back, just above the dip of my waist. He took another step, and then I could feel the heat of him from head to toe.
He palmed my cheek with his free hand, his thumb sliding across my bottom lip.
I almost let out a sob of impatience when his intense green eyes bored into mine.
It felt as if he was peeling back all of my layers and exposing me. And we hadn't even kissed yet.
My belly swooped when he finally dipped his head, and his lips brushed across mine. It felt as if a flame leaped from him to me, binding us together in the scorch of heat.
He didn't hurry. Not at all. After another brush of his lips, he angled my head to the side before he fit his mouth over mine.
His tongue finally, finally glided in as I let out a little moan.
What started out slow got hot and wild really fast. We burst into flames together, our tongues tangling, our breath mingling, and the heat of him hard against me.
I had no idea how long I clung to him, one arm sliding around his muscled shoulders as my other palm explored the hard planes of his chest. Somewhere along the way, one of us needed air, so we broke free. The sound of our ragged breathing was loud in the quiet kitchen.
Rowan's eyes met mine, and he looked as stunned as I felt. “Mae,” he rasped, his tone almost wondering.
“What?” I whispered.
He shook his head slightly, and I felt the brush of his thumb on the side of my neck, just over the rapid flutter of my pulse.
My body felt prickly all over as if I couldn't contain the sensations ricocheting through me.
I was slick with need and shifted my thighs, rubbing them together, unconsciously attempting to relieve the ache there.
His eyes darkened as he stared at me. Then his mouth was on mine again.
We tumbled into kiss after kiss after kiss as we explored each other.
My hand found its way under the hem of his shirt.
His skin was hot to the touch, and I sighed when his hand finally brushed over the curve of my belly.
I could feel the calloused surface of his palm, a contrast to my skin.
He was all hard with rough edges while I felt soft.
I was wearing my most comfortable clothes, and I wanted all of them to be thrown free.
I cried out at the feel of him cupping my bare breast. My nipples were so tight they hurt when he teased his thumb across one.
I could feel his arousal like a brand through his jeans.
He muttered something, and then he was shoving my sweater off. I didn't even know where it fell. All I knew was I needed more. I needed him. I needed everything.
I cried out sharply at the feel of his mouth closing over a nipple. He gave it just enough suction that the sharp pleasure arrowed straight to the core of me, and my pussy clenched. I needed relief badly. I heard him saying something indecipherable, followed by, “Let me take care of you.”
I was frantic for him to take care of me.
I couldn't say that because I couldn't form a single word, but I was relieved when he lifted me onto the counter. I felt his hand sliding past the waistband of my cotton pants and delving between my thighs. I was wet, so, so wet. I couldn’t think. I was made of need.
His fingers slipped through my folds, and I was already rocking into him, desperate for something, anything to relieve the pressure. I felt him lift his head. “Mae?”
I rocked into his touch, whimpering.
“Mae?” he repeated.
I finally dragged my eyes open. “Fuck, you're gorgeous,” he murmured, just as he sank two fingers in me. I couldn’t look away from the beam of his gaze, the sound of my heartbeat rushing through me.
I moaned as my channel clenched around him.
“Come for me,” he said bluntly. I couldn't do anything except stare as he drew his fingers out and thrust them in again.
His thumb swirled around my swollen, slippery wet clit.
I clung to him as he fucked me with his fingers.
My mind blanked, and I cried out when pleasure ricocheted sharply through me.
My eyes closed, and my forehead fell to the curve of his neck. I breathed him in as sensations rolled through me. He had a crisp musky scent, and I thought I might never forget it.