62
It’s past 11:00 p.m., and the park has closed. On the bus ride back to the hotel, Ethan holds my hand, rubbing his thumb slowly over my knuckles as he looks out the window. There’s a feeling of connection between us. It’s an invisible string winding around, binding us together.
“Are you nervous about your big lecture tomorrow?” He leans his cheek against the top of my head.
“Yes,” I answer honestly.
“You’re going to be amazing,” he says with quiet certainty. “You’ve been practicing for months.”
All day the sky has promised a storm. As we pull up to the hotel, it finally delivers. Stuttering flashes of lightning are followed by low booms of thunder. A torrent of rain hits the ground so hard that raindrops bounce back up before falling to merge with the growing puddles on the concrete.
We run from the bus to the hotel. Ethan is right behind me, his hand on the small of my back, a bit of warmth on my otherwise cold body. Once inside the hotel, the air conditioning adds a chill to our rain-soaked skin, so Ethan and I quickly head up to my room.
He goes straight to the thermostat on the wall, cranking it up. There’s a whoosh and that particular burnt plastic smell that comes from a heater when it’s first turned on. A vent sits high in the ceiling. I move so I’m directly under it, hands up to catch the hot air spilling out like I’m warming myself at a campfire. Standing there soaking wet with my arms raised and back arched, I can feel my wet clothing cling to every curve of my body.
When I look at Ethan, I see him frozen in the doorway, staring at me with wide, hungry eyes full of heat as they roam over me, leaving a blazing trail that warms me from the inside out.
Breath catching in my throat, I watch as Ethan stalks across the room. His eyes are locked on me like he’s a heat-seeking missile and I’m on fire. Once he reaches me, I place my hands on his chest. The warmth from his body sears through his wet clothing and leaks into my palms. Desire surges through me.
I want to be close to him. To know him, every inch inside and out. I long for him to know me, too. To stop hiding parts of myself. But I’m too scared and caught up in the moment to tell him about my past. I won’t risk losing him, not tonight, when he’s looking at me like this.
Like his heart is in my hands.
Ethan kisses me. This kiss isn’t like the one on the pier. This one is ravenous. It’s fast and hard, overwhelming. Lust unfurls deep inside as my body responds to the greedy demands of his lips and tongue. My breath and heart quicken. A molten heaviness grows between my legs.
As we continue to kiss, Ethan walks me slowly backward until I bump into the wall behind me. He pins me there, trapped like a butterfly under glass, between the wall and his hard chest, with no space between us. He places his hands on the wall on both sides of my head, leaning his full body weight against me.
I push him back slightly, my fingers shaking, and undo the buttons on his shirt one by one. The shirt slides easily off his shoulders. His lean, muscled chest is warm under my fingers as I run my hands over him, loving the hard ridges and valleys of his body. It’s not enough. I’m greedy for him. I need to feel all of him.
Ethan bends his head to taste the hollow below my ear. He slides his mouth down my neck and kisses my collarbone. I move my head to the side to give him better access as he continues to kiss down my body. When he cups and squeezes my breast through the soaked fabric of my shirt, I can’t help but arch my body into his, moaning softly.
I want more contact, crave it.
Ethan untucks my shirt, lifts it over my head, and tosses it aside. The blast of air from the vent over our heads warms my rain-slicked skin. His hands are deft as he reaches behind and unclasps my bra with a simple twist of his fingers. The metal clasp of the bra makes a small clink as it falls to the floor between our feet. Reverent, Ethan traces his gaze and then his fingers over my breasts. His eyes flick up to meet mine.
“You’re so fucking beautiful. I can’t stand it.” He lowers his mouth to tease and suck at the soft, tender flesh. His tongue swirls around my nipples until they stiffen into hard peaks.
I lean my head back against the wall, closing my eyes as all my focus narrows to what his mouth feels like on my skin. Each tug on my sensitive nipples sends a corresponding ache between my legs. Unable to move, I’m spellbound by Ethan’s hands and mouth. Every place he touches lights up like a glow stick.
Reaching down, I rub my palm against Ethan’s bulging length through the wet fabric of his pants. My hand grasping him makes his erection strain against his zipper. He quickly pulls off his pants and underwear until he stands naked before me. I let my eyes roam over his face, his body, taking in the long lines of his legs, the definition of his muscles, and the way they shift when he moves. He’s so gorgeous, it actually hurts to look at him, with all those hard, sharp angles that seem to line up just right against my softer curves.
When I grip Ethan firmly, running my hand up and down his shaft, he gasps aloud. Shifting my hand for better purchase, I stroke him faster, lingering over his velvety head. He groans, chest heaving, and then, surprising me, grabs my wrist, halting the motion. Confused, I relax my hand. I’m puzzled about why he made me stop something he was so obviously enjoying.
“Tiffy,” he rasps out, “this isn’t why I asked to come to Florida with you. I wasn’t trying to trick you into this.”
“I know,” I answer, again tightening my grip on him.
Ethan sucks air through his teeth at my touch. “I don’t want you to freak out tomorrow. If this happens, you can’t push me away,” he warns, eyebrows lowered and face serious.
“I won’t.” I press my naked chest against his. His chest hair scrapes deliciously like sandpaper over my aching nipples. “I want this, Ethan. I’ve been thinking about it all day.”
His laugh is almost humorless. “All day? I’ve been thinking about this since the moment we met.” He grazes his nose along mine and whispers huskily, “You’ve got me shaken up like a bottle of champagne. Once you take that cork out, I won’t be able to put it back in.” Ethan pulls back and places his hand under my chin, tilting my head until I look him in the eye. His voice earnest, he says, “Promise me. Swear you won’t run away.”
“I promise,” I whisper as I unzip my skirt and shimmy out of it, letting it fall to the floor, to puddle there along with my panties.
Those words are the release he’s been waiting for. His hands are suddenly everywhere all at once. In my hair, kneading my breast, and finally between my legs. When his fingers slip into my wetness, my knees almost buckle, but he holds me up, one strong arm supporting me while the other works, running over the bundle of nerves at my apex and then diving deep inside me. It’s intoxicating.
I open my legs wider, welcoming his plunder. Ethan moves his fingers over me again and again until I can feel myself tightening. Now I’m the one to stop his hand, grabbing his wrist and holding it still.
“Please, Ethan,” I pant. “I want you inside of me.” At this moment, I’m not too proud to beg. I need him too badly.
His forehead wrinkles and for a heartbreaking minute I think he’ll deny me, but that’s my insecurity talking. “I think I have a condom in my wallet. Hang on.” He’s gone for a second that feels like an eternity. Then he’s back, condom on and ready.
Eyes locked with each other, Ethan presses me back against the wall. He takes my thigh and drapes it over his leg, opening me wide. I reach down to help guide him in. There’s a moment of fullness and then accommodation as he enters, thrusting upward while still staring right into my eyes. It’s sexy as hell. How he doesn’t look away. So intimate, like Ethan’s taking my soul along with my body. Slowly, carefully, as if he’s afraid to break me, he thrusts deeper and deeper until he’s buried completely inside. He pauses and gives me a long, hot kiss.
“You okay?” he whispers huskily.
All I can do is nod. Words are lost to me.
This earns me another kiss. “Good girl,” he whispers into the shell of my ear as he moves inside of me again. This time, his movements are more purposeful, building faster and stronger as he angles up into me. I rock back against him, matching his rhythm. It’s dizzying how the blood rushes in my ears and every nerve ending in my body responds like it’s been lit up with dynamite.
Ethan pulls me up in his arms, wrapping both of my legs around his waist. He cups my ass and pushes off the wall. Still inside of me, he walks us over to the bed, kissing as we go. Leaning down, he tries to place me gently on the bed, but at the last minute I slip from his hands and land with a muffled oomph. It’s awkward and funny. I start to giggle.
“Shit, sorry. In my mind, that move was a lot smoother.” He laughs ruefully. I’m about to tell him it doesn’t matter, but the words die in my throat as he leans over me, caging me in with his body.
I wrap my legs around Ethan as he pushes back into me, better able to press his pelvis against mine in this position. Increasing the friction between us, he picks up the pace. We move together, urging each other higher and higher into ecstasy. I moan, my head thrashing from side to side. My fingers dig into his back, holding on for dear life. All other thoughts leave my mind. There’s only this room, this bed, and Ethan filling me up.
“Tiffy,” Ethan breathes the name into my mouth with a wrenching gasp. I think about how I used to hate that nickname, but now it sounds like salvation, like a spell that can break the curse that hangs over me.
My muscles tighten hard around him as I get closer to climax, making him groan. “You feel so good,” he whispers as our movements grow more frantic, bodies slamming together in an endless cycle of pleasure. His eyes glazed, Ethan pulls away and stares down to where we connect.
“Look at you,” he croons, words slurring, sex-drunk. “My good girl. Look how well you take me. How deep I can go. Look how beautiful you are, exposed like this.” I follow the path of his gaze and see him moving, pumping into me. The vision of us joined in the most intimate way sends me into another dimension, one made purely of sensation.
The tension builds in me, spiraling higher and higher until I’m trembling, just trying to hold on to my sanity. I don’t come; I explode. The orgasm rips through me, every muscle in my body simultaneously clenching and relaxing all at once. I cry out, and my voice mingles with Ethan’s as he also releases, his spasms buried deep inside.
Aftershocks of pleasure ripple through my body. Ethan rides them out with me, pulling out only after they’ve passed. Still breathing like we just ran a marathon, he rolls over onto his back and hooks an arm around me, hauling me to his side. I rest my cheek on his chest, listening to the drumbeat of his heart as it eventually slows.
Exhausted, wrung out by the excitement of the day and by the best sex I’ve ever had, I don’t just fall asleep. I tumble into it headfirst, and I’m not worried because I know Ethan will catch me.
There will be no nightmares tonight.
Only dreams coming true.