Chapter 27
TWENTY-SEVEN
Elle
FUCK, FUCK, FUCK, FAAAACK. I was doing it.
Austin was taking my Ferris wheel virginity.
The massive wheel lifted us into the sky while he continued gripping my knee like it was his.
The alcoholic slushy from earlier must have relaxed me because I finally admitted to myself that I liked it.
I felt less guilty and more at ease when I noticed Austin staring at me from just outside of my view.
It was easier to focus on him than down at the disappearing pavement.
Experiencing the moment with Austin felt right. Loosening my attachment to Jesse was also starting to feel better. Sure, the whiplash of emotions I’d experienced over the past two days was intense. But my self-respect was stronger.
Austin’s heavy hand shifted slightly higher up my leg, his palm landing on the middle of my thigh. The action was smooth, unlike my breathing when I realized how close we’d become. The sheer size difference in our thighs stared up at me.
It was astonishing.
The ground below us evaporated as the people on the pier shrank with each movement forward and upward.
Instantly, the busy boardwalk below transformed into a silent film.
Fifty feet off the ground and growing, the widening view of the Chicago skyline and Lake Michigan dissipated my nerves more than expected.
I shivered. Were my body’s unstoppable vibrations caused by the city lights, the atmosphere growing colder with every foot we rose, or Austin? He noticed my weak tremors, transferring his warm touch from my thigh to my shoulder.
“Thank you,” I whispered, touching his knee in answer. “This is really something …”
“I should be thanking you. I haven’t been on this thing in ages. I love the rush.” He looked past me. His gaze left the glass box that lifted us to another world, where sunsets were traded for the stars freckling our horizon.
Silver moonlight backlit his piercing emerald eyes. The ones that captured me, even when they focused elsewhere. For a moment, he looked broken.
Is he holding back?
Desperate for his expression to find me again, I faced him. Looking away felt impossible. Perhaps the evergreen vastness in his eyes—the endless possibilities hidden behind them—kept me entranced.
Maybe Jesse’s screwup had been my path to a man who could make me feel things other than doubt. A man like Austin. I’d have to let him in if I ever wanted to find out.
I shrugged my shoulder free from Austin’s grip, making the man next to me shrivel.
His chin lowered, his immaculate profile angling toward the floor while his hands searched aimlessly for a new resting place.
Austin’s jaw pulsed, and his arms stiffened before he froze.
A look of concern darkened his demeanor.
His body language told me he was desperate for the reason I’d pulled away.
We were out of time, out of space.
About to step out of line.
None of that mattered. My vision tunneled, homing in on the only mouth I could picture tasting. His lips had already taught me so much.
“Do it, bitch,” imaginary Ruthie whispered into my ear.
The heart that kept me alive plunged. I tilted my head and leaned forward, crashing my mouth into his without a second thought. The motion was spring-loaded with softness and desire. Eager yet tender. Austin’s hands quickly magnetized to my cheeks, proving he hungered for more than just a peck.
How could a kiss be so perfect without rehearsal?
There was nothing artificial about the way his tongue purposefully swam around my mouth, like each slow pass sweetened the taste of our connection.
Our taste.
“Fuck,” Austin released into my mouth.
I welcomed it, parting my lips slightly wider. His throaty groan entered my bloodstream, confirming my suspicions. He wanted me.
And clearly, I wanted him too. At least for tonight.
His right hand left my cheek and proceeded to wrap the base of my skull before his fingers slithered upward through my hair. They tightened, securing his grip. Shudders dripped down my spine like molten lust as we tasted each other deeper. I’d never ever been kissed like this. So passionately.
So perfectly.
He tasted so fucking good, his saliva laced with spearmint and a sweet drizzle of alcohol.
Tingles pinballed around my stomach. Austin gently bit down on one side of my bottom lip, moving across it with several small nibbles. Jesus Christ, it felt phenomenal.
I panted into his mouth. Intensity, heat, and a plethora of other foreign feelings collided between my thighs. For once, I let the sensation melt me.
Please don’t end, I begged silently, fiercely kissing him back so he knew exactly what I needed.
Him.
His chest widened, pressing against mine with every powerful inhale he could find between tongue tricks. No way would I be the one to end our connection. It felt too damn good.
He broke it first.
In unison, our lungs gasped for the air we’d stolen from each other.
“Are you sure about this?” he panted. Panic paused on his hungry expression. His jaw hung slightly open while something that looked like terror filled his face.
“Would you think less of me if I asked you not to stop until we reached the bottom?” I admitted.
If kissing Austin was what it felt like to fly, I prayed my feet never touched the ground again. Screw being afraid of heights; leaving the moment behind scared me more.
Austin grinned suggestively, instantly releasing my remaining hesitation into the endless darkness surrounding us.
He leaned forward, this time toward the exposed skin under my chin.
It didn’t matter that the sweater and jacket he’d bought me covered some of my neck; his fingers moved the fabric obstacles out of the way to make room for his hunger.
His longing.
The cool air, mixed with his heated tongue, was heavenly.
He lifted my chin to accommodate the greed controlling his movements.
And mine. Sensations sparked through my entire body in a way I’d never experienced, pushing me past the guilt I no longer felt for a man who had never made me feel the way he did.
“Do you know how long I’ve waited for this?” He spoke into my neck.
My head spun, my body quivered, my breath quickened. I wasn’t dizzy though.
I was free.
I wrapped both arms around his neck, and my fingers explored the tousled waves cresting across his head. I made sure to apply enough pressure to his scalp to ensure my intentions were clear.
Selfishly, the little explorers attached to my palms found their way to his thighs, colliding with the muscular quads I had known would be waiting there. Hard as goddamn stone.
He softly grazed the sensitive stretch of nerves along my lower back, leaving a slew of goose bumps and my nipples on edge as his touch trailed my skin. Every movement was intentional.
Do his job duties in the Navy include soaking panties?
They were known for conquering the seas after all.
Kissing his way from my neck back up to my lips, he hovered over them and stared into my eyes like they were a book he couldn’t stop reading. I’d be his personal fucking library if it meant he kept going.
“I have to stop. I’m … I’m sorry … you’re too damn much for me,” he let out, not so nonchalantly moving a hand to cover his prominent erection.
The bulge growing in his jeans was the only thing thicker than the sexual tension between us. I hadn’t thought much about his cock until that moment, but it was safe to assume it was impressive.
Okay, maybe I had thought about it.
Okay, I’d definitely thought about it.
“If it makes you feel any better, you’re too damn much for me too. That was …”
“Legendary,” he answered for me, raising his fingers to his mouth to capture one last feel of my lips on his.
I swallowed what was left of him on my tongue.
“Legendary.”