Chapter Ten #2
“When I got home, I started thinking about it all. And I know it’s expected that ladies should remain…
pure, but then the wedding night will be such a surprise.
Having no knowledge about any of…that, I feel at such a disadvantage.
So…” with curious eyes, she looked up at him again, only to find his eyes fixated on her.
A warm ribbon of a shiver rippled through her.
“I was thinking that maybe you could do me a favor.”
“A favor?” His voice was low and raspy.
“Just a small one.”
“How small?” he cocked his eyebrow.
“Just a kiss.”
There. She said it. It was out there, in the universe. In his capable hands. He could do what he wanted with it.
“Just a kiss?” he echoed her again while she nodded. “What kind of kiss?”
Oh. She hadn’t expected that question. Um…there were different kinds of kisses? Dash it all. He was scrubbing his hand over his face. She must have crossed a line. What a fool she was.
“Forget I asked,” she mumbled.
“Well, that’s impossible,” he muttered back.
“I’m sorry,” she said as she stood up just wanting to get out of there now.
She had clearly misread the bond between them.
Or she had put too much hope into her request, not realizing how absurd it sounded.
And now that she thought of it, it was asinine.
What kind of lady asked a man to kiss her? She could shoot her own foot off.
His hand latched around her wrist, preventing her from leaving. “Don’t apologize, Nobi. Just let me think for a second.”
“That’s fair.”
“Sit down.”
At his command, she plopped back down next to him.
When his silence continued to dot the air, she decided to speak up again.
“You know, just the kind of kiss that you think a lady should have as her first kiss. On the lips.” She had to qualify that.
She certainly didn’t want to waste asking her favor on a kiss like the one he had previously given her.
Which had been incredible for her, but he had likely forgotten about it already.
“That’s all.” She shrugged, hoping that might convey the cavalier nature of the request.
After a moment, he spoke, “All right.” He turned to face her. “That I can do. Come here.”
“Oh? Um…right now?”
He chuckled. “We could wait…if you want.”
“Uh…no. All right. Now seems fine. Should I just…um…move somewhere? How should I sit?” She wiggled in her seat. “Or umm…what should I do?”
“You don’t need to do anything, Nobi. Just close your eyes.” When her eyes flew open wider, a small laugh trickled out from him again. “Well, that’s the opposite of what I suggested, but if you’d like your eyes open, you can do that of course.”
“Oh well, I don’t…um…want to be strange about all of this.”
“All of this is a little bit strange, but—uh uh uh, don’t apologize—strange is sometimes just perfect.”
She nodded and his hands found her jaw again. This time both hands framed her face.
“I’m going to kiss you now.”
As if nodding was all her body was capable of, her silly head just bobbed up and down again in response to him.
But actually, that wasn’t all her body was capable of.
In fact, her body was capable of a whole lot more than she ever expected.
Namely, a fire burning inside of her and a tightness coiling between her legs.
An ache. Already she was aching for more of him.
Gradually his face drew closer to her, and without her consent, her eyes did close. Initially she had thought she wanted to see every second of this first kiss, but somehow it was more important to feel it.
Just as she felt his breath against her chin, she blurted out with her eyes still closed, “What should I do with my hands?”
“You can do whatever you want.”
“I don’t know what I want to do.”
With a rumble, Chris said, “Put them on my chest for now.”
She couldn’t even bring herself to open her eyes as she reached forward. It was as if she were braver in the dark, without her vision.
Her hands reached his thighs first, a soft pat confirmed that.
Why she had started that low was beyond her current cognitive abilities.
She thought she might have heard a soft grunt from him, but she was too focused on her hands to be sure.
Then she slid them up his abdomen, all the way up to his chest. It was hard…
all of him…but at least she had something to hold onto.
“Are you ready now?” he asked gently.
With a smile, she answered, “Yes.” And she was finally ready. The moment was upon her. She could finally receive her first kiss.
She sensed him moving closer, his face stopped an inch or so from hers, and then a soft graze of his lips brushed against her.
It felt as though a bolt of lightning jolted through her body. Just as fast as it was hot, his lips were gone. And so were his hands from her face.
Her eyes slowly opened, and she dropped her hands into her lap. “Oh…”
“You sound disappointed.”
“Well, no, of course not. That kiss was nice.” She brushed her fingers over her lips. “More than nice. I’ll remember it always. Thank you for showing me what happens between a man and a woman.”
“Wait. You asked for a small kiss. A first kiss for a lady. That’s what I gave you. A man should show you respect and cherish you.”
“Yes, thank you. You are incredibly respectful.” Something flashed in Chris’s eyes. Something dark and fiery. Something she had not seen before. It almost looked like anger, but that couldn’t be right. “At least, I’ll be more prepared for my husband now.”
“Nobi,” he growled, “that wasn’t a kiss to prepare you for a husband.”
“It wasn’t?”
“No,” he ground out the single word as his hands gripped his hair.
“Well, could you show me a kiss…like that?”
His voice sounded strained. “You don’t know what you’re asking.”
“You might be right, Chris, but I really want to know more. I trust you. You wouldn’t hurt me. Could you please show me more?”
His eyes intensified and his voice took on a new kind of reverence.
“I’ll show you anything you want to know, Nobi.
” His hand brushed her cheek, sending tingles up her spine.
“And at any time you can tell me to stop. You need to know that. If you ever ask a man to stop, he should respect you enough to do that.”
“Thank you, Chris.”
They sat for a second gazing into each other’s eyes. There was a mutual understanding passing between them. A vow of some kind, but she couldn’t put it into words.
And then his hand was back on her jaw, the other latched on to her hip. He waited for her to place her hands on his chest, and then he dipped his head and found her mouth. Open on a gasp.