Chapter 44
Chapter Forty-Four
AUGUST
S he drops her hand from my face the moment I finish speaking and I take it as a bad sign. I’ve never been more nervous in my life. As a matter of fact, I don’t get nervous. Ever. Until the moment I found this girl. This woman who’s become such an important part of my life. I don’t understand my feelings for her, but I’m trying. Instead of running away from it, running away from her, I’m coming to her and laying myself bare.
Vulnerability doesn’t come easy for most men, but especially Lancaster men. I’m not what anyone would describe as a sensitive person. Quite frankly, I’m an unfeeling bastard and have always been okay being perceived as such. Until it came to her.
Sinclair.
I never understood the saying pins and needles until now. My skin prickles and stings the longer she takes to answer and my head swims. The possibility that she could say no never crossed my mind, but she might. I need her like I need air, but does she need me? Does she want me, or is my past treatment of her too big to ignore ?
She hasn’t kicked me out of her bed yet so I take that as a good sign.
When she takes a deep breath, I can feel her chest rise against mine. I’m attuned to her every little movement. The way she breathes. How often she blinks. Her tongue peeks out, the tip touching the center of her upper lip, and I can’t take it anymore. I’m about to say something most likely risky as fuck that could possibly ruin everything but she speaks first.
Thank God.
“I forgive you,” she murmurs, her lids lifting and revealing her shiny golden gaze. She even smiles, her body shifting. Rising until her mouth is level with mine. “I forgave you a while ago, I just hadn’t said it out loud yet.”
“Thank you.” I crush her to me, burying my face against her fragrant neck, my eyes closed so tightly it hurts. “Thank you.”
She wraps her arms around me, her hands sliding into the hair at the back of my head and when I lift my head to look at her, our mouths meet. Melt into each other in a sweet kiss that I try to keep that way, but it’s so fucking hard. She tastes delicious and when our tongues meet, that’s it. A groan sounds deep in my chest, the kiss going from sweetly sexy to filthy in an instant. I want to consume her and I do, thrusting my tongue in her mouth, searching. My hands wandering, gathering the hem of her T-shirt, desperate to touch her bare skin. She’s warm and smooth and she helps me get rid of her shirt, tossing it over her head so it lands on the floor.
My hands on her hips, I shift her into position so she’s sitting on top of me and I’m lying on my back on the mattress, opening my eyes to find her already watching me. My gaze drops to her chest, her perfect tits encased in pale pink lace, and I can see her nipples straining against the thin fabric. My mouth waters and I run my hands along her waist, cupping her breasts, rubbing my thumbs across her nipples. She arches into my hands, her head falling back, exposing the length of her neck, and I lift up. Licking a path along her throat, nibbling the spot where her neck meets her shoulder and making her hiss in a breath.
Reaching around her, I mess with the clasp until I’ve got the bra undone and she shrugs out of it, tossing it onto the floor so it lands on top of her T-shirt. Within seconds, my mouth is on her skin, licking and sucking one nipple, then the other. She holds me to her, whimpering when I pull extra hard with my mouth and I wonder if she knows how much I want to devour her. I can’t get enough.
My need for her is so strong I’m willingly doing this in her twin bed in her dorm room for the love of God. I don’t fuck girls in dorm rooms. Not even random ones. For Sinclair? I’ll make the exception.
“You sure your roommate isn’t coming back soon?” I lift away from her nipple, glancing up at her. Her cheeks are pink and her eyes are hazy. She looks overcome with lust, and God, I’d love to take a photo of her right now and capture this moment, this feeling forever. But reaching for my phone will ruin the moment.
I’m not about to risk it.
She tugs at my shirt and I lift up, removing it quickly. She’s wearing thin pants and she’s pressing her hot pussy against my erection, driving me out of my mind. I want to get rid of our clothes and fuck her senseless, but I also want to prolong the moment. Drag it out. Make it last because it feels like we’re running on limited time. Is that because her roommate could return at any moment or is it because I’m worried about something else? Like the possibility that I might lose her?
I don’t know. And I don’t want to think about it either.
I fuse my mouth to hers to drown out my thoughts, my hands on her hips so I can shift her against my cock. She grinds against me, driving me out of my mind with lust and I worry I won’t be able to keep this up much longer. I’m gonna blow like a fucking kid who has zero control but that makes sense. When it comes to Sin, I’m a wreck.
When I’m about to slip my hands into her panties, there’s a knock on the door. It’s subtle. Quiet. Nothing like the way I banged on her door not even thirty minutes ago. We both pause mid-kiss, breathing into each other, silent as we wait for whoever it is on the other side of the door to leave.
There’s another knock and I release an aggravated exhale, ready to tell whoever it is to get the fuck out of here, but Sinclair rests her hand over my mouth, silencing me.
“They’ll go away,” she whispers, her wide-eyed gaze meeting mine and I nod, refraining from calling out. Enjoying the way that she’s touching me too much to ruin the moment.
“Sinclair? Are you in there?”
Fuck me, I’d recognize that voice anywhere. It’s Tim. I knew that prick was headed over to see her. That’s why I didn’t hesitate and got here before he did. Thank Christ.
The panicked look on Sinclair’s face tells me she recognizes his voice too and she doesn’t know how to handle it. Gently I remove her hand from my face, dropping a kiss on her palm before I whisper, “Let me take care of this.”
She nods, not saying a word, and I remind myself as I remove her from my lap and climb off the bed that I need to remain in control. I can’t go all rage-bro and unleash on him. Despite the fact that I think he’s a dipshit and I hate that he believes he has a chance with Sinclair, he is also a fraternity brother and there are rules. Especially since I’m the frat president.
God, I wish I’d never taken on the responsibility but what’s done is done. I need to act like a dignified leader when I open this damn door.
Slowly, I turn the lock and crack open the door, peeking around it to find Tim standing there with a hopeful look on his face. All that hope dies the second he spots me and I open the door farther, letting him see that I’m shirtless. My hair is a mess and I’d guarantee I look like I’ve been fucking around with Sin.
“Hey, Tim.” My voice is easy because it feels good to win. “What’s up?”
“Uh.” He shoves his hands in his pockets and shuffles his feet. “I was looking for Sinclair.”
“She can’t talk right now.” I smile, wondering if he can see my dick straining against the front of my jeans. I’m sure he can if he looks. “She’s a little—preoccupied. And not properly dressed.”
“Yeah. Okay. I get it.” Tim pulls his hands out of his pockets and lets his arms hang at his sides, utterly defeated. “I guess you win.”
“I guess I do.” I grin at him like the fucking maniac I am and let the door shut, enjoying the way it slams with a finality I feel down to my soul. That little fucker better stay away from what’s mine.
I turn to find Sin sitting in her bed with the comforter pulled up to her chin, her eyes huge. “What did you say to him?”
“I told him to get the fuck out of here.” I grin for real this time and undo the front of my jeans, getting rid of them in seconds. I rejoin her in the bed and pull her to me, flipping her over so she’s beneath me. “Now where were we?”
She arches against me, her lids falling to half-mast, looking every inch the sexy siren that she is. “Please don’t tell me you forgot.”
“Like I could,” I mutter.
Just before I attack her.