Chapter 28
CHAPTER 28
S avannah
I feel young, and I feel old. The girlish crush I had on Ian has been replaced by something more. Something I could never have anticipated. I don’t know where this will lead, and I don’t want to analyze it because, for tonight, I simply want to love him.
He sets me down on my feet and my toes curl into the plush carpet.
“Let me see you.” The words carry a hint of begging as his voice drops to a husky depth.
His tone caresses me with the coffee-rich sound and elicits a thrill that sends a shiver down my back and raises goosebumps on my skin. I pluck the zipper beneath my arm with shaky fingers as I move to remove my dress. The plastic teeth separate easily. I cross my arms and pinch the fabric at my hips, inching it upward until I’ve clutched the hem. Ever so slowly I pull the garment over my head and in burlesque queen fashion I hold it out to the side of me then drop it to the floor.
He sucks in a breath as my breasts come free. The tips instantly stiffen from the slight change in temperature. Goosebumps surface immediately and skate freely over my skin. Though the Nevada nights hold a chill, warmth flushes my face as I stand bare before him except for the minute covering of a lacy, black thong.
Ian takes a step forward as he reaches out and cups a breast. He awakens a need as he runs his thumb over the puckered tip, but that isn’t his focus. Instead, his eyes bore into mine, infusing me with desire.
“Do you know how fucking beautiful you are, Savannah?”
A flood rushes to my core as his words caress my soul. His words are a bouquet that blooms inside of me, filling me with a rush of emotion that closes my throat and steals my words.
Ian takes my hand and leads me to the bed, and I drift down at the edge. He drops to one knee and leans in, his face mere inches away from mine. Tingles wash over me as he looks deeply into my eyes, and I see things in their depths that he doesn’t let anyone see. He bares his heart and soul, allowing me a ticket to see inside to the man he hides from the world.
Pressing his lips to my forehead, my eyes drift closed as he moves down and places kisses on my temples, cheeks, and the valley at the base of my neck. The touch is light and chaste as he worships at the temple of my body and I respond without will, my spine bowing, arching toward him as my flesh begs for more.
Placing his hands at my waist, he places a kiss to my belly, then pulls back and takes my hand. Pressing his lips to my knuckles he makes me feel royal, like a princess, and it momentarily catches me off guard. It’s such a tender move and the waterfall of emotion it induces threatens to drown me.
I don’t know what I expected. If anything at all I presumed the fervor of a man starved for sex, but I see something in Ian that arouses me and races my pulse. In this new version of him, I better understand his need to love and be loved, and that sweet pain swells my heart.
He stands, then moves to lay on the bed. I put my feet up and push back with my heels until I’m lying beside him.
We’re eye to eye for a moment, then I trace down his body with eager fingers. Shoulder to rib, rib to chest, then down as my hand sails on waves of muscle. I tease along the trail until I reach his hips, then graze with light touches over that delicious V that all women find so damn sexy. A rumbling sound ascends from low in his throat and escapes with a gasp as I slip my fingers inside his sweatpants. He lifts to assist me as I tug at the fabric, then pulls them down over his hips. I push the garment down until it reaches his knees and my efforts halt as he kicks it away in one, swift motion.
My eyes feast on Ian’s body, raking up and down to take in this new version of him. My breath hitches as I discover he’s worked his body into the form of an ancient god; his former thin-railed rockstar shape now completely gone.
I look down and the sight of his cock excites me. He’s stiff as a brick and I enjoy a potent rush of power. It sings through me as I note that it’s me who made him hard as stone. I want to give Ian this experience. I want to tease and taunt him in every way possible, making this time with me something that burns into his heart and mind like a bright red brand.
A devilish feeling comes over me and I’m suddenly more vixen and vamp. I lick my red-stained lips as I move down and close to the swollen crown and exhale a hot breath across his skin. He shudders as the air brushes his most sensitive part and the move sends a jolt that makes his cock jump and further thickens his already rock-hard shaft. I peer up at him, feeling a seductive grin curl onto my lips. The look I give promises him sweet violence and when he touches my shoulder and swallows a gulp of anticipation, I pause for a moment to drink it in.
I feel powerful, like I can save him from himself and the self-deprecation he’s hidden for so long. I’d been such a child that night of the concert, taking what I wanted when we were together. I was selfish. Self-absorbed. Solipsistic. I was hurt because I wanted the notice of a rockstar. Now, all I want is the man.
Memories of how I drove him to the edge that night, then abandoned him, convict me. I want this night to be moonlight and madness. Penance for the sin I committed long ago. That night I took something that wasn’t mine to take and, in return, had been given a most precious gift. He thought me the angel who’d save him from himself. But I took from him when he was most vulnerable, and every action has a reaction. Life changed that night for us both. I’m no more angel than the man in the moon but I can give him wings. I’ll make him soar on a different kind of ecstasy than the one that nearly took him that night. One of pleasure, not pain, helping him soar high enough to see mistakes don’t make a person. It’s how you rise.