25. Shiloh #3
Ledger is a toes-first kind of guy, and that’s okay with me.
In fact, I think it’s better, and my plan still stands.
I’m not attaching myself to a man again without thought.
But this time I’m more intentional, and this time it’s with a man who has more intention in his pinky than anyone I know — and I already married him.
“Yes, I’m sure,” I whisper.
He kisses my cheek and pulls my dress off the rest of the way, carefully setting it on the dresser next to us. He grabs my wrists and lifts my arms above my head before dragging his knuckles down my arms, over my ribs, stopping at my waist.
I drop my arms around his neck and he stoops down to kiss me again. We taste and savor every inch of each other until I’m so weak in the knees he has to hold me up.
He lifts me and walks us to the bed. My stomach flips and I gasp as we fall into the soft comforter.
My trembling hands push through his hair while he stares at me as if he’s waiting for answers I’ve already given him.
“I’ll take care of you, Shy. I promise,” he rasps.
My throat tightens, and he kisses me before trailing his mouth down my neck again, stopping at my chest, resting his mouth over my heart, and my eyes burn. I blink rapidly, trying to push them away.
I reach for his shirt, and he sits up to let me untuck it. Then freezes, wiping my tear.
“What’s all this?” he asks.
I shake my head and continue working the buttons on his shirt until it falls open.
“Tell me,” he commands.
I look up at him and blink away the burn. “I’m okay, please,” I rasp.
He leans back slightly. “Not if I’m making you cry,” he says.
I take a shaky inhale and say, “You’re such a good man. I’m a little overwhelmed is all.”
He blinks and grabs my hand, resting it over his chest. “I’ve chased bad guys, I’ve run from angry bulls, and I’ve been in firefights. But none of them have made my heart race the way you do.”
I inhale sharply, wondering how I got here, how I got so lucky.
“Say the word and we’ll stop,” he rasps.
I take the edges of his shirt, pushing them off. “If you think the word stop is going to come out of my mouth, then you don’t know me very well.”
He chuckles and launches himself at me. The rest of his clothes disappear, and mine follow until all that’s left is skin separating our beating hearts.
Ledger’s eyes grow heavy, taking me in, and I lift my hand, dragging it over his chest, the hair scratching my palm.
“Beautiful,” he rasps.
I need him now.
Sitting up, I clutch the back of his neck, pulling him down to me.
He fits himself between my legs, and I gasp as our bodies brush.
“I want you,” I rasp.
He hums, kissing me, and it feels primitive. Claiming. Ruining.
His hand slips between my thighs, and I tip my head back on a moan. But it’s not enough. I feel empty without him.
“I need more,” I breathe. “I need you.”
He leaves me for a minute, pulling his side table drawer open and rummaging around in it until he finds what he’s looking for.
He rips the package open with his teeth.
When he’s done, he crawls back over me and hems me in between his strong arms. My ankles lock at the base of his spine in a silent plea for him to connect us.
His hips angle, pushing into me, and my eyes roll back.
He curses, and I grasp for purchase, digging my nails into his skin as he moves slowly, watching me unravel beneath him with short, deliberate thrusts.
I trail my fingers lightly over the back of his neck, and his hips buck.
I sigh, and he captures it with his mouth, building a rhythm between us. It’s slow and intentional. I can feel everything between us. It’s too much and not enough.
He groans long and low.
My eyes spring open at the sound. I want to hear it again.
I lift my hips to meet his thrusts, and he makes the same sound, burying his nose in my neck.
“Shy,” he grunts into my skin.
“I could get lost in you,” I say, breathless. My eyes slip closed, astonished by every spark and graze of our bodies.
There are no words. My heart feels as if it lifted from my chest.
My body is desperate for him, and he’s giving me everything.
He lifts his head and looks me in the eye, propped up with one arm while his other hand holds my hair back, and I grip onto his ribs.
Without words, as if our bodies have their own language, pick up speed. I can feel the edge, and the longing in his eyes undoes me.
Mouths closer, breaths short, and seeking. “Let go for me, baby,” he rasps, hips quickening in pace, somehow deeper, stronger.
His hand slips between us, and I let go, giving into the indescribable emotions building as we fall deeper and deeper, plunging beneath the depths of each other.
We ride the wave together, wringing it out for all it’s worth.
He stares at me as I take him in, and the jagged pieces of myself soften.
Our mouths meet again, and the flicker of heat builds between us once more.
I don’t want to let him go. As much as it scares me, that seed sprouts roots again and they latch on to all the doubts I’ve lived within my life. I need to snip them for good.