Chapter 31 #2
Within ten frantic heartbeats, we’re both naked. Taking my wrists, he presses my palms against his chest and holds them there. Sparks of lust fire through my body.
‘When you taped my finger, I wanted more.’
The thumps of his heart through his ribs.
The gruffness of his voice. The texture of his tongue, the taste of his skin.
Everything about him warms me from the inside out and the outside in.
I slide my hands over his chest and feel the strength in his shoulders and arms. My hands drift via his sternum to his abdomen where his muscles line up.
The planes of his stomach. The leanness of his hips.
I touch him there too, before trailing my fingers to the narrow line of hair that—
He takes my hands and lifts them. ‘I can’t fuck this up.’
I don’t have the strength to drag him onto the bed, but when, keeping hold of his hands, I sit on the edge, he sits too. I consider his handsome face.
‘How did you really hurt your lip?’
A small hesitation. ‘I slipped on the ice.’
‘Summer said you’d been punched.’
‘I won’t lie to you, Lisse.’
‘In other words, you won’t tell me what happened before you fell.’
He leans forward and puts his cheek against mine. ‘It’s not only my secret.’
Sebastien doesn’t tell me everything, but what he says is the truth. I circle his little finger with mine. ‘Can we lie down now?’
When we’re on our sides and facing each other, it’s impossible to ignore the size of his erection as it nudges my thighs.
‘We can have sex now.’ My voice is high.
He pushes hair from my face. ‘It doesn’t have to be tonight.’
‘Why wouldn’t it be?’
Mumbling a groan, he kisses my mouth long and hard.
At first, his hands on my body are achingly careful, but as the pressure builds, as our bodies warm and our breathing deepens, our movements become more and more frantic.
He kisses all the way down my body before kissing all the way up again.
He finds parts of my body I was barely aware of myself.
‘Sebastien …’ My breath expels in a rush.
He looks up. ‘Do you like that?’
I open my eyes. Swallow.
‘Say it, sweetheart.’
‘Yes, Sebastien.’ Another shaky breath. ‘Please do it now.’
‘It?’ A growl.
‘Come inside me.’
After rolling on a condom, he crawls up the bed. Then, propped up on an elbow, he stares into my eyes before taking over my mouth. I’m burning with need and what I need is …
‘Now, Sebastien. Please.’
A nudge. Pressure.
I stiffen.
He freezes.
‘Don’t stop.’
Our bodies are hot and slick. His jaw is tight as he tips up my chin with a thumb. He kisses me slowly and sweetly. He studies my face before rolling me onto my back and bringing a leg over both of mine.
‘I want you to do what I say.’
‘What?’
‘Kiss me.’
A gentle kiss, a giving kiss. A grateful ‘thank you for wanting me even though I’m no good at this’ kiss.
And as I kiss him, he strokes between my thighs again.
First with his fingers, then his erection.
I soften beneath him, my body heats to flashpoint.
It’s supposed to be my kiss, but he strokes his tongue against mine in rhythm to the strokes between my thighs.
The pressure builds and then I want more.
‘Sebastien …’ A plea against his mouth.
‘You’re so fucking sweet.’ His voice is hoarse.
He groans as I drape my leg around his hip and pull him into my body. My breasts are against his chest. Everything slots into place. For the count of three or maybe three thousand, our eyes lock. I touch his wet mouth with a finger.
‘This is nice.’
With a not quite steady hand, he threads his fingers through my hair and pushes it back.
‘This is the first time.’
‘We slept together on the ship.’
His kiss is hard and possessive. ‘Not like this.’
I draw a wobbly line from his forehead to his chin. ‘No.’
‘We do this again.’
‘Yes, Sebastien.’
He glides slowly, climbs quickly, soars and plummets and dives. He whispers endearments in a language I don’t understand. Sometimes he stills and looks at me in wonder as if …
‘I have more,’ he whispers. ‘It’s yours.’
I’m not exactly sure what he’s talking about, but more can only be good. I can rely on him. I can trust him.
The thought has barely formed when he grasps my hips and rolls us over so, still joined, I’m lying on top of him. When I sit, he cups my breasts. Lifting his head, he kisses one nipple then the other.
‘I like to see you.’
‘You’ve done this a lot, haven’t you?’
He trails a hand up my side, my arm, my shoulder. He takes hold of my hips. ‘Not like this.’
Whenever I think there can’t be more, he proves me wrong. Tossing and turning and tumbling as the world expands around us. North and south and east and west. Trembling and breathless, I cry out. A few heartbeats later, muscles bunched, breaths harsh, he follows.
As I collapse against him, as the tremors subside, he strokes my back and shoulders. Then, keeping our bodies linked, he rolls us onto our sides again. I admire his handsome face, run my hands down his neck to his chest and lay my palms flat.
‘You don’t need to ask me if I’m all right.’ I run a finger across his mouth. ‘I am.’
‘Do I ask too many questions?’
‘You can make a statement instead.’
He studies my face. ‘You have sixteen freckles.’
‘It’s too dark to see.’
‘I counted them when we were on the ship.’
‘I might have more now.’
‘I’ll count again tomorrow.’
He smiles and my heart swells.