94. Summer #3
“Then put me down,” I whisper, though it’s through a soft moan. He slowly lowers me to my feet, my body sliding down his.
“This is hard for me, to see you even near others,” he says, cupping my cheeks.
I nod, and he leans in, pressing his forehead to mine.
“It’s hard when you’re not mine. Not yet, anyway.
” I look up at him and place my hands on his chest, wishing I could feel his steady heartbeat, and still my stomach flutters and my core ignites.
I move past him and walk to sit on my bed.
He tracks my movement and hesitates only for a moment before he comes and sits next to me.
I exhale heavily, and he takes my hand, sandwiching it between his much larger ones.
I don’t look at him. I can’t because every time I do, something inside me sparks, and it’s fucking terrifying.
But when he brings my hand to his lips and kisses my knuckles, I can’t stop myself from looking at him.
He cups my cheek, staring at me with such intensity I swear I can see his eyes sparkle.
“No kissing anyone,” I say, leaning my cheek into his palm. “I promise.”
“And I assume that goes for me too?” he says, his lips twitching .
“You’ve already said it’s a hard boundary,” I say, scowling up at him.
He chuckles. “I mean, you don’t want me to kiss others?”
Jealousy claws down my spine. What is this feeling? I’ve never cared before. He kisses my palm, but anger surges through me.
“You can do whatever you want,” I practically snarl, yanking my hand out of his.
“Is that right?” he asks smugly, moving closer and catching my hand again.
“Yes,” I say, bristling.
He brings my hand back to his lips and kisses my knuckles again. “You’d be fine knowing I kissed someone else?” he asks.
“Do what you want.” I strangle a snarl, trying to shove down the jealousy. It is such an unreasonable emotion, and right now it has its claws embedded in me.
One moment he is beside me and then, in the blink of an eye, I’m beneath him, and he’s pinning me to the bed. “Is that what you really want to say?”
I glare up at him, trying not to enjoy how his weight feels on top of me.
He pinches my jaw. “Say it,” he growls down at me.
The anger burns inside me. “Kiss whoever you want. Fuck her if you want,” I say, and the words are acidic and lined with venom. They make my stomach churn as I choke them out.
“You know what you want to say. What do you want to ask?” he demands, digging his fingers in harder.
I snarl at him again.
He leans in closer, his lips just hovering over mine. “Ask me not to kiss anyone. Touch anyone. Fuck anyone.”
“Why?” I ask, though I still don’t fight back beneath him like I used to.
“So I can hear you say it,” he says. There is a gruffness, a danger in his voice that makes my core heat. I desperately try to hold back, but the freedom of speaking my truth is too liberating to resist, and every bit of my resistance is crumbling before him.
“Don’t?.?.?.” I start, but the words lodge in my throat.
“Don’t what?” he whispers against my lips.
“Don’t . . . kiss anyone else.”
“I won’t,” he says, and while I’m expecting to hear that maddening smugness, there is only relief .
I should stop here, but I don’t. “Or touch anyone else.” Even the thought of it makes me murderous, the darkness roiling inside me.
He nuzzles into the crook of my neck. “I won’t.”
“Or fuck anyone,” I say.
“I won’t,” he says, and I can feel his smile against my skin. “Nor have I.”
“What?” I ask, closing my eyes.
“Since I first saw you, first inhaled the whisper of you, there has been no one else. There never will be.”
I groan. “You can’t be on top of me right now.”
He presses a kiss to my neck and then rolls off me reluctantly.
I exhale heavily. “Thanks.” Disappointment lines my voice, even though he was only following my wishes and respecting my boundaries. Why the fuck start now, Stranger? But then he pulls me on top of him, his hard body beneath me.
“Better?” he asks. Obviously, he didn’t like the distance between us either.
“A little.”
“I’m no longer on top of you,” he says with a smirk.
“No, but I can still feel every ridge of your hard, muscled body beneath me.” I try to move off him, to make this easier on both of us, but he tightens his arms around me.
I am somewhat relieved by his pushback at the edge of the boundaries.
It feels normal. It feels safe for some reason, and it makes me feel wanted.
“I like you jealous.”
“I like you naked,” I say, the words slipping past my lips before I can stop them, and my cheeks heat immediately.
He chuckles, the sound heavy with surprise.
“Fuck, I’m so horny.” I groan.
His moan is so low and desperate that the shockwave of desire it sends through me is almost painful. I roll off him, and this time, when he lets me, I bury my face in my pillow.
“You have to go,” I say, my voice muffled.
His hand trails along the back of my neck before he leans over and bites my shoulder. His hand comes down on my ass, spanking me hard. The stinging impact vibrates through my body, coalescing in the burn of the bite mark on my shoulder.