This time I didn’t fight the craziness that whipped through me. I welcomed it. Lazily I traced swirls on his chest, trying to pretend that my heart wasn’t jumping out of my chest. We were alone, and all manner of things could happen between now and sunrise. Like his hand spanning my stomach. I sucked in a sharp breath, waiting…
With soft, purposeful fingers, he found the hem of my t-shirt, hesitating for just a tiny moment before pushing up the material. My skin sparked at his touch. He dipped his sandy head, lightly kissing my exposed belly and letting his teeth graze my skin. My tummy shivered, and the warmth of his lingering breath fanned me in places that made my cheeks flush.
“You’re trembling,” he whispered.
Was this really happening?
Did I want this to happen?
Hell yes.
“I’m trembling because of how much I want this.” I could hardly believe that came out of my mouth.
“You’re sure?” His eyes were flecked with amber and held mine in a steady gaze.
Oh yeah, I was more than sure. If had to attack him, I would. “Don’t stop,” I whispered in a voice barely audible. I wasn’t sure he even heard me.
“Wasn’t planning on it,” he half growled, half groaned.
He had barely touched me and already my body felt highly sensitive. If this was just a prelude of things to come, then I was in for a truckload of pleasure. Last year I would have wanted my first time to have been an idyllic experience. A perfect setting with a big, soft bed scattered with red rose petals and the sweet aroma of flickering candles. Now, I didn’t need or want to be wined and dined. All I cared about was that it was Travis. The where and when were insignificant.
My head fell back as his mouth lavished my belly with kisses. Slowly he made his way up, pushing my shirt inch by torturous inch until it could go no further. I raised my hands above my head, and before I could second guess myself, the shirt was over my head and discarded on the floor. He nuzzled the sensitive alcove of my neck, and I lost my ability to think. Weaving my fingers in his blond hair, I brought his lips to mine in a searing kiss that left me shaken.
Travis kissed me hard and long, and he completely stole my breath away. His kisses filled me with warm fuzzies. I felt lightheaded and weirdly weak-kneed, even though I was lying down. There was nothing rational about the way he made me feel. Reckless. Empowered. And most of all loved.
The taste of him and his touch drowned out the voices of my past, the haunting memories of the facility, and the evil that lived in this world. We broke away just long enough to shed our clothes, piece by piece. He held his arms open and I surprised us both as I spider-monkeyed him, afraid to let go. “I love you, Em,” he whispered. “So much it hurts.”
I swear his lips had the power to change lives, well my life at least. “I love you too,” I murmured, feeling unsure of myself but not how I felt.
Wow. It was still so out-of-this-world to say those words to Travis. I knew how much he cared for me, but I still didn’t feel worthy of that magnitude of love. Not even from a half-demon with awesome kissing powers.
He was sweet, and he let me take the lead. I think he knew how much I needed to be in control when so much of my life had been stripped from me. I loved him that much more for it.
“Are you sure?” he whispered, eyes vibrant in the dark and lit brighter than the sun.
Was I sure that I wanted to do this on his couch with a house full of people?
Umm. It actually never crossed my mind. Maybe later I would think about how exposed we were, but sitting on the couch with the flickering glow of the hearth and Travis’s body to keep me warm, I didn’t have a self-conscious thought. There had been another time when the two of us had sat in the exact same room, me wrapped in blankets with teeth chattering—the day he had saved my life. Now here we were, enfolded in each other. Never in my wildest dreams had I thought that I would be back in his arms, surrounded by his love.
I didn’t want this night to end. I needed Travis tonight as much as I needed oxygen to live. He was essential to my life.
Cocooned under a blanket with the sound of firewood crackling from the fireplace, we explored each other in ways I never knew possible. Being this close to someone was exposing in more than just our nakedness. It was a vulnerability I’d never felt, and a kind of trust I hadn’t had in a long time.
Of course, safety first—you gotta wrap it before you tap it.
Travis removed a condom from God knew where, and the crinkling noise sounded like a bomb in the quiet house. I was sure that everyone knew what we were doing, and I felt my cheeks flush.
I giggled, and it sounded strange coming from me. When was the last time I had giggled like a girl?
It didn’t matter because Travis was kissing me again and there was no room for embarrassment. When he fused our bodies together, there was a sting of pressure followed by a burning, but it didn’t last long, especially with Travis’s lips driving me to distraction.
He rocked his hips, and I bit back a moan.
Fireworks exploded behind my eyes, and my body went tight as immeasurable pleasure rocketed through me from my head to the tips of my toes. Nails digging into his back, I clung to him until the sensation faded.