“Blake,” I whisper his name like I’ve practiced so many times when I’m alone. “Thank you.”
Now, it’s his eyes that are welling up with tears. “Do you know how much I love hearing you?” He shakes his head as he taps into my phone with a marked aggression.I have to tell you something I’ve been waiting to say for quite some time.His eyes press into mine. “I am in love with you, Annie Edwards.” He holds my gaze, his lips curving into a brilliant smile.I love you. I’d move entire cities, rearrange the continents to keep you safe—in my arms—he leans in ever so close—in my bed. You’re the woman I want by my side for the rest of my life. And that I can say with certainty.Blake points to himself then crosses his arms over his chest before pointing to me—the ASL sign forI love you. He breaks out in a giant grin, his eyes never leaving mine.
My lips tremble as I bite down on them. I love you, too.I sign back just the way he did. Blake’s eyes enlarge. And now I’d like to teach him something new. I hold up my hand with my middle and ring fingers down, horns up (pinky and forefinger), thumb out.
“Rock on?” He shakes his head as his grin spreads wide.
Shorthand for I love you.I show him my phone.
He holds up his hand, mirroring mine. “I love you,” he mouths before his lips cover mine.
Blake pulls back a moment. “I want everything with you, Annie.” He glances down at my body then up again. “If you’re feeling ready to move things along, so am I. This is about us.” His mouth moves slowly, methodically. “I want you to feel comfortable. I would never force you to do something you didn’t want.”
A coy smile creeps up the side of my face.I’m ready to move things along. I’m putting down the phone now.I shake it a moment before setting it on the coffee table.
“Okay.” A slow, sexy grin flirts with his lips. Blake knows how to smile with his entire being. The joy on his face shines through like the sun, and it makes me feel amazing knowing I put it there. “But how about we work our way up to the big event,” he mouths carefully. “I want to do something beautiful that you won’t forget.”
Sounds like more waiting to me. I don’t stop the disdain from taking over my face as I reach for the phone, but Blake gently lands his hand over mine.
“You said you were putting it down.” He pulls us to the rug in front of the fireplace. The flames blink on and off so quick they look like an illusion. “There’s something I’ve wanted to do for you.” Blake reaches over and grabs a guitar from the corner. That sad ache returns to his eyes. “Annie, I want to sing just for you.” Tears come to him again because it hurts him to know I can’t hear it.
I nod and get on my knees. My fingers grip the bottom of his T-shirt, pulling it right off his body before he can protest.
I hold a finger up and do the same to my sweater. Blake blows out a breath as his eyes roam over my pale skin, my pink lace bra that shows my nipples right through. I straddle him from behind and lay my chest over his bare back, dotting a kiss to his ear. Gently, I cup my hand over his throat.
“Go,” I whisper in his ear.
Blake turns and stares into me sweetly with that constant look of anguish alive in his gaze. I wish it didn’t pain him that I can’t hear, but knowing that it does makes me want him ten times more.
His fingers strum the guitar, and I feel the slight buzz trickle through his body to mine. Blake starts in on a slow song and my hand, my chest, vibrates with a warm beautiful rhythm. I close my eyes and let Blake’s body slowly rock me while the throbbing of his voice penetrates my bones. This moment, right here, is the one that binds our souls together. Blake strums his way into my life one note at a time, headed toward that special place where his existence becomes inextricably linked with mine, his life an indelible part of who I am. Blake sings for a beautiful livelong hour. These are the same songs, the same vibrations I’ve felt at the Black Bear while pressed against the wall. All those lonely nights I was desperate for any part of Blake and deep down I was afraid those quivering pulses that were once meant for hundreds of girls in that room are now just for me.
He pulls the guitar strap off his shoulders and glides the instrument back into the corner. Blake twists into me until I’m kneeling in front of him. His eyes do a quick sweep of my partially clad body. His lips curve in approval. I reach back and clasp my fingers to the back of my bra.
Blake shakes his head. His eyes never leaving mine. “That’s my job.” His grin expands as his hands find mine, and he unhooks my bra. Carefully he slips it off, his eyes still trained on mine. I lean back, inviting him to see me like this. The cool cabin air licks over my body, but my skin burns alive under the supervision of his heated gaze.
“Annie”—he shakes his head just barely as he examines me—“you are so beautiful.”
A groan emits from deep in my core. I love reading his lips. I die a little when he says things like that. Both Blake and his lips are perfect.
My gaze drops down to his bare chest. Blake has wide set shoulders like a linebacker. His abs alone are enough to hold my attention for weeks on end. I trace my finger from his neck to his rock hard stomach, dripping down slow as six weeks.
He touches his finger to his lips before dropping it over my nipple. “I’m going to kiss you right there.”
I can feel a string of giggles trying to bubble their way up my throat, but I won’t let them. I want to tell him that he doesn’t need to ask—that an invitation isn’t needed to a single one of my body parts. He can have them all. They’re all his, for his pleasure alone. I don’t need them anymore. I only need him.
My hands cup the side of his face as I rub over his stubble with my thumbs.
“Blake Daniels,” I whisper. “I love you.”
His lips tremble. His eyes flood with tears as he comes at me with a kiss. His mouth falls over mine, hot and weighted. His tongue gently slips next to mine before we engage in a familiar dance we’ve been spinning in for weeks. Kissing Blake is a high all its own. His juicy kisses linger before he runs his fiery mouth down my neck. Blake hikes me over his hips as his mouth finds a home over my left nipple, and I give an aching gasp, struggling to breathe, struggling to get my bearings.
Oh, God. I can’t think or move or catch my next breath. My lids flutter as I glance down at his dark hair moving slowly over my chest. This, right here, is enough to push me over the edge. A pent up energy envelops me all at once, and my body demands to explode. In a minute I’m going to embarrass myself and orgasm right over his lap. Should girls have orgasms while their boyfriend’s mouths are getting familiar with them? Definitely a question for Kaya—or Marley for that matter. For now I evict the thought from my mind. My voice box trembles out a moan as I try to put a cap on it.
Blake grows in his jeans, and I can feel his hardness beneath my thigh. I slip my legs around his back and touch my hand over him there. I want him—every last inch of him tonight. There’s not a thing he could possibly do in the future to make this moment any more special. His mouth speeds back up my body as he licks a line from my neck to my temple. A soft series of puffs emit into my ear, and I can tell he’s whispering, forgetting all about my inabilities because Blake, unlike the rest of the planet, seems to see right through them. I pull back and take him in with his lustful gaze, those seductive tired eyes, glassy with red tracks.
“I love you,” he mouths it plain as day, and, in a remarkable way I hear him right in my heart where it really counts.
I pull back and sign with all my might.I love you, too.
