“Yes.” I swallow, and he eats up the distance between us, stealing my breath with a kiss that consumes me.
When he breaks the kiss, his hands cup the sides of my face, his thumb gently stroking the sides of my face.
“I know we’ve only taken this step in our relationship recently, but I’ve been thinking about this for years, Lise. I’m serious about you, about us, about a future. I’m worried I may beten steps ahead of you, but I’ll wait for you to catch up if I need to. The only thing that matters to me is that I get you. All of you.”
I stare up at him, his words wrapping around my heart. I’ve never felt this way about anyone I’ve been with in the past. I’ve never felt consumed by them in a good way. With Sebastian, I know I can be completely and truly myself, with no judgment. He’s seen me in my teen years, when I was a mess, and he’s still standing here telling me he wants me.
I feel like I’ve lost my mind even thinking the word love, but it’s there, on the tip of my tongue, begging to be released. I hold it back, though. I’m not ready for those feelings to be out in the open. Speaking them means they can hurt you. I want to stay in this comfortable little bubble for a while longer before we have to head back to the city and reality hits us.
TWENTY-THREE
SEBASTIAN
Staring at Annalise and her lust-filled eyes is something I’ll never take for granted. I want nothing more than to bring her back to the cabin and spend hours worshiping her. I run my fingers through her hair, loving the way it feels between my fingers. I lean down and place a soft kiss on her lips, wanting the gravity of my words to set in. I’ve laid it all out for her. Told her how I feel, even if she’s not there yet.
Her eyes flutter closed with each pass of my hand through her hair, a soft, content sigh leaving her. One last pass of my hand through her hair, and I trail my hand down her arm and link my fingers with hers, taking a step back and start heading to back to the cabin.
Back at the cabin, I lead her into the living room and help her settle on my lap. She comes with me, leaning into me as I hold her, both of us lost in our thoughts.
After a few minutes, she pulls back and asks, “Play a game with me?”
“Of course.”
“So it’s not really a game, but I was thinking we could tell each other little truths we might not know about each other. It’s been so long, and I’ve missed so much of your life.”
I grin at her. “I’ll take any opportunity to learn more about you.”
“Wanna go first?” she asks, rolling her lips.
I tip my head back, trying to pick something to tell her. “I have a fake social media account,” I say.
She quirks her head in curiosity.
“When we left here after that trip, you blocked me on everything. I made a fake account to get whatever updates about you I could get.”
“I kind of like knowing that you still wanted to know about me after that trip.”
“I was so mad I had to back away from you that night. I wanted to pull you into a dark room and show you I felt the same way you did. It was like a stab to the gut when I went online and couldn’t find you. I immediately made a new account. It was hard at times. It seemed like you had zero care we weren’t speaking anymore.”
She shakes her head. “I cared. It took me months to feel somewhat normal. It wasn’t until Walker left for university that I didn’t feel this constant empty feeling. Every time he walked in the door, I’d wonder if you were coming with him. I was always worried I’d have to face that rejection again.” She runs her fingers through my hair. “I was grateful you kept your distance from our house, though. At the time, I thought it was because you were worried I’d try to kiss you again or say something, but I’m realizing now it’s because you were in pain.”
I twist my head and kiss her palm. “Your turn,” I whisper.
She sighs. “I stopped eating hot dogs after that Christmas. Every time I’d try, I’d remember you in our backyard in the summer roasting them before making some elaborate thing, piled with so many different ingredients. I always need to eat burgers when we do barbeques now.”
My lips curl up at the corners. “Glad to know I left an impression.”
Her fingers continue playing with the ends of my hair, her smile matching mine. “You’ve always left an impression,” she says.
My finger slowly drags up her arm, and I ask, “You want a less than decent admission?”
“Always.”
My fingers move higher up her arm, across her shoulder, up her cheek and tuck a piece of stray hair behind her ear. “That night, when I was in the shower, the reason I was in there so long was because I was jerking off to the thought of kissing you. It’s not the only time, though. I’ve done it every night of this trip that I didn’t spend in your bed.”
She leans in, her lips just grazing the shell of my ear as she whispers, “I’ve spent every night since we’ve been here with my fingers or a vibrator between my legs thinking about what it would be like to be filled by your cock. You far exceeded expectations.”
I’m hard as a rock. There’s no way I can sit here thinking about all the times I’ve fisted myself with images of Annalise in my mind and not be hard, but add Annalise’s words, and I’m damn near on the verge of coming in my pants. She nips at my ear, and one of my fantasies flashes through my mind, and I decide to tell her all about it.
