She nodded.
“Chels, I’m not expecting anything from you.I know I hurt you and it will take time to trust me again—if you trust me at all.I’ll take whatever you’re willing to give me.”
Of course she trusted him.She trusted him in all things, except maybe her heart.But there was no reason she couldn’t enjoy his friendship and his body until her heart had time to be convinced.
Heart pounding, she walked towards him and slipped her hand into his.Without words, they climbed the stairs together and in the corridor outside their bedrooms they paused.
Ethan watched her patiently, waiting.
Letting her decide their future this time.
With a gentle tug, she pulled him into her bedroom.It had always been Ethan for her.
Chapter 14
Chelsea turned to Ethan and slid her hands up his chest to circle the back of his neck.His hands slid gently around her waist, his eyes searching hers.
She smiled at him.“I trust you, Ethan.I want to see if we’ve both improved at this since we were younger.”
His chuckle sent a shot of heat through her.“I can guarantee I’ve improved from the nervous, fumbling teenager I was back then.”
She raised her eyebrows.“Prove it.”
“With pleasure.”His lips touched hers, firm and persuasive, teasing, tempting her to open for him.She willingly did, tasting him, a taste as familiar to her as the coffee she drank every morning.They’d spent hours making out as teenagers and fumbling with clothes, hormones ready, but not sure what to do.
This kiss had none of the messy fumbling, but all the desire as she rose to her toes and met kiss for passionate kiss.
She ran her hands through his short hair as his fingers brushed her waist at the spot her shirt met her waistband, teasing them both.
“More.”She tried to pull away so she could remove her shirt, but Ethan wouldn’t let her go.
“Give me a second, Chels.I’m struggling between wanting to devour you in seconds and savouring you for hours.”He kissed slowly down her neck.“I’ve dreamed about making love to you in so many ways for years.I want to do them all at once and I don’t want to stuff up this first time we’re together again.”
His confession tamped some of the urgency zinging through her body but only ramped up her desire for him.She arched her neck to give him better access and groaned as his tongue tickled her sensitive skin.“I vote for all the ways.We’ve got all night.”
He groaned and captured her lips again, drawing her closer, and shifting them back towards the bed.She slid her hands up his back, feeling his warm, hard muscles under her fingertips.So much harder than the lean teen he had been, and infinitely more so than the few other men she’d been with over the years.
Every inch of him was a warrior.
The back of her legs hit the bed, and he held her steady so she didn’t fall.His fingers deftly undid the buttons of her shirt until it gaped open.He pushed it off her shoulders and she let go of him long enough to let it fall away.
His hands cupped her breasts, thumbs rubbing her already peaked nipples through her sensible cotton bra.Fire raced through her, heating her core as he dipped his head to take one nipple into his mouth.
She moaned, feeling his hardness pressed against her.
“You’re beautiful, Chelsea.”He unclasped her bra and then his fingers and mouth were against her flesh.
Holy mother.Her whole body felt as if it was about to combust.She rubbed against him as her hands struggled to lift his shirt.
He drew back for only long enough to strip off his top before gathering her into his arms.He started to lower them to the bed and paused, a laugh escaping him.
Chelsea blinked.“What?”
Before she could process, he picked her up, and she wrapped her legs around his waist.
“Our first time might have been in that single bed, but we can do better this time around.”
She chuckled.Of course.She hadn’t even processed that in her desire for him.He carried her across the hall to his room and she used the opportunity to nibble on his neck and rub her aching parts against his.
