I tipped her chin, needing to see her. When our eyes met, I was certain they were mirror images of hunger and want.
My heart pounding, I bent down and put my lips to hers. I kept the kiss soft, closed-mouth, a feather of a touch.
She stood on tiptoes and pushed for more, so I took it even deeper. She let out a breath and my tongue slid inside her mouth, tasting her. Wasabi and cranberry from the cosmo commingled with her strawberry gloss, and I was ravenous for more. She was soft, silky perfection, not like me. I was rough around the edges, but I pushed my fears of snagging on her to the back of my mind. I wasn’t going to let my jagged imperfections get in the way.
The microwave beeped, her tea long forgotten, disturbing our moment. I wanted to take a baseball bat to it. Charli simply raised her hand, hit a button, and brought the hand back to wander my cheek.
I leaned forward and whispered in her ear. “God, what you do to me. Do you get it? I’ve been chasing you across the whole country just for that moment.”
Her knuckles grazed my chin, my stubble prickling her smooth skin. “I’m sorry we waited so long.”
“I’m not. Good things are worth the wait. The best is worth waiting even longer.”
“You’re the only one who ever got to me, made me believe I could have it all.”
“You can,” I assured her.
But could I? Where was this going?
I refused to let my overactive mind ruin this moment so I bent back down to taste her, my hand weaving through her long hair and around her neck. I kissed along her cheek and jawline, licking and sucking my way to her ear. I ran my nose over her skin, inhaling her scent, stopping right at the tat.
“What’s this?” I nibbled on her ear, unable to make my lips or teeth stop.
“Some people call it the maloik, or the evil eye,” she said, closing her eyes as she tilted her head back. “It supposedly wards off evil curses and provides protection and clarity. I needed it for me. To remind me not to curse myself.”
My lips grazed the eye and murmured, “Christ, you’re perfect.”
My erection pressed against her stomach, and when I leaned into her, she climbed my leg so it hit her where it mattered. I grabbed her ass and lifted her, thrilled when she wrapped her legs around my waist and moaned.
My hand found its way inside the back of her jeans, exploring the globes of her ass. Firm, smooth, more perfection. Then she pressed harder into me, and for a second, I feared blacking out.
She pulled back an inch and murmured, “Let’s go to my room.”
“Which way?”
“Back there.”
I carried her, her legs locked around me, our mouths fused.
She hit the light switch as I crossed the threshold, revealing a bed that was a sea of lilac and pillows. I laid her down and used my arm to swipe the pillows on the floor, and then I simply stared at her for a beat. Charli, her chest rising and falling, her hair splayed all around her in a golden wash over the lavender, her lip gloss smudged on her lips.
I stretched out next to her, still in the habit of not lying on top, even though I hadn’t fucked someone in months. There were only two women since I’d met Charli—one-night stands, blah and boring. My vision turned red for a moment as my thoughts ran to Charli with someone over the last few months.
“You okay?” she asked, pushing the hair off my forehead with her delicate fingers.
I nodded. I knew better than to start this talk right now. She didn’t think I was going to forgive her; she wasn’t going to wait for me. And I didn’t think she’d ever walk back my way with how fast she ran away.
I slipped my hand under her sweater and explored the expanse of her smooth, flat stomach. Inching up toward her breasts, my finger traced her bra as my mouth found hers again. I wanted to get closer, to feel it all.
“Can I take this off?”
This time she nodded and I tugged her sweater over her head, then slid my hand over her hot pink bra. I pulled the right cup down and made my way toward her nipple with my tongue. I licked and laved, sucked and nibbled. She moaned and arched. It was a wet dream come to life.
Charli turned a little more on her side and ran her hands under my Henley and up my back, skin to skin. I stopped kissing her to rest my forehead on hers, and took a deep breath. I knew what was coming and braced myself.
She pulled my shirt off, keeping her eyes on me the entire time. I stared back, hoping she wouldn’t look at my body. I wasn’t sure why; it wasn’t so bad anymore. A little extra skin around my love handles. A scar on my pec from when I fell playing soccer when I was little. Someone’s cleat caught my shirt, digging right through it into my flesh, and I needed fifteen stitches.
I was so caught up in my memories, Charli caught me by surprise when she ran her tongue over my flat nipple, her finger tracing that scar.
