She softens, laying on top of me, her hand brushing my cheek. I close my eyes, melting under her touch. “I know, but I hate it,” I groan.
She slips off the bed, and I jolt up. “Where are you going?”
“I’ll grab those drops and put them in your eyes, okay? Sooner or later you’ll thank me. Probably when your contacts stop hurting and making you cry.”
“I never cried!”
“Yes, you did! Last night!” She chukles before disappearing into my closet and pulls on one of my Guns N’ Roses shirts. My lips twitch. It feels like she owns the room and I love it.
She turns around to look at me, grinning at my expression while she walks back to me. “What?”
“Just wondering if I’m dead.”
“What? Why? What’s wrong?” she asks, walking toward me with a worried look. I hold back a smirk and take her hand, pulling her down onto me. “Because I’m talking to an angel.”
“Have I ever told you I hate you? You scared me to death!” she giggles, and I take her face in my hands, kissing her.
Her hands pin to the headboard on either side of my face, her teeth tugging at my bottom lip until I groan. The stereo switches songs—Fleetwood Mac’sThe Chain—and it feels like electricity charges through us.
I press her flush against me. Her hands wander down, reaching the towel around my waist.
“Nova, wait—” I grab her hands gently.
She backs off, worry clouding her big doe eyes. “What?”
“Nothing. Just... you were about to take it off.”
“I know, I—sorry.”
“Shh.” I press a finger to her lips. “It’s not that I didn’t want you to.”
Her gaze softens, hands cradling my face. “Then what?”
I swallow. “We’ve never... you know.”
“Had sex?”
I nod.
“And you’re scared I’ll feel forced.”
Caught, I sigh. “Yeah.”
The next song is none other thanTurning Pageby Sleeping At Last, and Nova slips under the covers beside me, adjusting my towel. Her lips brush my ribs. “I want this. But if you’renot ready, we can wait. I’m in no rush. You’re beautiful, Vincent Cooper.”
Her words melt me. I roll to face her, lifting her chin. “Nova, Iamready. I want this. I want you.”
Her smile lights up the room. She straddles me again, urgent now, her lips feverish against mine. This time, I tug her bottom lip with my teeth, making her moan. My hands trail down to her waist, caressing her soft skin, sliding over the curve of her hips.
“Do you still have those condoms from sex ed?” she breathes against my mouth.
I smirk. “Those expired and I bought new ones. The pharmacist told me these were the best I could get,” I explain, leaning over to open a drawer in the nightstand and pulling out the box of condoms I bought last month.
I hand it to her, and she stares at the box before shooting me a confused look.
“You bought them because you wanted to... uhm...” She trails off before finishing the sentence, looking away to avoid my gaze.
I frown, puzzled. “Because I wanted what?”
