Her breath shakes.
“I don’t know what I need,” she murmurs.
“It’s alright.” I’m whispering now.
We stare at each other, the space between us crackling harder than the fire. She shifts, and her knee brushes mine by accident. Both of us freeze, our gazes darkening.
Ally’s voice is barely a breath: “Nate…”
“Yes?”
“Can I…” She swallows. “Can I kiss you?”
Her words, in that longed for combination, hits me so hard I nearly forget how to breathe. “Are you sure?” I whisper.
She nods once. “Ask me again when you get closer.”
I shift forward on my knees, stopping just shy of touching her. “Ally. Are yousure?” I ask, not wanting to make any more missteps on the way to everything I’ve ever wished for.
Her gaze drops to my mouth. “Yes.”
I cup her jaw gently. “One more time.”
She leans into my hand, pupils blown wide. “Yes,” she repeats more forcefully.
So I kiss her. Nothing reckless, and nothing stolen this time. Just soft, deliberate pressure, her lips warm and sweet and cautious against mine.
The second her breath catches, I pull back a fraction. Just enough to give her space.
She chases the distance.
Her hand clutches the collar of my shirt, tugging me back into her, mouth opening on a soft, involuntary sound that detonates every nerve ending I have.
This time it isn’t soft.
It’s heat.
It’s years of swallowed longing overtaking us both, and her fingers slipping into my hair as her body starts leaning into mine.
I groan into her mouth, careful even now to check pressure, angle, breath, until she makes a frustrated little noise and swings one leg over my lap, settling astride me in a move that is absolutely not careful.
“Ally,” I breathe against her lip. “We don’t have to -”
“Shut up,” she whispers, sliding her hips against me. “Donotruin this. I know exactly what I’m doing.”
“Then tell me to stop,” I say, eyes locked to hers. “And I’ll stop.”
“If you stop, I’ll scream.” Her mouth crashes into mine again, hot and urgent. Her hands slide under my shirt, dragging over warm skin, and I catch her waist to steady her, my pulse slamming through every inch of my body.
She pants against my jaw. “Take this off.”
I strip her out of my hoodie, my shirt following a heartbeat later. Dad’s flannel and her thermal top comes off next.Christ. She’s now naked from the waist up, her skin flushed gold in firelight, looking like a sin and a blessing all at once.
“Nate,” she whispers, kissing a line down my throat, “please. Fuck me.”
I lift her easily, lay her back on the rug near the fire. Her hair fans out, wild and shining, eyes fixed on me like I’m something she’s been starving for.
“You’re beautiful,” I say before I can stop myself. “God, you’re so fucking beautiful, Ally.”
