Maybe they need to be spoken out loud. “It feels like this is moving so fast I can’t keep up,” I say.
“Because when we’re together, it’s like no time has passed.” He places his hand beneath my chin and tilts my head up so I meet his gaze. “Stop overthinking, Tara. Let those walls down,” he says in a husky voice.
Oh, God. I really can’t resist him. Rising onto my tiptoes, I press my lips to his, and he lets out a low groan. Next thing I know, he lifts me, and I wrap my legs around his waist, holding on. I bury my face in the crook of his neck and breathe in his scent, one I dream about every night when I am alone.
“Bedroom?” he asks.
I direct him, and he carries me to my room with determined strides. “Close the door, or we’ll have company you don’t want.”
He kicks the door shut behind us. “Unless you’re replacing me as your girlfriend with Dakota?” I laugh at the thought but sober quickly as my chest rubs against his, my nipples feeling the pressure of his hard body as I move.
“You’re irreplaceable,” he says, tossing me onto the bed.
I bounce and glance up to find his expression filled with yearning.
He clasps my legs and yanks me closer to the edge of the mattress, making me wonder what he has planned. Nothing prepares me for the moment he grasps the sides of my button-down shirt and yanks, sending the buttons flying.
I gasp in surprise but have to admit I find his determination hot, and my core pulses with need. He pulls one cup of my bra down and latches on to my nipple with his mouth, sucking until my sex practically vibrates with each tug of his lips and scrape of his teeth.
Writhing on the mattress, I try to hold on to the covers but can’t get a grip, so I pull on his hair instead. I can’t decide if I’m urging him on or trying to escape the intensity of feelings he arouses. As if he knows I can’t take any more, he switches to the other breast, giving it the same treatment until I think I might come from his mouth on my nipples alone.
“I need you inside me.” My body won’t let me deny what it wants.
“I like you bossy.” He stands upright, pulling me to a sitting position. “Now strip.”
I raise an eyebrow. “Now who’s bossy?” I ask as he watches, waiting for me to move.
I shrug off my blouse, unhook and slide off my bra. Only then does he shed his T-shirt, unbutton, unzip, and tug down his jeans and boxer briefs. His shoes are already kicked to the side, and his clothes quickly join them.
Trying not to get sidetracked by his thick, erect cock, which I desperately want to feel inside me, I work on my slacks and manage to slide them, along with my underwear, down to my ankles. He grabs hold and pulls, adding them to his garments on the floor.
Then he stands between my legs, his erection gripped in his hand, when it dawns on me.
“We need a condom,” I say.
He winces. “Shit. I didn’t bring one.” He studies me intently and then speaks. “I haven’t been with anyone in over six months, and I’ve had a physical since then. I’m clean.”
I swallow hard. When we were together last, we always used protection. We were young, not stupid. And I’ve never slept with a man unless he wore a condom.
“I’m on the pill,” I whisper.
“So I guess the question is, do you trust me?” As he asks, he lazily pumps his cock in his hand, his jaw tight as he works his grip up and down.
His lean, strong, muscled body exudes want and sex appeal, but beyond the physical, what he is asking me goes deeper. If I say yes, if I feel him bare, it will change me. It will changeus.
“I trust that you’re telling me the truth.” I swipe my tongue over my lips. “I’m struggling with what saying yes would mean.” He deserves nothing but honesty.
His eyes glitter as he meets my gaze. “It would meaneverything. I want you to trust me not just with your body but with your heart.”
Well, that is putting it out there, I think, my pulse picking up speed.
“I want you to believe I’ll never intentionally hurt you. I won’t cheat when I’m on the road. I don’t know how long the touring part of the Original Kings will last, but it won’t be every year. I’ll talk to Dash and see if he’s ready to cut back some. I’ll give you everything you want for your future because I want the same things, but only with you.”
My mouth parts, and I stare up at the man I once dreamed would be my future, even as I knew we could never make it work. I’ve been fighting him from the day he walked back into my life, and I understand why. I lost Axel, then not long after, my father’s death left me with abandonment issues that run deep.
Now I have to choose. Let him in, in every way, or continue to protect myself and never know true happiness. I watched my mother conquer her grief and move on. Am I going to doom myself to a life of loneliness?
He holds out a hand, silently asking for… everything.
