I smile, running my thumb along her soft skin. “Some of the best things in life are unexplainable, Seraphine. Does the reasoning behind things really matter?”
“It does when the people around you have always done things that don’t make sense.”
I sigh, nodding. “I suppose that makes sense.”
“Can you try? To explain it. Tell me why you are so kind to me, why you make me feel like this.”
I pull my hand from her face and shift on my side, resting my head on my hand, my arm bent at the elbow. I think over how I want to say this, and when I get a good enough idea, I speak.
“It’s something primal. Protective. Deep within me, there is this urge to have you, to see you smile. When I think of your smile, my body reacts positively. Serotonin, I suppose. When I think of you hurting, I want to tear someone’s head off. The only way I can explain this to you is in how I feel, the way my body reacts. Because even when I think about it, I can’t come up with anything other than the obvious.”
“Obvious?”
“How adorable you are. Beautiful. Smart. Ambitious. Even your pain is beautiful, Seraphine. The way you wear it, the way you deal with it. You’re so strong, even if you don’t think you are. I see it. I seeyou.”
This is something I have already said to her, but sometimes words don’t matter until you are ready to hear them. Maybe she’s ready to hear them now.
Her lips part, and I wait for her to say something in response. Ask me to go on or argue with me. Either is a possibility. Though she does neither of those. Instead, she pushes herself toward me and presses her lips to mine.
There aren’t many things in life that stun me, but this does. It isn’t what I expected her to do. Not even close. Not here, not now. She was so sure just the other night she needed more time, and even then… it was sex. For many people, sex is easier than kissing. Kissing is intimate, while sex can be distant.
I’ve spent hours thinking of all the things I would enjoy doing to Seraphine, and though kissing was on that list, I hadn’t intended it to be the first. Well, second, I guess, since she’s already jerked me off and made me cover myself in cum.
Combing my fingers through her hair, I grasp the back of her head and pull her closer to me. Then she’s on top of me, the warmth between her legs heating my cock and making me stiff. My free hand goes to her ass, pushing her into me to grind my erection against her. She moans into my mouth, pressing down harder on me, and grasping the front of my shirt.
The cool chill of air from the bay is the only thing stopping me from combusting—I’m certain of it. My body hasn’t been this alive in years.
I gather her hair and pull it to one side, moving my mouth down her jaw and to her neck, kissing and nipping at her skin.She pants, still grinding against my dick, making me wish I could snap my fingers to make our clothes disappear.
“Please tell me I can have you now,” I rasp out, my lips pressed to her neck.
Half word, half moan, she says, “Yes.”
I roll us over so she’s beneath me, and hope like hell it isn’t going to be too cold once I get her pants off.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Seraphine
The breeze is cold against my bare skin, causing goosebumps. Elliot’s large hands warm my skin as he drags them up and down my legs. My pants were tossed to the side, and the only thing keeping him from tasting me is my thin cotton panties.
His mouth is on my stomach, kissing across from hip bone to hip bone, my body writhing from the intense feeling of his mouth against my skin. I don’t think anyone has ever kissed me there before. Without warning, he presses his nose to my center and inhales deeply.
“Fuck, you smell so goddamn good.”
My cheeks flush. No one has eversmelledme before, but I guess if that’s what he likes, I’m fine with it. I’ve come to learn that Elliot isn’t a man who does something he doesn’t like, and that makes it easy to trust him.
I see him at work, and I see him out of work. He’s always truthful and honest and is open about not agreeing withsomething or not liking it. This makes it a million times easier to trust him when it comes to everything. Not just work, but him as a person. I believe that what he says is the truth. And if he says I smell good, I believe him.
“I need to taste you,” he growls next, tugging on my panties but not taking them off. He lifts his head to look at me. “Please, say yes.”
My chest gets tight as my stomach does a flip. The way he asks for permission with such desperation is so sexy.
“Yes,” I breathe out, not even able to think of anything else to say.
He looks upwards, muttering something under his breath before hooking his fingers into my panties and pulling them aside, not bothering to take them off.
“Perfect,” he says as he stares at me. “So perfect.”
