“Areyouready? This isn’t just about me, River. I can’t lie and say I’m not ready to ravish you, but I want you to want it just as much.”
“Jesus, Cleo, I want you, trust me. I’m just…nervous. I want to do this right.”
“What do you mean?”
I feel my face blush and I drop my eyes to the floor because I can’t look at her. “Normally,” I stutter, determined to get it out. “When I’m with a woman, I pull out my metaphorical playbook of moves. Um, like I did with you when we met.”
“I remember your moves, River,” she purrs.
“Right, but…I don’t want to do that this time. I don’t want to sleep with you in a way I’ve done with…others.”
“So don’t,” she breathes against my neck. Her tongue creeps out and brushes the faintest line from my ear to the base of my neck.
Okay, I can do this. I might not want to pull the same shit as I have in the past, but that doesn’t mean I’m a newbie. I know how a woman’s body works. I just need to work out howherbody works. What will make her sing to the heavens?
So, I do the one thing I’ve never done before—which, looking back, means I’m a fucking neanderthal. “What doyouwant, Cleo? Tell me what to do.”
That’s right, I submit to her. Instead of taking over and trying to show her how goodIam in bed, I do the most basic thing and think ofherneeds.
“Will you kiss me…everywhere?”
“My pleasure,” I whisper back. Starting from her lips, I trace her jaw, placing gently open-mouthed kisses on her skin. God, she’s so soft. My eyes focus on the faint freckles dotting her face. “Do you cover up your freckles?” I ask in between touches.
“Um,” she gasps. “Yes.”
“They’re beautiful,” I say.
“T-thank you.”
Travelling down, I take my time inhaling her scent and committing the feel of her skin to my long-term memory. Those thoughts are going to get me through the lonely nights at sea, I know it.
My tongue slips out the second I get to her cleavage. Her top needs to go. “Can I?”
I have to hold back a laugh as she rips the garment off and throws it somewhere before taking my head in her hands and pulling me back to her chest.
Her bra is of the lacy variety, which is totally impractical for life in the Navy. “This is nice,” I comment as I flick the tip of her nipple through the fabric. I swear to God she growls at me.
Without answering, she curls her arms around her back and unclasps the bra, sending it tumbling to the floor.
“Okay then.” I snicker.
“You too,” she moans as I suck in her breast. Delicious. It takes me but a second to haul my sports bra up and over my head, dropping it to the floor where it sits nestled next to Cleo’s. I like the symbolism of it. Maybe now’s not the time to be contemplating what such a sight means to me.
Focus, River!
I’ve lost track of time as I explore her torso with my mouth and hands. Cleo encourages my movements with little nudges, and I find it turns me on.
Down on my knees, I look up and am momentarily stunned at the sight above me. Cleo’s chest has a flush ofred from one shoulder to the other, stopping just above her breasts. Her chest is moving rapidly as she grows more excited, and her head is back with eyes closed. Her hair hangs in luscious waves. The red captivates me and, for a second, I contemplate standing back up so I can run my hands through it.
She looks…lost in her pleasure. Is this what Cleo was trying to explain to me when I confronted her about our night together? It must be, because I didn’t see anything close to this…complete euphoria that night. That night, she was performing for me. Just like I’ve been performing for every other woman.
But now? Now she’s not performing. She’s just…feeling. And I’m the one making her feel this way.
Brushing my nose across her stomach, I run my hands up her legs until they’re close to her trouser button.
“Can I?”
“Please,” she sighs, keeping her eyes shut. Her body sways gently as I flick open the button and gently pull the trousers until they’re pooled around her ankles.
