“But…” He shot me a look like he was begging me to stop, to somehow help him find the self-control he’d lost when we’d kissed and he’d picked me up and I’d wrapped my legs around him.
“I think I like this a little more,” I shared honestly, not giving two shits about how fast or stupid I might be.
I’d had a handful of one-night stands in my life, enough to scratch an itch when one arose, so to speak. I had a drawer full of toys that helped me take care of my own needs when I needed to. Bottom line was, I wasn’t a blushing virgin.
But this thing between us felt different.
Bigger. More important than anything I could have ever wished for. More essential than any relationship I’d ever had. And maybe because of how honest he’d been with his feelings for me, it’d let me open up to him.
“I like being on your lap. Close to you. Feeling your hands on me.” A soft moan escaped when his touch slowly but surely turned firmer, steadily moving up and down the line of my spine.
God, his touch made me feel so delicate. Feminine. Tiny in the best way possible.
“Elizabeth.”
“I love how you say my name.” My breath hitched in my throat with my confession. “All growly. Like you need me.”
“I do.”
“I Iove you, Austin Hart.”
“Baby, you don’t have to?—“
“I know.” I smiled gently before kissing the tip of his nose. “But I do. I’m not sure when it happened, but it did. You slipped in and burrowed yourself under my skin with how you make me feel seen. There’s something about being around you, even that first night, that makes me feel alive. Like I’m sparkling with crazy-colored glitter and disco balls from the inside out.”
“Fuck,” he cursed, pressing his lips against mine. They slid and then slanted before they pulled my lower lip into his mouth with a sucking motion I felt it pulsate through me, and that throbbing settled between my legs.
“Please, Austin.”
“What do you want, angel?”
“Check. I dare you to check to see just how much I like the idea of you slipping inside my house in the middle of the night to watch me sleep. Of you reading my journal and… and?—“
“What?” he groaned, his voice thick and rough, just as his calloused palm skirted under my dress and stroked my bare thighs. “Jesus Christ, Lizzy baby, your skin’s so fucking smooth. Warm,” he huskily murmured against my lips, and I kissed him.
Our tongues dueled for dominance. I let him have it. For a hot and heavy moment, before his lips moved from mine and down my chin to my jaw then my neck. He licked and nipped at my neck. My hips rolled and ground against his heavy, thick length, but it wasn’t enough. I needed more. I needed all of him.
“Are you wet for me, honey?” he huskily asked, and a moan vibrated through me.
“Yes,” I hissed and gasped like I couldn’t catch my breath.
Which I couldn’t. And who could blame me when his hands moved under my dress and between my legs in a way that felt like more than a touch, like a branding? Like his talented fingers and calloused palms were leaving his mark on me.
“Fuck, I can feel just how hot you are. Love how these sexy-as-hell thighs tremble for me.” His filthy words only made the ache grow.
“Austin.” My voice cracked, and I couldn’t beg him to touch me. Our eyes connected, and I knew I didn’t have to plead with him to give me what I wanted. His caress rose higher and higher until he wasright there. Right where I needed him. His face transformed. His eyes narrowed, and his nose flared in a waythat reminded me of a starving feral lion ready to devour its prey.
“Silk.” He swallowed. “Silk and lace.” I blinked for a moment, about to ask what he was talking about, when the pad of his middle finger touched me right where I needed him. Any kind of words or how they sounded vanished. All with a simple light touch so light it felt like I was balancing on a tightrope. The graze against my swollen clit was too much; my head fell back as my eyes rolled in ecstasy.
“Austin!” I cried out. My fingers dug into his shoulders.
“Fucking hell, look at you, Elizabeth. My sweet angel isn’t so innocent, is she? She’s my very own wildcat. Wet and ready for me to touch you.”
“More than touch. I need…” My breath came out in jagged pants.
“I know what you need, angel,” he growled, and our lips connected. For a long moment, I got lost in the kiss.
It was deep and wet.
