I nodded, even though he hadn’t really asked a question. I wanted to kiss Callum too. Chewing my lip, I unbuckled as he opened the door for me. He did that in high school, insisting his sisters taught him to do it, but I disagreed. He liked taking care of people.
Wordlessly, he slid his fingers against mine and held my hand as we walked up the stairs. My pulse raced with each step, a million questions about this kiss swirling in my head. I’d kissed people before. I’d dated here and there. But kissing Callum?
Massive.
Fact: did you know your lips were a hundred times more sensitive than the tips of your fingers?
“Huh, I didn’t know that,” Callum said.
I cringed. “Uh, shit. I thought that but didn’t mean to… say it.”
“I love your facts. What else you got in there?” he teased, his voice kind.
“Simple kisses usually use two muscles, where a passionate, more heated kiss can use 20-30 facial muscles.”
“Interesting.” His voice deepened as we left the stairwell and stood outside my door. “Makes sense, in a way.”
How did people handle this? I was a nervous wreck. We faced each other, my right hand still in his left, and my left knee bouncing up and down. The fabric of my dress made a swish sound with every movement, and it had to echo through the entire building. Man, did my neighbor have a party going on?Music thumped through the walls, the vibrations making their way up my leg. His fingers twitched, and his grip tightened. Why? This was horrible. The anticipation. Could he feel my sweaty hands? Why wasn’t he just doing it?
He breathed deep, then ran his hand up my side and toward my neck. His nostrils flared as he wet his lips. The heated look in his eyes was enough to have me whimpering.
“Oh, what was that sound for?” He pulled me close, my chest touching his as he played with my hair. “I love your hair. Have I ever told you that? I used to stare at it in class, wondering how it felt.”
“N-no, you never told me.”
He hummed, his gaze staying on mine as he moved his fingers from my hair to my jawline, then over my lips. I shuddered and gripped his shirt so I didn’t fall. His fingers were like feathers, tickling me so lightly. Each brush of his calloused thumb had me on edge. I couldn’t fucking breathe.
“Hundred times more sensitive?”
My thighs clenched. Heat pooled between my legs, and my nipples tightened with an aggressive, unfamiliar need. The urge to be touched consumed me. Like I’d die of heat if his touch didn’t soothe it.
“You’re killing me right now.” I closed my eyes. “Just kiss me, damn it. Touch me.”
He didn’t. In fact, he lowered his face and nipped my ear before kissing down my jaw. “Fuck, you smell so good right here. Vanilla and flowers. It’s delicious.”
I fell into him, my legs about giving out from all the blood rushing out of my brain. His cologne mixed with the wine, and I was on fire. “Callum,” I begged.
“I’m showing you, Ivy,” he whispered, his tongue flicking my ear again. “That we have insane chemistry. Is your skin tingling right now from me touching you here?”
“Yes,” I whispered. I was on literal fire.
His other arm wrapped around me, supporting me, as he sucked my skin for a second. The sensation caused a flurry of goose bumps to explode all the way over my hips and legs. He chuckled against my skin. “I fuckinglovethis. Learning your reactions from me touching you.”
“How are y-you so calm right now?”
“Calm?” He pulled back, his blue eyes a storm of lust. “Ivy, the last thing I am right now is calm. Patient? Yes. Mindful of you being nervous, also yes. But don’t mistake me being a gentleman for me being calm. I promise you, you wouldn’t say that if you were in my mind.”
“Tell me then. I’m… burning up. I don’t know what I need, but you’re overwhelming, and my facts aren’t coming, and my body is so hot. I want to feel your skin, but we’re in the hallway.” God, my words slurred together in a nervous heap.
He gripped the back of my head, tugging my hair so I had to look up at him. “I want to kiss every part of your body and learn what sounds you make. I want to see your face when you come over and over on my mouth or on my cock. I desperately need to learn the way you cry out my name in pleasure.”
I gasped. My senses went into hyperdrive. The deep lull of his voice saying sexy dirty things were like fire. The way his eyes kept moving toward my mouth and his fingers tightening their grip on me. His pupils dilated, and I whimpered.
“I want all these things before I sink into you and wrap your sexy, strong-ass legs around me. I want to trace your secret tattoo with my tongue and lick up your body and bury my face between your tits. Is that better for you? That’s where my mind is, but you matter way too much for me to move that fast. Now, I’m gonna kiss you because I can’t wait another goddamn second.”
My breath caught in my throat, and I memorized every single thing he just said before he placed his lips on mine.Simple kiss.It was soft, tender. He did it again, then a third time. A deep, husky growl vibrated from his chest, and I ran my hands over his pectorals and shoulders, feeling his chiseled muscles and the beat of his heart. It was erratic, like mine.
“Perfect,” he whispered against my mouth, his hands digging into my sides. “I knew you would be.”
