Last night, Alexis told me she wasn’t a saint, nor a goddess, but fuck do I disagree. I’d build a temple in her name, pray to her alone. I’d sacrifice myself at her altar just to show her the depths of my worship and lay my life in her hands. My mind and body are mere tools for her ritual, to aid her in that sweet gentle sin.
Where I’m chaos and oblivion, she is light and creation, a summation of all that is good in this world. And when she presses her lips against mine, soft and warm and promising, I know I’m nothing if I’m not hers.
“Let’s go look.”
Surprisingly,we won at trivia by a landslide.
Alexis, it turns out, knows a lot more about celebrity gossip than I expected, and she didn’t get a single literature question wrong. That’s not unexpected; my girl reads alot.No, the surprising part is that she looked strangely turned on by my knowledge of history, especially the more obscure topics. I file that little tidbit away for later.
Noah’s camera stayed on us the entire time, much to the dismay of our fellow competitors, who didn’t bother to hide their contempt. I get the feeling some of them have caught up to our little ruse, but now that we don’t know what’s going on ourselves, they have too little proof to rat us out.Good. If they tried, they’d have to get through me first.
We’re lying on one of those itchy picnic blankets that are made from real wool and smell like they’ve been in the university’s attic for at least thirty years, the ground frozen solid underneath our bodies as we gaze up at the stars. Alexis, to mydelight, is sprawled out on top of me, her leg hooked around mine with her ear pressed to my heart.
I hope she remembers it only beats for her.
“Do you ever think about what comes next?” she asks quietly. “After graduation, I mean.”
The topic of the future has never been my favorite, the what-ifs stronger than my plans could ever be. I breathe in the scent of her, knowing the silent reassurance of having her near is enough to calm me down. “Sometimes. A lot, lately. I don’t have a concrete plan yet, not like you and Levi do. But I know I’ll be okay wherever I end up, as long as I’ve got you with me.”
“You don’t think you’ll get into the NHL?”
“I’m not sure hockey is my endgame.” I draw another deep breath, waiting for her to say something. I’ve never told anyone this before, nor have they asked. But leave it to Alexis to draw out my secrets like water from a well. “I always thought it was; I spent most of my life on the ice, so it’s a logical next step. But ever since we went on our little road tip I’ve been mulling over everything I thought to be true, and I’m realizing I might not even love hockey that much in the first place. I loved the fact that it bought my mother’s attention.”
Alexis moves to look at me, those brilliant silver-blue eyes shining in the moonlight. “So what do you love?”
You. Only you.
My heart flutters at the thought, though I know it’s true. I would give up everything I have for her, everything I ever wanted and more. It’s her I want, her Ineed.Nothing else even comes close.
“This,” I whisper. “Having you in my arms, feeling your breath on my skin. Knowing I will only ever be yours. It’s heaven and it’s torture and it is terrifying, but it’s real.”
Alexis sits up a little straighter until we are face to face. “You love me?”
“Is that bad?” Every scrap of air is ripped from my lungs and my mouth feels dry as a bone as I study her face. I’ve done it now; I’ve fucked up this perfect thing—the one perfect thing I have.
Slowly, she shakes her head. “No. I think I…”
Her voice trails off into the wind, but I don’t mind one bit. I brush a stray lock of hair from her face to reveal her blush, and the sight of it makes me smile. “Don’t feel pressured to say it, Sunshine. I won’t be scared off so easily. Your pace, remember?”
Something shifts in her gaze, her irises growing dark and intense with wanting. Her fingers glide teasingly down my chest, following every ridge and plane through my sweatshirt. I know what she’s up to the moment she glances around the campsite, looking for strays. The others went to bed more than an hour ago, leaving not a single camera behind.
I’m already rock hard by the time she climbs on top of me, my cock so dangerously close to her core. I know the feeling must be turning her on as well as she bites her lip, the sight so vulgar it makes me twitch against my zipper with a groan.
Her gaze shifts to my lips and before I know it I’m tasting her, too wrapped up in the moment to care about the open air and our peers being able to see us, about my insecurities and what-ifs.
Right here, right now, Alexis Moore is all I can breathe.
I kiss her hard enough I fear I might leave a bruise, but that fear is swiftly replaced by hunger as she rakes her teeth over my lower lip.Fuck.
What little brain I have left short-circuits as she does it again, her hips grinding against mine like she’s begging for release. She tears herself off my lips and I have to keep myself from pulling her back in again, already missing her warmth and those little moans.
“Shit, Blake. You’re big,” Alexis breathes as she drags herself along my length. She saw it last night in the shower, I know she did. She made a whole show of looking at it as payback for the way I look at her. Still, it’s different to feel it, I suppose.
Like the way I know exactly how she tastes, but have yet to feel her take me.
“You can take me, Sunshine. I promise.” The words are nothing but a strangled groan; she’s edging me so beautifully that I can hardly manage anything else. My hands grip her waist, holding her in place while I tilt my hips for better contact, those eyes ever-widening. My fingers dip below her waistband to edge her further only to make a tempting discovery. “No underwear? Fuck. You’re killing me.”
She bats her eyelashes so innocently I almost feel bad for the unspeakable thoughts racing through my mind. “I must have forgotten them. Oops?”
