I rest my hands on Beth’s back, and she cups my face in her hands, her eyes searching mine. “You’re so gorgeous,” she murmurs. Lips curving up, she brushes her thumb across my mustache, then strokes my beard. “I like the way it feels when I kiss you,” she whispers, lowering her lips to mine.
I let her kiss me, stunned that, after all this time, she’s the one doing the kissing. I still can’t believe it. I was so determined to keep my distance. But that was before she moved toward me on the sofa, before she said, “Don’t you want me?”
I’m determined to stop at the first sign of any doubt from her, but so far there hasn’t been a glimpse. She sinks her hands into my hair, tilting her head to change the angle of the kiss, and delves her tongue into my mouth. I don’t bother holding back the groan that wants to escape, and she responds with a similarly heartfelt moan.
I fight the feeling rising deep inside me that this is not wise. I can feel the hunger in her for comfort, to touch and be touched. She needs it, I tell myself, and so do I. But that desire has to wrestle with my father whispering epithets in my ear.
A real man is strong in his convictions.
A good man would never take advantage of someone.
A hero is someone who always puts other people first.
I don’t stop her, but my hands stay on her back, and my mind is like a whirlpool, threatening to pull me under.
Beth lifts her head and looks at me for a moment. Her eyes are gentle. I think she knows how I’m feeling. I wait, half expecting her to say something likeYou’re right, this isn’t a good idea. To climb off me. To move away, embarrassed or relieved.
Instead, she crosses her arms, takes the hem of her top in her hands, and peels it up her body.
My eyes widen as she tugs it over her head, her hair lifting with it before falling around her shoulders as it’s released. She tosses the top away, then looks back at me, her eyes bright.
My gaze slides down her. She’s wearing a lacy cream bra, and the demi cups curve over her beautiful breasts. My heart bangs, and I can only watch as she moves her hands behind her, unclips her bra, slides the straps down her arms, and then tosses it away.
I swear softly under my breath, feasting my eyes on the swell of her breasts and her nipples, a shade darker than her light-brown skin. She moves her hips, her soft mound pressing against my erection.
“You like the view?” she teases.
The last fragments of restraint fall away. This isn’t me taking advantage of her. And it’s not only my choice to make. Beth wants me—she couldn’t make it any clearer. Am I really going to turn her down?
I stroke her bare back, running my fingers lightly down either side of her spine, then brush around her ribs to her chest. She lifts her arms around my neck, letting me explore, sitting calmly, although her breaths are coming fast. I don’t think taking off her top came easily to her. It exposed her in more than the obvious physical way. She was opening herself to me, telling me she’s there for the taking, if I want her. Revealing something private and secret—her desire for me that she’s obviously kept hidden for a long time.
“You are so. Incredibly. Beautiful.” I trace the fingers of one hand up between her breasts to her collarbone, stroke across it from left to right, then draw my fingers back down. She shivers, her nipples tightening, but I don’t touch them, not yet. Instead, I trace a line across the top of her breasts, following the curve of each one, and the dip in between, enjoying her feminine shape, and her sigh as I touch her.
“You keep surprising me,” she whispers.
I lift my gaze to hers. “Oh?”
She gives a shy smile. “I keep expecting you to just throw me on the bed and get it over with.” She laughs. “After all this time… I’m surprised you want to wait.” She looks a little puzzled, maybe even confused that I want to exercise restraint.
I keep my gaze on hers as I cup her right breast and brush my thumb over the nipple, watching her shiver. “You really think I’vewaited this long to have my first time with you over within minutes?” I’m amused at the thought. “I’m going to make it last as long as is humanly possible.” I tease the end of her nipple with the pad of my thumb. “Silly girl.”
She blinks, then sucks her bottom lip, her eyes closing momentarily. “Oh…”
She’s mine. It might only be for tonight. Who knows what will happen tomorrow? It’s going to be a severe test of my self-control, but if I only have this one chance to show her what she means to me, I’m going to take all night to do it.
Cupping both her breasts, I lean forward and kiss her neck. She tips back her head, her teeth tugging her bottom lip. “I didn’t… expect…” She moans softly.
“That I’d want to play with you?” I press my lips down over her throat and touch my tongue where her pulse beats. I can feel it racing beneath the skin, an internal metronome set on a fast speed. “That I’d want to give you pleasure, until you think you can’t take any more?”
“Ohhh…”
“I’m going to worship your body tonight, Beth, and show you just how much I’ve been burning for you, aching for you.”
She lowers her head back down, and her eyes are glazed. She looks so beautiful, her face flushed, her eyes filled with desire, for me.
I kiss down her neck to her breast, arriving at her nipple, and brush my tongue over it. She moans and tips her head back again, arching her back and pushing her breasts toward me, and I cup one and close my mouth over the nipple. She swears softly as I suck, so I do it again, a little harder, and she groans and clutches her hand in my hair. Ahhh… we’re going to have a lot of fun when we get going… but first things first…
Grabbing a handful of cloth at the back of my neck, I pull my tee over my head and toss it away, then slide a hand into her hair and pull her head down for a kiss. At the same time, I turn on the sofa and fall backwards, pulling her with me, and she exclaims as she lands on my chest. Her soft breasts press against my skin, and I groan at the feel of us stripped bare, physically and emotionally. There’s nothing between us anymore. Nothing and no one. I love Jude like a brother, but he’s far away, and here it’s just me and Beth in this semi-dark, warm room.
