I finish right as Carmen walks back inside, carrying her full laundry basket.
I look at her. “Carmen. It’s fucking amazing.”
She blushes. “I told you I don’t play about pinky promises …”
I hold up my pinky. “If I’m lying, may this pinky be struck by lightning right now.” A lightning-strike-less beat passes. “See?”
A hopeful smile spreads on her lips. “Really? You’re really being serious? You liked it?”
“I want you to go do another load of laundry so I can read some more. I’m not kidding.”
Her face lights up. It’s a look that pierces my heart like an arrow. Like she finally has confirmation that she can be proud of her writing. She should feel that way. She deserves to. I know that I’m biased, I’m biased as fuck when it comes to her. But I’m not kidding when I say that what I read wasdamngood. It also feels damn good to be the first person to have the privilege of letting her know that her hard work is paying off.
“First chapter only,” she says, setting her laundry down and taking back her laptop. “The rest aren’t as polished yet.”
“Fair enough,” I say. “But I’m really glad I got a chance to read some of your writing.”
“I’m glad, too.” She smiles. “I think you’re the only person I’d feel okay showing it to right now.”
Her words change something in the air. My breath catches, and I can sense hers does, too. There’s something different humming in the space between us, something more tender, more serious, more intense.
I stand up, pull her close, and kiss her.
As our lips roll, I can tell that something is different about this kiss, too. It feels somehow less playful, more purposeful—like it’s leading to somewhere we haven’t been yet.
“Carmen.” I can’t help but murmur her name against her lips.
“Jamie.” I drink in the sound of my name on her voice like it’s liquor.
My hands trace the shape of her body, curling around her hips to palm her ass.
“Bedroom.” One word from Carmen, and I can’t breathe.
I slide my hands up her shirt, feeling the bare skin of her hips, her waist, the outline of her ribcage. Every touch of herfeels immediately seared into my memory, like my brain can sense this is a night, a moment, I’ll never forget.
Our clothes have fallen to the wayside by the time we reach her bed.
“I want you, Jamie,” she murmurs when I break our kiss to skate my lips over her soft neck. “All of you.”
I lock my eyes with hers. “Are you sure?”
A smile slides onto her lips. “Very.”
My heart lurches in my chest. It feels like it slams against my ribcage, like it’s trying to jump right to Carmen. And why shouldn’t it? It belongs to her, anyway.
Mine. That’s what Carmen feels like as the last of our clothes come off. As my hands and lips lovingly and desperately trace every curve and outline and feature of her body. The perfect roundness of her breasts, the firm peaks of her nipples, the slant of her hip bones, the dip of her waist, the curve of her hip, the smooth expanse of her thighs, the gentle slope of her shoulders, the perfect shape of her neck, the adorable indentation of her belly button, and her soft, delicate fingers that I lace between mine when I settle between her legs after sliding on a condom.
I remember thinking, the first time I felt Carmen’s wetness with my hands and watched her get off, that nothing could possibly be better than that. Feeling her mouth around my cock and savoring her taste with my head between her legs have since proven me wrong. But is this about to be even better still?
I’m keyed up with anticipation, buzzing from head to toe, excitement and thrill swelling my chest while my nerves dance through me.
I line myself up with her opening. My cock is throbbing, tension coiling unbearably at the base of my spine. Still, I pause for as long as I can stand it, wanting to impress every detail of this moment onto my memory.
Our eyes lock. Carmen gives me a nod, a soft, gentle encouragement. I tilt my hips, entering her.
Pure bliss, bliss like I never would have imagined possible, fills me. She’s so warm, so tight, so fucking perfect. Her legs curl around my hips, tightening behind me to tug me closer against her body. Our bellies and chests press together, her arms loop around my neck. She tilts her chin to kiss me.
I’m surrounded by her, everywhere, and it’s exactly where I want to be.
