When I reached the room Shay was using, I knocked and waited. A few seconds passed with no response. Turning the knob, I inched the door open and peeked inside. “Shay?” No answer. I entered the room and glanced around. “Runaway groom, how nice.” I grinned, aware I was being way too optimistic. My gaze shifted to the first of the two doors on my left. Nearing it, I knocked then turned the knob on my next knock. “Shay?” I opened the door. An empty bathroom met my frown. Closing it, I tried the knob on the second one without bothering to knock. It opened inward into a smaller replica of the main church. Probably used for intimate family gatherings.
I stepped further into the semi-dark room lit only by candles up front and paused. With his hands clenched at his sides, his black shirt tails hanging out of his pants, Shay stood staring at Christ on a cross up on the wall.
“Shay,” I called out softly.
He turned and the look on his face mesmerized my already palpitating heart. I don’t think I’d ever seen that vulnerability before. As though his expression was fighting two contrasting emotions. My footfalls soft against the red carpet, my eyes glued to his, I neared him.
When I stood barely inches away from him, it took every inch of resolve I possessed, not to lift onto my toes and kiss him. It was wrong, I’d accepted that, but my heart fought me, stealing my breath. Nails biting into my palms, I forced myself to step back, calmed my erratic pulse with a deep breath and offered him a smile. “Are you okay?”
For a moment, he stared at me, his eyes questioning instead of the usual playfulness. I put it down to wedding jitters until he said, “you shouldn’t be here.” I didn’t miss the subtle bite to his words.
Why are you angry with me?
I frowned. “I’m your sister, where else would I be if not here. You need me,” I added the last part on a breathless whisper, earning a change in his countenance, one I couldn’t read.
“You have no idea.” He turned his back on me.
I wasn’t sure what startled me more. His statement or his snub. But Shay learned a long time ago that I never backed away from a challenge. This time he was providing me with one that I knew could probably ruin us, forever. Taking a step forward, I placed a hand on his shoulder. “I’ve always been yours, your only true love, remember.” My words were selfish because in my heart I knew why I came looking for him and it wasn’t because Dad asked me to, yet I hoped Shay understood the meaning behind them.
I felt him stiffen beneath my touch and when he said nothing, I withdrew my hand on a deep exhale. And as I walked away, I willed the tears to stay hidden until I made it out the door.
“Blue.” That single word filled with a million emotions paused my feet.
Slowly, I turned, my eyes meeting his and that silent stare said way more than either of us would’ve out loud if given half the chance. I wasn’t sure who moved first but we came together in a hurried tangle of hands and lips, a desperation I didn’t think he’d reciprocate. His lips were hard yet his mouth warm like I’d imagine. How long had I dreamed of this, of his touch, his kiss, his body pressed against mine?
Was it wrong? Yes, on so many levels.
But I didn’t care. I’d only ever had one desire since I was old enough to understand love, affection, want. And now he stood here, in my arms, mine for the taking. I didn’t care just how damned the consequences would be. For now, all I wanted was to feel. Him.
There was nothing gentle about the kiss. This was raw, uncontrolled passion set alight by the smallest of flames. It was an affirmation of war—on my heart, on my body, on my soul. He swept my mouth with his tongue, hunger burning in the tips of his fingers as they bit into the skin at my waist, and I took it all. Matching his prowess, lick for lick and touch for touch as my hands roamed his muscular body, committing every sinew muscle to memory.
When he drew back, he was breathing just as hard. With his arms still around me, our eyes stayed connected until he broke the quiet with a soft, “what are we doing?” His voice was low and the anguish radiating off him was palpable in the way he held on tight to me.
While my lips stung with the sweetness of his taste, my body greedily begged for more. But I knew it would be my heart that would suffer the most. Still, I ventured further. “You once told me you’re allowed to kiss me and you did, without an explanation.” He opened his mouth to speak but I placed a finger on his lips, slowly shaking my head. “It’s not what I’m asking. You’ve always given me everything I’ve ever wanted. No matter what or how, you made it happen, you were always there for me.” I swallowed to ease the sudden dryness in my throat.
“Blue—”
“Let me finish,” I pleaded, and he nodded. “After we leave this room, I can’t ask this of you, Shay. So please. I want this moment.” His jaw tightened but I didn’t let it dissuade me. I placed a hand over his racing heart, positive I wanted this, no matter the consequence. “I want you. All of you.”
A feverish hunger sparked the gray irises to life. Before I could process it, his arms tightened around me, urging me closer. His mouth crashed to mine, hard and demanding, a low groan rumbling out his throat and vibrated through me. I latched on to it with a deep inhale. His chest pressed tight to my breasts, he pushed me back against the altar. I slipped the dress off my shoulders, letting it slide down my body to pool at my feet, leaving me with only my white lace panty.
Shay’s gaze drifted over me, from head to toe and back up, fire burned in his eyes. “You’re so beautiful, Blue.” Grasping my hips, he lifted me onto the altar. “If only we had time.” He kissed my lips, my chin, sliding down to my neck then further to circle a nipple with the tip of his tongue. Guiding me back to lay flat, he opened my legs, dropping soft kisses to my inner thighs. I shivered, loving his gentleness. Slowly, with a feather-light touch, he slid my panty down my legs, and I tensed, hearing him take in a sharp breath. I lifted my head to find his gaze roving over my most intimate part and blushed from the intensity of his admiration.
“Please,” I begged.
He kissed my ribs, and a bizarre deliriousness consumed me as his tongue crested across my stomach, tracing a dizzying path around my belly button. The soft, sucking sensation of his mouth on my skin left me gasping for air. He reached my straining clit, and my hips arched, anticipation tensing my stomach muscles. His breath, warm and controlled, burned my flesh, fueling my desperation.
“Please, Shay,” I groaned.
Hearing my plea, his tongue circled my clit and my hips bucked hard, sensations like none I’d ever felt before, blessed my body with a pleasure I became greedy for. He spread my legs wider, his tongue probing my folds, roved over my clit in an unhurried dance. When he inserted a finger into my slick wetness, I stopped breathing. As if he understood what my body desired, he teased and coaxed spasm after spasm out of me and I exhaled on a loud whimper.
Trembling against the erotic sensations his talented tongue and finger manipulated, tension mounted deep inside my core. I was barely hanging on, my breathing coming in hard pants now, the feeling like nothing I’d experienced before.
“Oh, God!” I cried out.
“Shh, baby, you need to be quiet,” he whispered against my quivering pussy.
“I need you, Shay.”
