My last comment seems to perk Matt up as he turns to me with a playful glint shining in his eyes. “You find my beard manly?”
“And just like that, I immediately regret my choice of words.”
“It’s okay if you do. That’s why I grew it. That and to cover up an unsightly chin scar.”
I crane my neck outward and over, trying to get a better look at his face. “Do you really have an unsightly scar?”
Matt smiles. “You’ll never know, will you? Thanks to my sexy, sexy beard.”
“You’re the worst,” I tell him. “And I don’t find your facial hair attractive at all.”
“Of course you do. It’s one of my best qualities. I’m self-aware enough to know that I don’t have a whole lot else going on appeal-wise.”
I exhale a silent chuckle and face forward again. This interaction has veered severely off course from what I thought it would be when I first came outside. I should have known that passionate, windswept conversations weren’t for us.
“Don’t take this the wrong way, but how did we get here? We’re tucked away in a gorgeous hotel room, I’m wearing a bathrobe, we’re on a balcony along the Amalfi Coast and yet somehow we’re debating the ‘it factor’ of your beard.”
Matt pauses. “I mean, hearing it back, I know it doesn’t sound overly romantic, but in my own defense, it’s possible that I’m nervous.”
“Nervous about what?” I ask. He looks at me and in a split second, I think that I can guess his answer. “You’re nervous that this is going to be a big mistake?”
He shakes his head, accepting and slow. “I’m nervous that this is going to be the opposite of a big mistake.”
His words crash into me like a wave I never saw coming. I don’t know if it’s better to be pulled under or to do everything I can to swim to the surface. Matt keeps watching me, and I find myself drifting forward. I need to touch him. I need him to touch me. I tug at his sleeve that’s closest to me and his arm drops obediently to his side. He stands up straight and I slide between him and the railing. As soon as I do, he raises his arm back to where it was and cages me in. I draw my hands up the front of his shirt and higher until they lock behind his neck. Urging his head down, my eyes ask him if this is okay. He sweeps down and kisses me. It’s achingly sweet and I feel it in the depths of my stomach, and I want him to kiss me again and again.
Matt’s arms encircle my waist and lock me against him. I can barely move but that’s fine because I don’t want to be anywhere but here. I try to get closer but then I freeze when one of his hands travels up my spine to the back of my neck. His fingers tangle into my hair, giving it the gentlest pull. He’s playing with me now. He’s seeing if I like it and I lean back with a gasp. I don’t even get a full breath in before he bends low to kiss me again. His tongue slips into my mouth and rubs against mine, and who needs to breathe when I can have this?
A restless whine mewls out from the back of my throat. The sound seems to do something to Matt, who then shifts his body just enough to ease a leg in between mine. He’s so tall that it nudges me up an inch or two, and my lower back pushes against the metal railing behind me. It hurts a little but it’s hard to think about pain when so many other delicious sensations are rushing through me.
Sensations like the feeling of Matt’s hands falling away from my body, moving instead to untie my robe. Sensations like the wind strumming against my skin as he pulls the robe open, revealing my light pajamas. I don’t sleep with a bra, so Matt can see the outlines of my nipples as he looks down and drinks in the sight of me.
“Violet,” he says, his voice sounding strangled. I smile at his tone as he staggers forward to leave open-mouthed kisses up the side of my neck—licking and nipping—and I can’t even help it as my right leg slides up to wrap around his hip. Matt catches it and pulls it higher.
If I had to make a list of all the things that I thought I’d be doing in Italy a month ago, grinding on a balcony in Capri would have been farther than last. But here we are, and I have zero intention of slowing down or stopping.
On a high as I may be, I quickly decide that we need to relocate. Planting my foot back on the floor, I push against Matt and steer him toward our room. I keep stepping forward and he goes backward, holding on to the front of my robe to keep us moving together. When we get inside I give him a final shove, and he lets himself fall back onto one of the beds. I enjoy the sight for several seconds until I opt to crawl on top of him. He inches backward toward the headboard and takes me with him. Once he has us where he wants us, his hands grip my bottom through my shorts and he gives it a firm squeeze.
Heat is spreading in the pit of my stomach, and I lower myself down for another haze-inducing kiss. My chest brushes against his as I slowly start to rock forward and backward. Considering how thin my tank top is, there might as well be nothing there. I sit up and pull the flimsy piece of fabric over my head, tossing it onto the sheets beside me and basking in the dazed look that crosses Matt’s face. His hands drift higher, pressing down on the small of my back, then returning to where they were—only this time slipping under my shorts and panties.
I suck in an uneven breath as the pads of his fingers tease and tickle my bare skin. His soft touches drive me to push against him harder, needing more friction to take the edge off. Before I know it, I’m turning frantic—tugging at Matt’s black T-shirt until it’s off and flying across the room. When I lean down again, Matt lifts me higher, lining my chest up with his face. He slips a hand up to cup a breast and moves his mouth to the other. His tongue circles and tastes and there’s no stopping my quiet but lusciously tortured groan. My hands fist into the sheets as he switches positions, giving my other breast equally tantalizing attention. He seems like he can go on like this forever when I finally pull back, ready to scream in such a good way when my clouded eyes find his.
“Did you bring something?” I ask, desperately holding on to the last semblance of rationality before it disappears into the fog that we’re creating.
Matt nods and I shift onto my back as he rolls off the bed, purposefully moving to his bag on the floor and digging through it. Not wanting to waste a second, I reach down and pull off my shorts and underwear in one fell swoop, dropping them down onto the growing pile of clothes beside me. Matt stands a second later, and when he turns to walk back to the bed, he stops dead in his tracks. His pupils dilate as his eyes seem to devour me. I don’t think I’ve ever been looked at like that and I’m already addicted.
He pulls his boxers down and kicks them off as he moves closer to the bed. It’s clear that he wants me as much as I want him. He rips the packet open and rolls the condom on, his eyes never straying from my body as he steps beside the mattress. I stay perfectly still as it’s now his turn to crawl over me, covering me completely, and the feel of him is unlike anything I’ve ever felt. His mouth moves to my ear, and my waist jolts up. He bears down on me, but doesn’t do more, just pins me with his weight as I try and fail to roll my hips.
“Come on,” I urge, barely recognizing my own voice. “What are you doing?”
I feel like I’m on fire or I might pass out when he finally stops to whisper, “I’m taking my time.”
I shake my head and try to move again beneath him. “Take your time later. Just not now.”
“You’re so impatient,” he tells me calmly. Too calmly, considering how fast I feel his heart beating. “I’ll remember that for next time.” His gives my ear another lick before moving his lips back to mine. I’m dizzy and delirious and I couldn’t care less. Nothing matters but getting more of the feeling that’s hammering through me right now. I reach a hand down, but Matt notices and pulls it back up. He kisses my wrist before he holds it down onto the mattress beside me.
His voice is shaky and low as he drops his head to speak into the side of my neck. “Do you think you can wait a little longer?”
I shake my head. I’ve been doing that a lot. “I don’t want to wait. All of this is going to be gone soon. Please, Matt.”
