He had experience. He was graceful; he knew what he was doing. I was following his lead as well as I could, but I was slow and awkward. Like ballroom dancing—when I learned, I’d stepped on Reed’s feet and scuffed his polished shoes before he finally had me place the tips of my toes on his shoes and learn the movements. I could forget the once-peaceful memory from my childhood, as I was learning to dance again. A different dance. With someone who would never hurt me.
Placing both hands on his bare chest, I brought myself down to kiss him. His rough hands were comforting and homely to me. I let them search for the bottom of the argyle sweater. I pulled away from him to free my arms, sliding out of the sweater with ease and revealing no bra. Yet I didn’t feel nearly as vulnerable as I did in front of Reed.
I moved one leg to slide my jeans off until I was in just my underwear. I straddled him, my clothes in a pile next to us. My eyes met his. I couldn’t get enough eye contact with him. I could lose myself in those eyes, whether they appeared blue or gray. Every summer sky we shared together, every thunderstorm we drove through, every lake or ocean we visited… they were all I could think about most nights. I experienced it all over again as I let myself get lost. The world he showed me was conveniently in front of me.
I was teasing him, seemingly out of reach. I dreamed he would stare at me like I was the most beautiful woman in the world, and with how his gaze trailed my movements, I felt mesmerizing. I felt strong. I wanted him wrapped aroundmy finger, much like Mystique said Olivia had him. He made himself untouchable to me, and here I was on top of him.
His fingers played with the edge of my underwear, moving them down as far as he could while I was on top. I lifted myself up to remove them, feeling his desperate tugs to remove them. I flipped my hair to one side as he got them off, flinging them next to his shirt on the floor.
He uttered one gravelly swear. For a second, his eyes dulled as I leaned down to kiss him. I was curious about what was going on in his mind, but I was too caught up in the moment to ask. My hands were near the waistband of his sweats when he reached to hold my face in both hands, stopping me to meet his eyes.
He was far more serious than he was minutes earlier. “You’re in control,” he stated. “This ends when you want it to.”
Smirking was never part of my body language like it was for Erich, but a devilish half-smile spread on my face as I continued to pull on the waistband, waiting for help with getting them off. Instead of helping me, he wrapped his arms around my waist and flipped me onto my back. My heart and breath caught in my throat as he tenderly kissed the pulse on my neck, moving down to my collarbones, to my breasts, and finally to my belly button before gently moving my legs further apart and kissing me in a place I’d never thought I’d feel pleasure again.
As he settled between my legs, my voice caught in my throat. My lips parted as I gazed down at him and fought the gasp stuck in my chest. I was painfully aware of the ache in my center as our eyes locked.
He pulled away enough to throw my right leg over his shoulder, a few locks of hair escaping to fall and frame his forehead in the process. His upper arm muscles glowed from the dancing of the flames nearby, which caused the heat to rise to myface as he kissed the inside of my thigh. His focus drifted back to my eyes. “Is this okay?” Gravelly. Low. Hungry.
I couldn’t speak around the growing burn in the pit of my stomach. The fire crackled nearby, echoing in the silence as I tried to find the words to string together in my spinning head. I nodded, resting my arm over my head so it draped over the headboard.
“Say it,” he murmured against my thigh, the vibration sending a shiver up my spine. His grip on my leg tightened, and with it, my chest fluttered. I didn’t know how two words together could sound so dirty, yet be so deep in their meaning.
Everything was numb except for the tingling between my legs, where he was achingly close, but not close enough. “Mhm…” I tried my best to verbally consent.
Erich’s eyes burned into my own as his teeth grazed the top of my inner thigh. His low voice was an electric shock to my nerves, intensifying my need for him to skip my repeated consent. “That’s not a ‘yes.’”
“Damn it, Erich.” The frustration forced the words out of my mouth as I shook with the intensity of his lips on my bare skin and his strong hold on my legs. “Yes. Fucking take me. I’ve been waiting for months.”
Erich’s breathy chuckle on my leg made my toes curl as his lips moved up my thigh to my clit, drawing a breathless moan from my mouth. “Months?” he murmured against me. I was fighting the ache of release already. Several seconds in. I knew I wasn’t going to last long.
“Months.” My trembling voice confirmed. The effort of speaking caused my heart to flail harder in my chest as his mouth flicked around every sensitive nerve in that area. My breath hitched as he found all the right spots, the fireplace crackling in time with each new jolt that I had never experienced before. The way his eyes closed as he worshipped me, his teethgrazing in just enough places I would stifle my breathless gasps before his lips or tongue gently brushed the same place… I was preparing myself for whatever ending was building low in my core.
Before I could give in to the growing pressure, no other person had ever given me, he pulled away enough to speak to me, his smirk glowing in the dimly lit room. “You could’ve just asked.”
My eyes narrowed before his finger entered my aching center, causing my back to arch as I lost the words I planned to say in response to his comment. Instead, my whole body quivered, and I found myself focusing on nothing but the way his bare chest was illuminated by the dancing flames nearby, and the gentle, teasing movement of his fingers between my legs. It was almost as if I was living a life in rose-tinted glasses in an attempt to turn my attention on his dazed eyes, hypnotized by my naked body, searching for every reaction he pulled from me.
I tried so hard to keep it together, but I failed. I trembled as my body betrayed me, covering my mouth with my left hand to muffle my loud squeal as my vision turned to fuzzy stars, my heart pounding to catch up with my erratic breathing. Erich pulled away, grabbing my chin with enough force to shake the shock of what happened before our faces were inches apart.
“Don’t cover your mouth like that again,” he growled as my eyes widened.
I was coming down from the intense high that rippled through my body, barely registering the power of his voice. “I… I’m sorry…?” I stammered, his other arm inches from my face.
Erich’s lips met mine, and I tasted myself on him briefly before he bit my bottom lip lightly. My heart was about to beat out of my chest. “You’re allowed to make sounds,” he murmured against my mouth.
“Take your pants off,” I panted, running my bare leg up his sweatpants. “Please, Erich.”
Erich grunted as my toe reached the waistband of his sweats, pulling them down slightly. My hands went up to his face, my fingers tracing down his cheekbones to his jawline. I stuck my foot underneath the waistband and pulled down harder before he rose from his position on top of me and got up to pull his pants off.
I took in the sight of all of him. The excitement in the pit of my stomach returned, and I was becoming increasingly aware of the sweat on my forehead causing my hair to stick to my temples. My lips curled up into a smile as I bit my bottom lip, relaxing my legs.
“Don’t make me say yes again,” I giggled as he hovered over me, putting his weight on his arms at each side of my head before he peppered the side of my face with kisses.
“Keep giving orders, and I won’t have to,” he breathed in my ear before biting and gently pulling down, earning my surprised gasp.
My clumsy hands came up to his neck, pulling his face down to my own before I claimed what was mine. As our lips met, my fingers went to his hair, gripping as I held my chest up against his and shivered at the warmth of his bare skin pressed against my own.
Erich’s groan was unexpected and woke something feral deep in my soul as my shaky leg came up to wrap around his waist. The combination of his primal sounds and the heat of his breath on my lips caused me to drip with need as I tried to close the distance further. I pulled him further down, despite the way my legs were beginning to feel like jelly.
