He kissed her lips and she speared her fingers in his thick hair.She hadn’t lied to him.She hadn’t told him everything, but she hadn’t lied.And she wouldn’t.It felt like a vow in her mind.Something she would keep.
“I want to see you,” she said feeling feverish and edgy and not sure what to do with her body, when he reangled her so that she faced herself in the mirror—nearly naked, her tank bunched around her waist, one breast exposed, one covered, but the fabric didn’t hide her peaking nipple.
“My turn, and I intend to take my time and savor you, inch by inch.”As if to punctuate his words, his thumb continued to work her clit, but he slipped a finger deep inside of her.
She jerked against him, crying out and parting her legs more so that he had better access.
“Telford,” she whispered as she felt she was climbing some precipice she wasn’t prepared for.
She could feel the hard length of his desire pressed against her bottom and lower back, and it was one more advantage of being tall, that she could feel his arousal, which was as obvious as hers.She moved against him wanting more, aching for so much more.
He hissed, and his finger curled in her soaked channel once, twice, the pressure nearly unbearable.
“So close?”
She gripped his arms, fingers digging in, trying to keep herself from exploding.And just when she thought she’d tip over into the abyss, he removed his hand.She choked out a protest, as he trailed his glistening finger up her body, circled her nipple then kissed it, sucking her nipple into his mouth.
“Mmmmmmm.”The letter set off quakes deep in her body that began to build.
He watched her in the mirror, and she stared back at them both, helpless to take charge of any of this, and not sure she wanted to.What would happen next?She could barely breathe or wait to find out.
He licked the pad of his finger.“Honey and spice and how I imagined you’d taste.Unique seduction.”He held his finger to her lips.“Share yourself with me, Ayana.”
She sucked his finger deep in her mouth, and instead of having to brace herself, thinking about pleasuring a man, she pictured her mouth on him, her tongue and lips doing the things to him that he was doing to her.
His whispered sigh and the tension of his body cranked her higher.Her tongue teased his finger.
“Your turn,” she said.
“Not quite.I’m not done.”He said the last word against her mouth, kissing her deeply, and then his hand was between her thighs again, his pressure harder, his finger deeper, and his thumb worked her clit so that she feared she’d be unable to stand, but he had her locked to his body.She could feel his strength and his intent, and instead of fearing his power, she jumped into it, matching his desire with her own.
She reached behind her, unbuttoned and unzipped his jeans, and pushed past his boxers until she held his smooth strength in her hand.
“Yes,” he said, and the one syllable felt like permission to herself to let go, leap into the flames and trust herself as much as him and, for the first time, Ayana stopped trying to hold back her orgasm and her connection to another person, and it felt like fire raced across her skin and danced in her blood.
*
The morning wascrisp, almost to the point of icy, but the sky was cerulean blue, and Ayana still felt the glow from last night.Never had she imagined such intimacy with a man.Telford’s lovemaking had been eye-opening, and that was an epic understatement.He’d been passionate and thorough, and oh so generous.His hands had been warm, and the faint callouses had awakened nerve endings she never knew she had.
And his mouth.
Even in the truck, both of them fully dressed and drinking large lattes from the Java Café, her body still felt aroused and well loved.She had to settle down.It had been sex.Inevitable, yet she continued to want to reach out and touch him, connect them like they were a real couple, even as they headed out past the Telford family ranch day of pre-wedding adventure activities.
She should be trying to create some space.She was getting invested emotionally.Not just thinking of the marriage as a job.
Falling in love had never been part of the plan.
Love.
The word had been dancing around her peripheral vision for a few days.She’d avoided it, denied it.But last night watching Telford stand with a bunch of cowboys he was probably related to had cracked open her heart.He’d been aloof, and yet there’d been a hint of vulnerability and longing that had been tangible.
Family.He’d lost his.She’d run from hers.
But now they both had a second chance.
If I have the courage.
They drove in silence.She didn’t bring out any of her projects, preferring to rest one hand on his thigh to keep the connection from last night, while she watched the beautiful pastoral scenery roll by.She wondered if it was strange that they could be quiet yet without tension.
