Page 43 of The Perfect Heart

Any thought of awkwardness fled as he lowered his mouth to mine, and I responded, wrapping my arms around his neck again, bringing him as close as possible. The only other thing I was aware of was his hand, the one that had been by my arm, as it slid down my side, his fingers brushing the skin with a touch as light as a feather until he pulled another shiver from me. And again, as the same hand followed the contours of my hip, then my thigh, and finally slipped around.

I gasped and jerked, clenching his neck tightly as that same light touch feathered across the crotch of my lacy underwear, sensations exploding like an electric shock. Nash chuckled in the back of his throat and repeated the move until I had to close my eyes, and my teeth digging into my bottom lip was painful. But wow, that felt amazing. Almost overwhelming. And so incredible.

“You’re so beautiful,” Nash murmured into the crook of my neck as he kissed the skin that had already broken out in sweat. “Fucking intoxicating. I can’t get enough of you, Halle.”

“I know the feeling” was all I could gasp as he pulled hook two fingers into the hem of the underwear and tugged until they were around my thighs. Cool air hit me about the same time those fingers found their way inside of me, the double sensation drawing a sharp hiss of pleasure from me.

I was wet, so wet, and I knew he could feel it as his fingers slipped and dipped, touching, testing, tickling until I couldn’t hold back my moan.

“I need you,” I gasped, a hand curling around his bicep, the skin warm against my palm.

“Good,” Nash murmured, his teeth grazing my earlobe. “Because I need you. Desperately.”

His hand pulled away, and I protested, trying to hang on as he backed off the bed.

“Hold up. Just give me a second.”

Nash returned a heartbeat later with a foil packet he ripped open.

“Did you have that waiting?” I laughed, half surprised, and his smile was slightly abashed as he shrugged.

“Just in case. I can’t say it hasn’t been on my mind lately. A lot.”

I returned his smile. “Me, too.”

His eyes widened. “Really?”

Nodding, I reached for him, communicating my need. It only took a moment for Nash to discard his underwear and roll the condom down his length. And then he was hovering over me, at my entrance, sweat already beading on my brow.

“You’re sure?” he asked one last time.

I pulled him down and kissed him, our tongues twining again, my answer without words as Nash pushed into me, filled me, slipping against every nerve ending until sparks exploded behind my eyelids when I closed my eyes.

Everything inside me was roiling, churning, electrified, the merest touch making my head spin as Nash pushed in and pulled out, beginning a steady rhythm.

It was impossible not to compare the two, though I did try. Sex with Jack had been sex, kind of rough, short, and usually uninspired and unsatisfying. And it had only grown worse as the years had gone by. Even at the start, it was the thing I had liked least about our relationship.

This? This was unlike anything I had felt before.

This was everything I could have possibly dreamed of. I never once thought I would do this with my best friend. But from that foundation of friendship had grown something else, and I couldn’t have been happier. I had no question about what Nash felt for me. I knew he cared for me, for every part of me, good and bad, beautiful and ugly, because he’d seen it all and had stayed by my side. Even when I didn’t know he was still by my side.

Nash truly cared for me, and that was what I had been craving, what I had desperately needed.

We rode the waves together, our bodies and breaths twining together, heartbeats wild, skin sweat-slicked as the lightning flashed with greater frequency, the air charged with electricity. The storm built until it was all around us, until Nash was the only thing I knew until the storm grew to a crescendo and broke with a dazzling crack of thunder that whited out the world for what could have been hours or only a few heartbeats.

My cry still echoed through the room when the world came crashing back in, only to see Nash, his face a mask of concentration as he withdrew within himself, finishing with a shout. He pulsed deep within me, his eyes squeezing shut as his head fell back, then dropped forward.

We stayed like that, Nash suspended over me, both of us floating down from our orgasms, until he finally pushed himself away from me, landing with a bounce on the hard, protesting mattress.

Neither of us said anything, lying side by side, bodies touching. Nash’s hand found mine, twining our fingers together again.

Until he finally spoke. “This mattress is horrible. Next time, we do this at my place.”

I laughed, a cascade of sound I hadn’t heard from myself in years, and Nash joined in until we were both wiping tears away.

Chapter 21

Halle