Page 43

I let the door fall closed behind me, lock it and cross to her. I want her with a kind of ache I haven’t felt in years.

When I reach her, I lift my hand to her face. She moves into my touch instinctively. “You okay?”

“I’ve never done this before.”

I freeze. Her eyes flick up to mine, searching for judgment.

“I mean, with Finn…we’ve…tried things. But not everything. Not, um...”

I lean in, mouth brushing her temple. “Then we go slow. As slow as you want. You set the pace. You stop me if anything feels wrong.”

She nods again, as I pull her into me.

The kiss is different this time. There’s no hesitation. Just heat, pulling us under. I slide my hands to the hem of the sweatshirt, looking to her for permission. She answers by lifting her arms.

I take my time. I want to savor every damn second of this.

The sweatshirt falls away, baring her to the glow of the bedside lamp. She doesn’t hide. Her breath is uneven, but she doesn’t shy away.

“You’re so beautiful,” I say.

She doesn’t answer with words. Just reaches for me, hands sliding under the fabric of my shirt, fingers brushing the skin of my stomach. Her hands tremble. I lift my shirt over my head and toss it to the side, then take her hand and press it flat to my chest.

“Take what you want, baby. I’m yours.”

Her mouth opens like she wants to respond, but nothing comes out. She’s flushed now, heat crawling from her chest to the curve of her neck. I back her toward the bed, and she follows my movement. When her legs touch the edge of the mattress, she looks up at me.

The trust in her eyes is everything.

I ease her down, bracing one arm beside her. Her legs shift to make space for me, and I settle between them.

The kiss that follows is softer. Her hands slip around my back, pulling me in. I trail kisses from her mouth to her throat, then lower until she’s gasping softly, her fingers tangled in the sheets.

I press my mouth to the curve of her throat—right over the flutter of her pulse. It’s fast. So is mine. I breathe her in slowly before lifting my head.

“Tell me if you want to stop,” I murmur, brushing her hair back from her face. “Anytime. I mean that.”

Her eyes meet mine. “I don’t want to stop.”

God help me. I nod, just once, and let my hands find the edge of her bra. “Can I?”

She gives the faintest nod, chest rising and falling beneath the thin lace. I don’t rush. I unhook it slowly, watching every breath she takes as I reveal more of her inch by inch. I toss it to the floor like it’s never going back on.

Her skin is flushed, her breasts bare, and for a second, all I can do is look at her. She shifts, uncomfortable, about to cover herself—but I catch her hands before she can.

“Don’t hide from me,” I say, voice low. “You’re beautiful, Ani. Every inch of you.”

Her breath stutters.

I press a kiss between her breasts, one to the soft underside of each, then trail my hands down the curve of her waist. Hershorts and panties are next, and I hook my thumbs into them, pausing.

“Okay?”

She nods again. “Yes.”

I ease them down slowly. When I finally slide them off, revealing her sweet pussy, I swallow hard and sit back on my heels just to look.

I stand, and lower myself over her on the bed. But I have to pause again. She’s laid out beneath me like a secret I’ve been aching to uncover, and I don’t deserve this moment.