Page 44 of Anywhere with You
Cara and I didn’t get out of bed until she had to go back to work on Monday morning, and even then, there were few things in my life that had ever been as difficult as letting her stand up and leave the room. It was awful. Entirely too far away from me.
I listened to her turn on the shower and called out, “I can help.”
She poked her head around the door, grinning, her hair a gorgeous, tousled mess. “You would be a hindrance, and you know it.”
“Oh, you’ve never been as soapy as I can make you.”
“That’s the cleanest dirty talk I’ve ever heard.”
I laughed and lay back, grateful for these few extra minutes that Cara could spend here instead of driving home to change clothes.
All because I’d accidentally packed one of her dresses in my luggage when I left the vacation house to fly home.
It was clean and hanging in my closet, and a few minutes later, Cara was out of the shower.
I watched her towel-dry her skin and step into the dress, fastening buttons and smoothing her hands down the front.
“I’ve never been so jealous of cotton,” I told her, then remembered watching her touch the towels in the store and felt an extra hint of warmth in my cheeks.
She kissed me, then went to brush her wet hair. “Are you going to work today?”
“Yes, but I can sleep another hour.”
“Ah, the rock star life. I can stop by the store after school, if you want.”
“Yes, please. Hey, Cara?”
She turned to me, brush in hand.
“Maybe you should keep a few more outfits here, just in case.”
She grinned. “Well, if you think it’s a good idea…”
I stood up from my floor mattress and went to her, putting my hands in her wet hair and kissing her clean skin and slipping my hand underneath the strap of her soft dress, caressing her shoulder, her collarbone, the side of her breast.
My teeth teased her earlobe, and somehow, her back was against my bedroom wall, my body pressed against hers. Just the feel of her shape made me breathless. I nibbled down her neck, pushing her other shoulder strap aside.
She made my favorite sound, gasping and unthinking, only existing and feeling and luxuriating in this moment.
The dress caught at her hips, and my fingers slid between the fabric and her skin, loosening buttons slowly. I left it where it fell, lowering my head to kiss the outline of her bra, until she tore it off in frustration.
I kissed the space beside each nipple delicately until she growled and gripped my hair, forcing my mouth where she wanted it. I laughed, then made my tongue soft and caressed her nipples until her body shook.
I ran my hands over her soft skin, trailing my fingers under the waistband of her…wait—
“Did you steal my panties?”
Cara’s eyes were dark, her breath trembling. “You want to discuss this now?”
“Yes. I’m about to steal them back.”
She laughed, pulling my mouth up to kiss me while I took what was mine.
I didn’t break the kiss when she was free of clothes. My hands wandered down over every curve, brushing ever so gently against her stomach, her hips, the insides of her thighs with infinite gentleness, feeling her hot skin with the soft pads of my fingers, patiently exploring her textures.
She moaned against my mouth. “I’m going to be so late for work.”
“I can stop,” I whispered, moving my fingers infinitesimally. “I can help you get dressed. We can wait until tonight or tomorrow or the weekend…if that’s what you want.”
Cara kissed me hard, pressing herself against my fingers, then pulled back to look into my eyes. She was breathing heavily, her hair mussed, her lips swollen, her eyes full of passion and happiness and love.
“I think we both know what I want,” she said.
“Right,” I said. “I’ll go warm up the popcorn popper.”
She laughed and pulled me close.