Page 15 of More Than Words (Trickle Creek: The Lyons #2)

Chapter Twelve

Ethan

T he old windows rattled from the icy winds outside. The snow was piling up, blurring the world beyond Delaney’s tiny apartment.

But all I could see was her.

Delaney was the only thing that mattered.

Soft and real and returning my kiss as if she’d been waiting just as long as I had for this moment.

This wasn’t a stolen kiss in the back alley in the middle of the night. This was real. This was just us finally giving in to what had been building from the first time she’d burst into my construction site, all fired up about the noise.

My hands slid over her, slow and careful, testing.

Her oversized sweater that I was going to be more than happy to rid her of slipped from her shoulder, revealing the fitted T-shirt underneath.

With a little tug, I relieved her of the sweater and skimmed my hands up and over the soft fabric of the shirt that hugged all her curves.

Her hands weren’t tentative either. They gripped my shirt, sliding beneath the hem. Her touch was confident as they spread over my abs.

I groaned at her touch. God help me, it had been so long since I’d let anyone get close like this.

Since I even wanted to.

I sat back a little, tugging my shirt off and over my head, tossing it somewhere behind me. The heat between us was all I needed.

And I needed a lot more of it.

The candlelight danced across her features. Her hair was piled up in a messy bun, her lips slightly parted, and her breath coming quickly.

“You’re beautiful,” I said, my voice rough and only barely controlled. “You have no idea.”

“You’re not so bad yourself.” She pulled me back to her, kissing me deeper than before, a moan slipping from her mouth that had my cock rock hard in my jeans.

She pulled away with a gasp. “I…this…” She rocked back on her heels and bit her bottom lip. “I just…this is all so…”

“Do you want me to stop?”

“No.” Her answer was immediate. “Not even a little.” Her sly smile told me she meant it. “I’m just…it’s been a while, is all.”

Her admission made me want her even more.

“For me, too.”

She lifted her eyebrow in question. “But you’re so?—”

“Charming?” I winked, and she laughed with a nod.

“Yes.”

“I can’t argue with that,” I told her. “But that’s not my style. Besides, I’ve been pretty busy with…well, life lately.”

Her eyes flashed, and without another word, her hands went to the hem of her shirt. She pulled it over her head.

I sucked in a breath. She was stunning. I couldn’t keep my hands off her a moment longer.

Once more, I closed the distance between us, pressing my bare skin against hers, the lace of her pale-pink bra scratching my skin. I kissed her until she was breathless before I dipped my lips to the base of her neck.

She shivered under my touch as I reached around to unclasp her bra and slid it from her arms.

Delaney tugged at my belt, her fingers fumbling with the fly of my jeans until I took over. I stood long enough to shed my jeans, leaving my boxer briefs on, and I rejoined her on our nest of blankets on the floor.

Her breath hitched in her chest when I pressed closer and guided her down to the blankets.

She blinked up at me, her chest rising and falling fast, her lips parted in need that matched my own, her hair spilling out around her face. She looked wild, free, and so undeniably sexy I could hardly breathe.

I kissed her again—deeper this time, letting her feel everything I hadn’t dared say out loud yet.

Unable to hold back, I let my lips travel down her body. To her collarbone, and then each of her luscious breasts. I kissed and sucked until she writhed beneath me.

“Ethan,” she groaned my name.

“You want me to stop?”

“Are you serious right now?”

I grinned up at her and resumed my kisses that were driving us both crazy.

Her hands skimmed down my body to the waistband of my boxer briefs. She hesitated a second before they slipped beneath the elastic and cupped my ass.

It was my turn to groan. “You’re killing me, woman.”

“Good.”

“And you are still wearing far too many clothes.”

Her mischievous smile danced on her face as I unbuttoned her jeans and pulled them down, along with her matching pale-pink panties, with one sharp tug.

“Better.” I sat up and admired the beautiful woman before me. “Much better.”

She reached for me, but I caught her hands in mine and dropped my body over hers, pulling her arms over her head. “Patience. We have all night.”

Her nostrils flared. “Promise?”

“Most definitely.” I kissed her again, rougher this time, our bodies fitting together as if they were made to. I released my grip on her because I needed both hands to explore every inch of her gorgeous body.

The world outside could have vanished under all the snow, but I wouldn’t have noticed. The only thing I could focus on was the sweet sounds coming from Delaney as I searched for and discovered one sensitive spot after another.

I moved lower, working my way down her body, kissing across her stomach and my hands smoothing over her hips. She shivered beneath me, but not from the cold. There was no lack of heat between us.

By the time I nudged her thighs apart and kissed my way even lower, she was trembling. “Yes,” she moaned. “Oh, yes. Ethan.”

Fuck, I loved the way my name sounded on her desire-soaked lips.

Her hands threaded through my hair, holding me close but not pushing me away.

I skimmed my hands up each of her bare thighs, taking in the sight of her spread out for me. Totally exposed.

It was intoxicating.

Her lips parted in a shaky breath. Her eyes were wide and clear in the candlelight. She was beyond perfection.

I trailed my fingers slowly up her inner thighs to her sweet mound, savoring the way she gasped and her fingers tightened in my hair.

She shifted, her muscles tensing beneath the kisses I trailed up her leg. I nipped gently at the soft skin, feeling her body shudder in response.

God, I was totally consumed by this woman.

When I finally pressed my mouth to her, her hips jolted and she let out a broken cry that shot straight through me.

I took my time.

Kissing, sucking, blowing, learning every reaction and every little gasp. I meant what I’d said. We had all night. And I fully intended to use it.

There was nowhere else I wanted to be except right there with her on the floor of her tiny apartment, slowly unraveling her until she came apart from my kisses.

She writhed against me, her hips lifting, chasing her need.

I gave her exactly what she craved. Slow at first, teasing and coaxing her higher and higher. And then firmer, deeper until her whole body shook and she clutched at the blankets beneath her, trying to hold back her whimpers.

“Let me hear you, baby,” I told her. “Don’t hold back.”

Her next groan was louder, followed by a gasp when I slipped a finger into her heat. “Oh, God. Ethan…I’m going to…”

“Fuck yes, you are. Come for me, baby.”

And she did.

She cried out, her body arching against my touch as her orgasm shattered her.

My cock throbbed heavy with need and a desperation to join her in her pleasure.

But not yet.

I pressed my mouth to her sweet core, savoring the taste of her as I kissed her through the rest of her orgasm. Slow and lingering, easing her down from the high and letting her know exactly how much I wanted her.

When she finally went limp beneath me, I took my time working my way back up her body with small kisses. By the time I finally reached her lips, her smile was shy, but satisfied. She pulled me into a kiss that told me without words exactly how much she’d needed this.

Needed me.

And we weren’t anywhere near done.

Delaney

I wasn’t sure I’d ever catch my breath again.

Nor did I want to. Because…damn. I had not been expecting that when Ethan stepped into my shop.

I blinked up at him as he hovered over me, bracing himself on his forearms. His hair was a very sexy mess, mussed from my fingers tugging through his locks.

His mouth was just a few inches from mine, his breath and skin warm against mine.

I slid my hands up his back, feeling the tension in his muscles. A reminder that he was still holding himself back. “Well, that was…”

“Just the beginning, baby.”

His words sent a fresh rush of heat between my legs.

“If you’re up for it, that is.”

“Oh,” I tightened my grip on his back, “I am very much up for it.”

His lips curled up into a grin. He looked down on me with hunger in his eyes that I’d never seen before. “I am very happy to hear that.”

Ethan’s grin faded into something softer as he kissed me again, slower this time. I sank into the kiss.

He shifted, reaching between us, and my breath caught when I felt the press of his hard cock against my sensitive core.

“Still with me?”

I nodded, pulling him closer. “I’m not going anywhere.”

He hesitated, a groan slipping from his lips as he looked up again. “Delaney, I’m sorry. I don’t have a?—”

“It’s okay,” I told him. “I’m on the Pill.” It wasn’t even something I’d thought about. Especially after our earlier confessions.

He kissed me. His mouth consumed me and caught the gasp that slipped from my lungs when he pushed into me.

I sucked in a breath, adjusting to the slow, steady stretch of him.

“Delaney.” Ethan rested his forehead against mine, as if he couldn’t bear to be any farther away. “You feel so good.” His voice was rough, barely controlled. “So fucking perfect.”

We were so in tune, he read every move of my body. Every soft sound that slipped from my lips. When I tightened my grip on his shoulders, Ethan stilled for a moment. His fingers traced lazy circles on my hip, waiting for me to move again.

I lifted my hips, pressing up to him, and the low sound he made tugged something deep in my belly.

It wasn’t just physical between us. There was so much more between us, so much we hadn’t said. But at least in that moment, there was nothing that needed to be said out loud.

It didn’t take long for my body to tighten around him. Heat curled inside me with every slow slide, every soft brush of his lips on my neck.

When he shifted his angle slightly, I gasped as he hit a brand-new spot inside me. Reflexively, my legs wrapped around his waist.

“You like that.” It wasn’t a question, but I answered with a slight nod and pulled him down to my lips in a kiss that was anything but soft and careful.

When I rocked against him, urging him deeper, he cursed softly against my lips. “Delaney, I’m going to lose control.”

“Good.”

That was all it took for him to finally give in.

Ethan moved faster.

Harder.

Deeper.

Until I was moaning and squirming beneath him, unable to hold back the orgasm that was building up stronger inside me.

Every time he moved, it sent another wave of desire through me until I didn’t think I’d be able to hold back much longer.

I knew he was close, too. He buried his head in my neck, breathing hard. He braced himself with one hand, while the other locked onto my hip as if he needed to hold on or lose himself completely.

“Delaney,” he whispered, his voice strained. “Let go, baby. Come for me.”

I didn’t need to be told twice.

I broke apart with a cry. My body clenched tight around him, the pleasure tearing through me in sharp, blinding waves that felt like they’d never end.

He was right behind me with his own release. Ethan shuddered and moaned as he let go, his grip never wavering.

Afterward, we lay tangled together, breathing hard on our pile of blankets. The candles burned low, their glow starting to flicker. Slowly, I registered the storm outside was still battering the old glass panes. But we were warm and cozy inside.

Ethan moved to his back and pulled me over, so I lay on his chest.

He wrapped his arms tighter around me and stroked the mess of my hair off my forehead.

Neither of us spoke for a long while.

There was nothing to say.

Just when I thought he must have fallen asleep, he shifted beneath me enough that I lifted my head to look at him.

“So, I guess that kiss the other night,” I started. “It meant something after all.”

Ethan’s smile was lazy, but satisfied. He stroked a piece of hair from my face and cupped my cheek. “I think it’s safe to say it meant something, all right.”

“Thought so,” I teased.

“You are amazing, Delaney,” he said softly. “In every single way.”

I couldn’t help but chuckle a little, but I meant it when I replied, “And you are very charming, Ethan. In every single way.”

Only this time, when I put my head down on his chest again and let him cuddle me close, I no longer thought of that charm as a bad thing.

Not at all.