Текст книги "From Ashes"

Автор книги: Molly McAdams

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Текущая страница: 11 (всего у книги 23 страниц)

“Why didn’t you ever tell me?”

“When was I supposed to? You’ve been dating my cousin since we met.”

A lump formed in my throat as I realized all the time I’d wasted thinking Gage could only ever be my friend. “Gage, I’m so in love with you.”

“But Tyler . . . ?”

I shook my head and cleared my throat. “Wait, why did you think Tyler and I were together when we first met?”

“Because he told me you were.” His brow furrowed.

For obvious reasons, I wasn’t a fan of violence, but I instantly wanted to punch Tyler. “Tyler and I only dated for a few months. You didn’t want me and you left, and I was afraid of losing Tyler too, so I agreed to be his girlfriend a little while after you’d moved out.”

Gage stopped swaying us, his face full of disbelief. “What? No.” He shook his head. “You were the one who didn’t want me. You told me you weren’t okay with what I felt; you were with Tyler while we were at the ranch—he told me what you did for him the morning y’all left.”

“What I did for him? What do you mean? Tyler was my best friend and nothing more. Gage, you were the one who told me to leave at the ranch. I was going to ask if I could stay with you, I was going to tell you that I was in love with you, and you kicked us out; Tyler told me you moved out of the apartment because you couldn’t stand living with me. He’d been telling me that since the first day after we moved in with you.”

“You were going to tell me you loved me, that last morning at the ranch?” When I nodded, Gage looked up and hissed a curse. Cupping my face in his hands, he pulled me close. “Tyler lied.”

He crushed his mouth against mine and my knees buckled under the wave of emotions swarming through me, but Gage’s hands left my face and he tightened his arms around me to keep me standing. How had I ever been able to kiss Tyler after having these kisses from Gage? He slid his tongue between my lips and I softly moaned into his mouth. A chill went through his body when I pressed myself closer to him and gripped his messy hair; I smiled at the knowledge that I could do that to him. Gage moved his lips across my jaw toward my ear.

“Let me take you home,” he whispered huskily into my ear.

I’d let him take me anywhere.

We started making a beeline toward the cars but that was the same moment the bride and groom were going to take off, so we not-so-patiently stood in lines with everyone else and blew bubbles at them as they ran to their awaiting limo. Once their taillights had faded into the distance, Gage grabbed my hand, intertwined our fingers, and walked me to the passenger door of his truck. Planting one searing kiss on my lips, he gently lifted me up onto the seat, letting his fingers trail down from my waist to my knees. My heart about stopped.

He rounded the front and, after hopping in, pulled me across the seat and kissed me senseless. Not long after, with both of us struggling to catch our breath, he broke away, but I wasn’t ready for it to be over just yet. I turned to better face him and eagerly pressed my lips to his neck, alternating between soft kisses and little nips, giving him a taste of the torture he’d put me through earlier. His fingers gripped my hips and a low moan escaped from him as I lightly trailed my lips along his jaw. The sound warmed my body and I could feel my control slowly slipping away. One of his hands made a trail down my thigh and curled around my knee, pulling me over so I was now sitting on him. I gasped and brought his mouth back to mine. I needed him. All of him. I ran my fingers through his hair and arched my back so I could press my body more intimately into his.

“Cass.” He spoke around our kisses. “Cass, we should stop.”

I bit down on his lower lip and gently tugged in response.

The next noise coming from his throat could only be described as the sexiest growl I’ve ever heard from a man. He fiercely attacked my mouth again and soon the windows were completely fogged up. Gage slid his hands under my dress and traveled up toward my underwear. Thank God they were cute and lacy tonight. His fingers had just started curling around the sides to pull down when his hands and mouth froze.

“No, Cassidy, we need to stop.” His hands were now cupping my cheeks and holding my face a couple inches from his. “I’m not going to do this here with you.”

I shook my head and tried to kiss him again. “I don’t care, Gage.”

He stopped my advance and looked directly into my eyes. “No.”

A huff of air escaped my lungs and I lowered my head dejectedly. I tried to move away, but his hands kept me anchored to him. Pressing his forehead to mine, he held us there while our breathing returned to normal. What felt like an eternity of trying to hide my embarrassment later, he finally slid me back onto the seat and pulled out of the parking area. Neither of us said anything until we were five minutes from the house, then he took my hand and pressed it lightly to his lips.

“Don’t be upset, Cass . . . please.”

Easy for him to say. I shrugged and looked out the window. “I’m not.”

We pulled up to a red light and he took my chin in his hand, forcing me to look up at him. He knew I was lying. “I swear to you, it’s not that I don’t want to.” I suppressed an annoyed laugh; of course he would say that. “But I’m not about to take that from you, especially in my truck. You deserve better than that.” Someone honked behind us and he started driving again.

The distraction couldn’t have come at a more perfect time, because my eyes were huge and my cheeks were now bright red. I’d forgotten that during my rant to Gage, Adam, and Dana about why Tyler had brought that girl back to our place, I’d also disclosed the fact that I was still carrying my V-card. Someone please kill me now.

As soon as the car slowed in the driveway, I left my heels in the truck, jumped out, and ran for the door, key already in hand.

“Cassidy, wait!” Gage yelled as he threw the truck in park.

I know it’s childish, but it’s what I’ve always done. Bad situation came up? Run away. Kind of hard to break that lovely habit. Only this time, I didn’t have Tyler or Gage to run to. I thought about calling Jackie and packing a bag, but first I needed to get the damn door open. After almost dropping the key, I finally got it in the lock and opened it as Gage called my name again. I slammed the door shut behind me and raced for the closet in my room, grabbed my duffel bag and threw it onto the bed. I’d thrown the contents of one drawer into the bag and was heading for another drawer when Gage reached me.

Grabbing my arms, he spun me around so I was facing him, and though his grip didn’t hurt, it effectively held me there. “Damn it, Cassidy, what are you doing?” He was searching my eyes, and I saw his were full of confusion and I watched as they filled with pain and fear when they flicked over to the bag on my bed. It could have been seconds, minutes, or hours. Time seemed to stop as my heart broke looking at this amazing man. Blowing out a breath, he stood up straighter and released my arms so he could push the hair away from my face. “Don’t run to him. Not from me.”

I let out a strangled sigh but couldn’t think of what to say. Hey, Gage, I appreciate you trying to protect my virtue. But in case you didn’t notice, I just put myself out there and you freaking rejected me before bringing up the fact that I’m still an inexperienced virgin. I wasn’t mad at him; I got it. Who would want to be with someone who has absolutely no idea what they’re doing?

“Please don’t go, Cass. I want you here, with me.”

I’d never had anyone ask me not to leave, and he’d just asked me twice. “I won’t.” It came out soft as a whisper. He raised an eyebrow and let out a humorless laugh. I quickly said, “I promise.”

Pressing a soft kiss to my forehead, he released my hair and stepped away. His eyes looked so hurt and it took every ounce of control I had not to throw myself into his arms. He was giving me my space even though he was so sure I was about to leave him. It was practically written all over his face with a bright red Sharpie that he didn’t think I would stay. With a final sigh he turned and left my room. When he hit the living room I heard his deep voice trailing behind him.

“I love you, Cassidy Jameson.”

Dear Lord, I was so in love with him. I didn’t think I could ever get enough of hearing those words coming from his lips. No matter how much my gut screamed at me to grab my stuff and leave before he had the chance to hurt me again, I forced myself to unpack the duffel bag and get ready for bed. Pulling on a pair of sleep shorts and an old concert tee, I went to the bathroom to wash my face and throw my hair into a messy bun. Hoping to assure him I wasn’t running from him, I walked out to the living room and went to his door, but it was locked and there wasn’t any light coming from under it. I sighed and reluctantly walked back to my room.

G AGE

HOW HAD I fucked up so bad last night? I couldn’t believe what I’d heard from Cassidy about Tyler, and God, did it make me want to punch him all over again. Realizing just how much he’d lied to both of us to keep us from each other pissed me off to no end. But having Cassidy tell me she loved me took all that away. Kissing her and having her kiss me back again had felt so right, and I hated how much time we’d wasted, but damn if I was ever going to let anything stand between us again. And then I’d gone and done the job myself.

I’d checked on her that morning before my run, so I knew she’d stayed, but I didn’t know if she was planning to, or if she was just waiting for today so she could move out. Thinking about her leaving punched a hole through my chest, but I wouldn’t force her to say. I wouldn’t force her to do anything; she’d had enough of that with Tyler. I would treat her like I always did and let her make the moves. It terrified me, not being in control of the situation, but I knew Cassidy needed to be the one to do this, so I’d sit back and wait. Praying to God that at the end of the day, she was still in my place and wanting to be with me.

The coffee had just finished brewing when she stumbled out of her room and once again I was stunned at how beautiful she was. Her hair was a disaster, she looked half-asleep, and that Sex Pistols shirt about swallowed her whole, but she was still the most beautiful girl I’d ever seen. Her cheeks reddened when she saw me standing there and I held my breath until she staggered into my chest for our morning hug. Thank you, God.

“Mornin’.”

She mumbled and I laughed.

“How are you?”

Those whiskey-colored eyes looked up at me and for a long while she didn’t say a thing, just continued to stare at me. I wanted to kiss those naturally pouty lips so bad but I forced myself to let her do this at her own speed. “I’m fine,” she finally said, her voice raspy from sleep, “you?”

“I’m good.” Not anymore, I thought when she stepped away and made her coffee. She drank two cups without saying a word, and after she put her mug in the dishwasher she turned and faced me for a minute.

“We didn’t get groceries yesterday, so we’re going today.”

She’s getting food; does that mean she’s staying? “All right, I’ll take you.”

“Uh, no, I always go with Jackie. She’s going to pick me up soon, I’ll just go with her.”

Definitely leaving. Damn it. “I’ll be here, Cassidy.” Whenever you decide to come back. Before I could make an ass out of myself and drop to my knees and beg her to stay, I forced myself into my room and went to take a shower.

C ASSIDY

“I JUST DON’T understand. I thought he’d be happy I stayed.” I looked up at Jackie to see her face full of disbelief. I’d just told her everything from the night before.

“Um, I’m sure he’s thrilled that you stayed, but did you really think he was just going to pick you up in his arms and kiss you to death this morning?”

“Well . . . yeah.”

Jackie snorted and picked up a packet of sliced fruit. “Cassidy, you ran from him last night and started packing a bag. Granted”—she cut me off with a hand when I started to speak—“you did stay. But he probably doesn’t know how to act around you now. From what you’re saying, he thought you did something with Tyler after the first time you kissed, and the second time, you run from him. What is he supposed to think?”

“Damn,” I whispered.

“If it were me, I’d go right up to that boy and kiss him.”

“Really? But what if I’m wrong about all of this? What if he was lying last night?”

“Do you think he was lying to you?” she retorted.

“No.”

“Well, then it’s settled. When you get back march that tiny ass of yours up to him and kiss him good. He’ll wrap you up in his arms, you’ll say, ‘Take me to bed or lose me forever,’ he’ll go all Maverick on you and take you to his bed to ravish you for hours.”

I rolled my eyes at her. “Top Gun, Jackie? Really?” I smiled at her and grabbed a grapefruit. “And your ass is smaller than mine.”

JACKIE GAVE A wry “Good luck” as I hopped out of her car and made my way to the house. For some reason, I still half expected Gage to slam his mouth down on mine as soon as I saw him, but that didn’t happen. Actually, I’m not really sure what happened. I opened the door and found Gage sitting at the kitchen table with his head in his hands. As soon as I shut the door he looked up and his eyes got wide, his jaw dropped, and he just stared at me.

“Um, I’m just going to put these away . . . ?”

Gage stood up so fast, he had to catch the chair before it toppled to the floor, and he hurried to the kitchen with me to help me put away the groceries. He didn’t say a word as we did it, though more than a few times I caught him looking at me from the corner of his eye. His weird silence confused and unnerved me, so instead of taking Jackie’s advice right then and there, I did the cowardly thing and headed for my room.

“I’m just going to take a shower,” I mumbled as I headed away. When I reached my door I chanced a glance back at him to find him walking slowly toward his own room, his head down and a hand rubbing the back of his neck. “Gage?”

He turned quickly, his green eyes shifting through a range of emotions while his face stayed impassive.

Before I could talk myself out of it again, I walked quickly over to him, rose up on the balls of my feet, wrapped my hands around his head, and brought it down to mine. His arms pulled me into a tight embrace and he smiled through our kiss. It was long and slow and oh so perfect.

“You’re not leaving?” he whispered against my lips.

“I can’t.” I shrugged, hoping he’d understand exactly what that meant.

Gage pressed his lips to mine again and lightly brushed my tongue with his. “God, I was afraid I’d never get to experience that again,” he confessed when we separated.

“Wait, then why were you so distant this morning and when I got back?”

“I’m not Tyler, darlin’, I’ll never push you. I’m taking all my cues from you. But can you please tell me what happened when we got home last night?”

So he was waiting for me to do something? God, Jackie was brilliant. “Gage, I was humiliated. Still am, actually.” He wasn’t getting it. “You rejected me, only to remind me soon after that I’ve never been with anyone. It makes sense that you wouldn’t want to be with me because of that, but that doesn’t make it hurt any less.”

“Whoa, wait . . . what? How did you even come up with that?” I opened my mouth to respond but he continued. “Cassidy, you being a virgin doesn’t make me not want to be with you. If anything it makes me want you more, so I could claim you as mine. All I want is for your first time to be perfect, and my truck in a parking lot at your friend’s wedding is anything but perfect.”

“I really screwed last night up, didn’t I?”

He laughed and wrapped his arms around me. “I’m just glad you stayed.” He peppered my cheeks and lips with soft kisses.

“Gage, did you really just say you wanted to claim me?”

His husky laugh went all the way to my toes. “I’ve wanted nothing else since you spilled your beer on me.”

“Oh God, we’re back to that again? Are you ever going to let me live that down?”

“Never.” He grinned wickedly as he bent down to kiss me again.

“Gage?” I asked through a breathy moan when he placed an openmouthed kiss on that spot behind my ear. “I’m in control with what we do?”

He brought his head up to look me in the eye. “Completely, Cass, do you want me to stop?”

“No, but if I do want to stop—”

“Then we stop. No questions asked.”

I nodded and sucked my bottom lip into my mouth, thinking about finally making my dreams of him a reality . . . well, some of them anyway.

“Come on, let’s just watch a movie.” He mistook my silence and grabbed my hand, towing me to the couches.

Before we got to the couch, I tugged on his arm and slowly backed up toward his room.

His eyes darkened and he looked quickly between me and his bedroom door. “Cassidy, don’t do this for me.”

“I’m not,” I said softly. “Did you already forget about last night?” I asked with a sly grin.

“You’ll let me know—”

“I’ll tell you when to stop, Gage,” I assured him.

With that, he put his hands on the back of my thighs and picked me up, and walked us to his room, his mouth never leaving mine. He gently laid us down on his bed and kept most of his weight off me while still pressing his body to mine. Bringing his knees up, he put his weight on them and unzipped my thin hoodie before peeling it off me and covering my body with his again. My hands went to the bottom of his shirt and I pulled up until he helped me get it off, depositing it on top of my hoodie on the floor. I traced the contours of his shoulders, chest, and stomach while letting my eyes memorize every square inch of his upper body. He had an amazing body—I already knew that—but to be able to freely touch it, and have the weight of it pressing down on me . . . I couldn’t help but smile as I lifted my head off the pillows to kiss him again. He met my kiss greedily and soon I was shivering when he moved lower and his teeth lightly grazed my throat. Arching my back to press my chest into him, I silently willed him to touch me. His kisses alone were making my insides heat, but I wanted more. It took me another minute to realize he wouldn’t do anything until I told him. I still couldn’t believe he was putting me in control.

“Gage,” I said around his mouth, and he just moved it to kiss along my jaw.

“Tell me what you want, darlin’.”

“Undress me.”

I was expecting him to rip my clothes off, but God, what he did was so. Much. Better. The first to go was my shirt, and as he slid it up inch by inch, his mouth and tongue followed the hem of my shirt. When it was finally off, he captured my mouth with his and kissed me until I was completely breathless. Then he tortured me the exact same way with my jeans, placing hot, openmouthed kisses all the way down my hips, thighs, calves, and feet. I knew I should have been at the very least a little embarrassed by the way I was writhing beneath him, but I just couldn’t bring myself to care right now. He hadn’t even touched me yet and already I was shuddering with pleasure. He retraced his way up my body and, without lifting his head from my upper stomach, brought his hands under my back and unhooked my bra, slid the straps off my shoulders, and pulled it from my body.

Placing a hand on either side of me, he lifted himself off me and shamelessly studied every inch of me. One hand came up slowly and touched down on my lower stomach toward my hip. As soon as the tips of his fingers were on my skin I knew where they were, what he was looking at, and my body instantly locked up. I’d never let anyone other than Tyler purposefully see my scars, but I didn’t exactly have a choice since he was the one who always took care of me. How could I have forgotten about the hideous lines marking my body? Especially at a time like this. I didn’t want Gage to see this part of me. God, I should have waited until it was completely dark in the room! He’d seen the bruises for a brief moment when I moved here, but I’m sure he hadn’t even noticed these the night I walked here from Tyler’s. I preferred it that way. There were only two outcomes to this: disgust and pity. Neither of which I could live with coming from him. My hands blurred as one tried to push him away and the other stupidly tried to cover the biggest scar on my torso.

“Stop.” Gage’s voice came out so softly I almost didn’t hear it.

“Please let me put a shirt on,” I begged shakily.

“No, babe.” He gently but effectively pinned my hands against the bed. “I want to see you.”

“Gage—” I sucked in a deep breath as he dipped his head and gently placed his lips on the right side of the large scar and slowly made his way to the left.

Without looking back up at me, he broke the contact with my skin until he came upon another, slightly smaller scar and bent to kiss there as well. Over and over, Gage kissed my stomach, thighs, arms, and shoulders until every scar on my front made by my mom and stepdad had been covered. When he was done, he resumed his earlier study. Gage said something I couldn’t make out, and after another minute looked directly into my eyes, his green ones dark and full of want. “You’re perfect, Cassidy.”

G AGE

OH MY GOD, how is she mine? I couldn’t have taken my eyes away from her even if I wanted to, which I definitely didn’t. Her small body lay there; the only part moving was her chest, which was rapidly rising and falling as she watched me look at her. “So beautiful,” I muttered, and she was. Every part of her, scars and all, was absolutely beautiful.

My eyes raked over her perfectly curved hips and flat stomach leading up to a tiny waist and perfect breasts. Perfect. There was no other word for this girl lying underneath me. How could I have wasted a second of my time on any other woman than her? And yet, I’d never paid a tenth of the attention to them that I was giving to Cassidy. Every other woman had been a means to the end result, but I could have spent the rest of the night simply looking at Cassidy, and it wouldn’t have been long enough. My jeans were uncomfortably tight, but I resisted the urge to let them join the rest of the clothes on the floor and continued my visual exploration of her. I glanced over her small shoulders, dipping into her neck and up her throat before looking at her full lips, swollen from kissing and partially open. And finally, finally, I reached her gold eyes, bright with unshed tears. Mine. This beautiful girl is mine.

“You’re perfect, Cassidy.”

A sound that was a mix between a laugh and a sob left her and she tore her arms from under my hands and threw them around my neck, burying her head in the crook of my neck. She was shaking slightly and I ran my hand through her long, thick hair.

“Are you okay?” I asked when she still didn’t let me go.

Her face flashed before mine for only a second before disappearing again down my chest, where she began to place damn near torturous openmouthed kisses. But that second was enough; her eyes were still wet but she had the softest, most beautiful smile I’d ever seen on her. It was more than just my smile, and I wanted to see it again.

With a gentle tug of her hair, I brought her lips back to mine. They moved against each other for a short time and I about thanked God out loud when she arched her back and guided my head to her chest. Her hands moved to the top of my jeans when I brought my mouth to the swell of her breast and I groaned against her skin at the extra space she’d given me by undoing my jeans and pulling them down slightly.

“Touch me,” she urged, and I once again forced myself to move slowly.

My fingers had just glided over the soft cotton of her underwear and curled around the top, ready to push them down, when the doorbell rang quickly three times. “Ignore it,” I growled against her breast.

“ ’Kay.” Her voice was low and breathy and a shiver went up her body when my fingers trailed over her heat as I pulled down her underwear. The bell sounded again and her body locked up. “The guys are coming for the game and dinner!”

I almost told her that they would get the hint when I remembered I’d given Adam a key after the whole Popsicle Cassidy incident. Shit. “Adam has a key,” I said in a rush just as I heard the front door open and voices enter the house. With a frustrated growl, I kissed her hard one more time, jumped off her, and had my shirt back on in a few seconds. Adjusting my painfully hard erection and buttoning up my pants again, I looked back to see a flushed and frustrated Cassidy watching me from the bed. “I’ll tell them to go.”

“No, it’s fine. They’ll be gone later tonight.” There was so much promise in that last sentence; I knew it’d have to be enough to get me through the game.

I nodded and opened the door slightly so I could slip out without anyone seeing in if they were near the hall. Glad I did, because Ethan was just starting to walk down it.

“Hey, man, we thought you guys weren’t here.”

“Nah, I was just busy. Anyone want a beer?” I called as I walked uncomfortably into the kitchen, hoping to get their focus away from my bedroom door. It was a futile attempt though, because as soon as a fully clothed Cassidy stepped out with her somewhat messed-up hair and red cheeks, the living room went completely silent.

My beautiful girl straightened her shoulders and walked confidently into the kitchen, keeping her eyes on me the entire time. “Any requests for dinner tonight?” she asked when she finally looked at them. I saw her cheeks flush even darker, but she kept her chin up as they all gawked at her.

Ethan glanced at me with a sly grin and mouthed, Fucking finally, before looking back at Cass. “Uh, can you make your inside-out burgers?”

“Sure.” She glanced at the rest of the guys, who still weren’t talking, but Adam was smiling at her. Trying to avoid the stares, she set about getting out a massive amount of snacks for us. When she pulled all the ingredients out of the fridge for the burgers and put them on the counter, I stepped up behind her and put a hand on each side of her.

“You okay, darlin’?” If the guys didn’t start talking soon, I was going to get uncomfortable.

“I’m great.” Her head tilted back and she smiled widely at me; her hand came up around my neck and brought my head down for a slow kiss in front of everyone. Knowing how much she hated showing affection with Ty in front of anyone, that kiss meant the damn world.

I smiled down at her and kissed her softly once more before straightening up and facing the guys and a gleefully happy Dana and Jackie, who must have come in sometime after I’d pinned Cassidy against the counter. They shuffled past me toward the kitchen and I grabbed the remote out of Jake’s hand and turned on the TV.

Tossing the remote back at his stomach, I said, loud enough for him and Grant to hear me, “You come over to watch the game or stare at my girl? ’Cause if it’s the latter, y’all can leave.”

“You and Cassi?” Jake finally asked with raised brows.

“Yeah, me and Cass. If you have a problem with it, you can take that as another invitation to get the hell out.”

“I’m good,” he said, and I looked up at Grant, who had just pulled his eyes away from Cassidy and given me a satisfied smirk before settling into one of the couches.

I FINISHED SAYING bye to Grant and Jake after practically throwing them out of the house. Everyone else had left an hour before, and I wasn’t dumb enough to not realize they were staying to piss me off. I’d had a hard-on practically the entire night and I couldn’t stop touching Cassidy in some way or another. We’d been anxiously waiting for everyone to leave, and those two settled in further and started flipping through the guide on my TV when the game was done. Trying to give them a hint, Cass and I had done the dishes and stood in the kitchen talking after we were done. When I realized they weren’t going on their own, I made sure to let them know their time was up.

Turning around after dead-bolting the door, I caught sight of Cassidy dropping her shirt to the floor with a Come get me look on her face as she turned to go down the hall toward my room. Hell. Yeah. My girl is damn sexy. I didn’t wait for the bedroom either; my shirt was forgotten somewhere in the living room and my jeans made it as far as the bedroom door before being left behind as well. Cassidy had just slipped off her bra, and I picked her up and tossed her on the bed; a throaty laugh filled the room as she landed. Before the bed was done settling from my having her thrown on, I was on top of her and claiming her mouth. She moaned and secured me to her body with her arms and legs, but it wasn’t close enough . . . I doubted it ever would be. I would always want to be closer to my Cassidy.

Her hands trailed up my back, over my shoulders, and then one continued down to my hand, which was in her thick hair. Grabbing my fingers, she moved my hand and slowly brought it down her body, keeping our fingers intertwined as she led our hands to remove her underwear. I stopped kissing her to watch our hands make their way back up her leg and stop below her left hip. Looking down into her now-dark eyes, I held her gaze as I took my hand from hers and slowly ran it over her before sliding one finger inside. She gasped and let her head fall back as her eyes fluttered shut and her mouth opened slightly. I watched her face as every sensation ran through her body and soon added a second finger, earning a soft whimper from her. Holy hell, she was so tight. Glancing down again, I watched my hand teasing her body and got the strongest urge to do something I’d never done. I know I told her she was in control, and she was, but I couldn’t stop myself from asking. Hell, I was about ready to beg her to let me do this for her.

“Darlin’, I—”

“Please, Gage,” she said soft as a whisper, and her heavy-lidded eyes looked up at me. “I’ve wanted and dreamed about this for so long. I don’t want you to stop.” She brought her shaky hands up to my hips and slid the band of my boxer-briefs down enough to take my erection in her hands, and a shiver ran through my body.