Connected (Connections, #1)(78)

Summoning all my willpower to not throw him on the floor as his tongue meets mine and his body presses so close to me, I pull back from his mouth and sashay toward the bed. “You’re so bossy!”

He chuckles as I walk away.

As I sit down at the head of the bed, I cover my legs with my shirt and wrap my hands around my knees. “Okay is this less distracting?” I smirk, resting my chin on my knees.

“Not really,” he laughs.

“Well it’s irrelevant anyway since you promised a show.”

Shaking his head at me, he’s so f*cking attractive as he struts and sits at the foot of the bed. “I don’t remember promising,” he smirks. Then adds, “That’s a whole other type of transaction.”

I smile at him and laugh. “I’m willing to pay,” I wink before adding, “As long as the show lives up to my expectations.”

He softly smiles at me and says, “I hope it does.”

Placing his guitar on his leg, he positions one arm around the neck and his other over the body. “This is something I wrote this morning for you. It’s called Five.”

He begins to strum the same beautiful melody I heard earlier. I stare, mesmerized by his soulfulness. As he plays, the chords come to life with his concentration and intensity.

He sings the first two lines of the song and I listen.





5 years, 260 weeks, 1,825 days, 2.3 million minutes. That was how long ago I met you.





His lyrics immediately resonate in my heart. I can feel my heart growing, accepting him as the one who belongs there, the one who is meant to hold it.

As he sings, he slips further into his music.





If I did it all again. Would you come along for the ride? I hope so.

If I did it all again. Could you play this game with me? I hope so.





Tears are stinging my eyes as I unfold my arms from my legs. He continues to sing, lost in his own music, and I continue to watch, lost in him, in awe of him. Perhaps, in love with him?





And 5 years, 260 weeks, 1,825 days, 2.3 million minutes from today, will we still be together? I hope so.

Because I love you. Do you believe we will still be together? I hope so.

Because I really love you. Do you know so?





Shaking with joy and needing to touch him, to wrap myself around him, to show him I feel the same way, I crawl down the bed as he sings his last line.





Now you do—I love my beautiful girl.





Swallowing back the tears, I’m overcome with emotion. He wrote me a love song to tell me how he feels. Sitting beside him at the foot of the bed, I’m rendered speechless for a moment. The tears that have been welling in my eyes begin to slide down my cheeks as he sets his guitar gently on the floor.

As I open my mouth to speak, without knowing exactly what I’m going to say, he reaches over and gently cups my face in his hands. He brushes my tears away with his thumbs. He leans in, his lips practically touching mine. “Shhh . . .You don’t have to say anything. I’m not expecting you to say anything. I just want you to know how I feel. How much you mean to me.”

I kiss him, snaking my arms around his neck as he shifts on the bed to welcome me. When he whispers in my ear, “Dahlia, I love everything about you. I know in my heart you’re my girl, so amazing, so fun, so beautiful.” I feel my heart pounding and I know it’s about to jump out of my chest. Turning my head, I look into his eyes. The same gleaming green eyes as the first time I saw him. I thought then what I know now, that if I jump in I will never swim out. They are telling me he’s my future.

I can’t respond in words. I don’t know how. So I close my eyes, knowing I can show him how I feel. I kiss him lovingly. Parting my lips, our tongues meet and explore as if they have entered uncharted territory and are looking to claim it for their own.

Pulling back slightly, I teasingly suck on his lower lip before moving my mouth to his neck. Gliding my tongue down his smooth skin, I plant soft kisses along the way. I can feel his taut muscles through the fabric of his t-shirt as I slowly but firmly slide my hands down his back. When I trace my nails against his skin, I can hear a low growl in his throat. My desire to make love to him is so strong; I can feel my heart beating faster with every passing second. River must feel the same because at that moment, he grabs hold of my arms and gently presses me back so I’m lying flat on the bed, looking up into his sparkling green eyes. His hands move to mine, threading our fingers together as he raises both my arms above my head while softly running his tongue across my lips. I open my mouth and let his tongue inside as he releases one of my hands but quickly grabs it with his other, effectively keeping my arms, elbows bent, restrained above my head.

Still hovering over me, his knees at my hips, he breaks the kiss and slides his mouth to my ear. While running his free hand down the length of my arm from wrist to shoulder, he whispers in the sexiest tone, “I love you, Dahlia. And I want to show you just how much.”

My body shivers with anticipation as he runs his fingers down the front of my shirt, over one breast and then the other, my nipples hardening at his touch through the fabric of my clothing. Reaching the hem of my shirt, he slowly pulls it up my body, revealing my goosebump-covered skin. He licks his bottom lip slowly before ducking his head as he moves my shirt higher over my ribcage. His tongue touches the bare skin just below my breasts and follows my shirt’s path up my body as if trying to catch it in a chase. Once my breasts are exposed, his tongue teases my hardened nipples, circling them over and over, and I begin to moan. He’s still holding my hands over my head and I cannot touch him, although I want to so badly.