The Perfect First (Fulton U, #1)(51)

I whirled around, my nakedness completely forgotten. “Are you kidding me? You nearly gave me a heart attack.” I shoved him with both my hands, but he didn’t move. He was a solid wall of delicious muscle.

His gaze dropped to my chest, to my breasts, and the temporary insanity was wiped away. I lifted my hands to cover myself but he caught my arm. “Don’t do that, Wild Child.”

A thrill ran through me whenever he called me that. It had started as a joke, but the more he said it, the more if felt like anything could be possible, like I had it in me to be a little wild and crazy sometimes. His fingers ran along the inside of my wrist. Blood pounded in my veins like a jet engine ready to take off.

“Don’t hide from me.”

“I’m not.”

Like there was a magnet attached to my eyeballs, my gaze dropped to the part of him I’d only seen through a foot of water and felt against me. I wasn’t the only one naked. This time, his cock was ready for its close-up. My pulse raced under his gentle hold on my wrist.

The air whooshed out of my lungs and I stared at him, slack-jawed like I’d just been introduced to a new wonder of the modern world. Despite all the five-dollar words I knew, there was only one word I could muster. “Wow.”

“Damn, you know how to make a man feel appreciated.” He smirked as his other hand skimmed along my arm, every cell in my body aware of what was happening, what I’d wanted to happen since he slid into that booth and sat across from me.

My cheeks heated, but I didn’t try to cover myself. He bent over and picked up something from the coffee table a step away.

The glass of white wine in his hand caught the little bit of light streaming in through the gauzy curtains in front of the pool house windows. “Nix recommended a few bottles from his dad’s wine cellar. Do you want some?” He held out the glass. The clear liquid swirled against the sides at his movement.

I nodded. My voice would have been a quaking mess if I’d even managed to get a word out. I could use some liquid courage—a whole vineyard full, but a glass would do.

“Good.” He smiled and stepped in closer. Dipping two fingers into the glass, he pulled them out, dripping with wine, and ran them over my chest. Down between the valley of my breasts, he painted a line with his fingers before cleaning it up with his tongue.

My shoulders shook. I let out a shuddering breath as the wine formed into small droplets streaking their way across my skin.

“I’ve never had this kind of wine before, but I want a whole lot more. Do you want more?” His voice deepened, his struggle for control all too real. My nipples tightened almost painfully. I needed his mouth on me.

Biting my lip, I nodded. Tendrils of my wet hair flicked forward, trailing water down my body.

He dipped his fingers into the glass again and painted the top of my not quite D cup. His lips attacked the spot then he ran his tongue along my skin. His patience was only matched by his ability to tease.

It seemed like the glass was nearly halfway empty when his lips finally made contact with my straining nipples. Every nerve in my body was centered on those peaks, and the way his tongue and teeth worked in unison nudged me toward an edge I’d never experienced before.

“Do you forgive me?”

I blinked twice, my earlier anger evaporating like the wine left on my skin.

“Forgive you for what?” My words were shaky at best as he set down the glass and ran his hands over my nipples, rolling them between his fingers and sending shocks straight through my body to my pussy. I squeezed my thighs together, trying to ease the building pressure.

“Lying to you.” His words were strained like this was taking as much of a toll on him as it was on me.

“On one condition.” My words were a breathy whisper.

“Name it.” His lips were inches away. All this and we hadn’t even had a proper kiss yet, not that there was anything proper about kind of breaking into someone’s pool house to get naked together.

“Take me to bed.” I looped my arms around his neck and pulled him close. My body was one match strike away from being engulfed in flames, and he was holding the matchbox. I braced myself for him to pull back or change his mind, to tell me this was a mistake or say I deserved better.

Instead, he bridged the gap in an instant, and I consumed his lips like an inmate presented with a last meal. He tasted like wine and chlorine.

Momentarily breaking the kiss, he bent his knees and scooped me up in his arms. “I thought you’d never ask.”





19





Reece





She was the most beautiful thing I’d ever seen. More than any win on the field, any pair of limited-edition Adidas, she was so many things, and I couldn’t even believe she was there with me. Take me to bed had to be the sweetest words ever spoken. The emotional charge of them was almost more than I could handle, so I focused on the mechanics of it: lifting her into my arms and kissing her while she squirmed, squeezing her thighs together in my hold.

Nix had given me full access to the pool house. I’d prepared ahead of time, making sure we’d have everything we needed. Nudging the bedroom door open, I stepped inside with Seph in my arms. Her lips peppered my neck and shoulder with kisses, sweet kisses like a touch from the gods.

Standing in front of the bed, I set her down on her feet. She glanced up at me, the confusion bright in her eyes even in the low light.