Falling into You (Falling #1)(14)

He kissed me, pushing my hands to my sides. “My turn,” he whispered.

I nodded, and now my heart crashed wildly in my chest. I had a lot less for him to take off. He slid his hands up my bare arms, leaving goosebumps in his wake. I held my breath as he pinched the zipper pull in his fingers, bit my lip as he drew it down agonizingly slowly. A whisper of fingers against flesh, and then my dress was pooling around my feet, leaving me standing before him in my bra and underwear.

He’d seen me in a bikini before, but this was different somehow.

“You’re beautiful, Nell.” His voice was a husky breath in the silence.

“So are you.”

He shook his head, giving me a lopsided grin. His fingers skated over my shoulders, toying with the bra straps. His grin faded as I reached up behind me to unhook the bra. He stopped me, his hands stilling mine.

“Are you sure?” His eyes searched mine, tender and hesitant.

Hesitant. A voice in the back of my head murmured doubts, but I pushed them away.

I nodded. He brought my hands around to rest on his shoulders, and then took the bra hooks in his hands. He fumbled a bit, and his tongue darted out. I stifled a laugh against his shoulder.

“Shut up,” he muttered. “It’s not like I’ve ever done this before.”

“I know,” I said. “It’s cute.”

He growled under his breath as he freed one hook, then a second, mumbling a curse as the third and final hook defied him. “It’s not supposed to be cute,” he said, peering over my shoulder to try and see what he was doing. “It’s supposed to be hot and erotic and romantic.”

I giggled again as he cursed, fighting the last hook and eyelet. Finally it came free and then my laughter faded, replaced by nerves and desire. I did want this. I was nervous, yes, and afraid a little, yes. But I wanted it. There was no one else I could imagine doing this with but Kyle.

The bra joined our clothes on the floor, and then Kyle stepped back to look at me. I shifted my weight from foot to foot as he scrutinized me. I knew he thought I was beautiful, and I wasn’t uncomfortable in my own skin usually, but his blatant perusal of my nearly naked body was difficult to bear gracefully.

I bit my lip as I summoned the courage to do what came next; Kyle’s thumbs hooked in the elastic of his boxers, and I mirrored the action.

“Together?” he said.

I nodded, my voice stuck in my throat. He hesitated a beat, then pushed his boxers down to his knees and stepped out of them. I froze, unable to move, paralyzed by the sight of him, completely nude now.

It was his turn to shift in discomfort as I stared at him. He was beautiful. I had no real life experience to compare it with, but he was big, down there. He looked nothing like the images I had burned into my head, thank god. He was proportionate, and his proud, tall member seemed to beckon me.

His voice distracted me. “I thought we were doing that together.”

“Sorry,” I said. “I was going to, but then I saw you, and—” I couldn’t finish.

He lifted his chin, rolled his shoulders, flexed his fingers, summoning his confidence. He took a step towards me, and I forced myself to relax.

“How about you do it for me,” I said, shocked a little by my own daring.

“I like that idea.” His hands went for their favorite spot, just on the outward bell of my hips.

I was wearing lacy red underwear to match the bra, and Kyle’s hands drifted over the top of my butt, tracing the lace, following the line of the elastic. I forced myself to breathe as he pushed them down to my thighs, forced my eyes open and up to his as he palmed my buttocks.

I wiggled my hips and thighs, and then the scrap of lace was on the floor and we were naked together. My heart was a wild drum in my chest, in my ears. I was trembling from head to toe, fear and excitement and desire. His skin was hot against mine where his hands touched my bare hips, my ribs, his thigh against mine. The tips of my breasts brushed his chest, sending little thrills of lightning through me. His palms arced across my back, then dared downward to my ass, cupping and kneading, a little too hard, but I didn’t mind.

My hands moved of their own accord, palming the knots of muscle on his back, following the ridges and ripples of his spine. He sucked in a breath as I touched his backside, marveling at the cool hardness of it. I cupped it as he had mine, then clawed my fingernails lightly over the firm half-globes.

I felt something twitch against my belly as I touched him. I looked down between us to see his erection, the tiny hole at the very tip leaking clear fluid.

Glancing up at him, I saw his eyes widen as my hand delved down between us, and then his breath caught when my fingers touched him.

“God, Nell. You have to let go…it’s too soon.”

I released him and brushed my palm across his chest, then cupped his nape and drew him down into a kiss. The slow burn of our usual kisses smoldered, then burst into a blaze. I found myself pressed against his body, his hardness against my softness, and the fire burned hotter with the feel of his muscular physique flush against me.

He backed me up against the bed and I crawled backward, feeling the pound of nerves resume as Kyle followed me.

“Are you—” Kyle started.

I interrupted him. “Yes. I’m sure. I’m nervous and scared, but I want it more than I’m scared.” I bit my lip, then admitted, “I’m on birth control. I got it a week ago, just in case.”