When Our Worlds Stand Still (Our Worlds #3)(41)

“What do you think you are doing?” she asks.

I push gently on her stomach, pinning her to the mattress, as my head dips between her legs. A moan pours from her mouth as I run my tongue over her clit.

“No, we don’t have time for this.” She protests, but it’s too late.

“There’s always time.” I look up at her from between her legs.

She grins and props up on her elbows. “Okay, maybe you’re right.” Her hands clench my hair, pushing and guiding me around a place I know better than my own hand.

When I know she’s ready, I snag a condom from the side table drawer.

“We don’t need to, I mean, if you don’t want to. I’m clean, obviously, and I trust you.” She rambles off the request. Her voice is shaky and unsure.

“I’ve always practiced safe sex.” I straddle over her once again and smirk down at her.

“I know. I’m just saying … Never mind.” Kennedy covers her face with her hands.

“Don’t go all shy on me now.” I shake the foil wrapper between us.

“I don’t know what I was thinking.”

“Well, why don’t you try explaining it to me?”

She struggles for the right words, bobbing her head from side to side. Her eyes focus on the space between our bodies. “Have you ever gone … like …”

“Bareback?” I ask. To ease the weird tension growing between us, I smile. “No, I haven’t.”

“Never?” She worries her bottom lip.

“What’s this about?” I shift off the top of her.

“I only asked if you wanted to because I thought it could be something we could share. Clearly, you were all my firsts, but I know I’m not any of yours. The idea snowballed into something ridiculous in my head. I’m sorry.”

“Don’t ever apologize for wanting to be one of my firsts. Believe me, when the time is right, you will be. For now, we should be safe.”

No, you don’t. Dive into the water without the life preserver. Splash about. Explore the cave.

“I can’t believe I’m turning down skinny dipping in the deep end.” I shake my head, rubbing the sleep from my eyes.

“You’re tired, and I totally ruined the moment.” Kennedy kisses the tip of my nose. “Let’s go to bed.” She shifts the blanket around until she can pull it over herself, covering her body made of perfection wrapped in pure bliss.

“You didn’t ruin the moment,” I whisper in her ear, sliding behind her. “Do you think we could sleep like this forever?” She cups my hand to her chest. Her heart beats erratically.

“With us, forever is the only option, Graham.”

The mixture of her hot skin and the cool sheets is enough to send me into overdrive. Instead of reaching around and finishing what we started moments before, I listen to her breathe. Something I seem to do a lot these days. Her soft, barely noticeable puffs of air seem to be a balm for every shitty thing in my life. It’s in this bed where I’m most at home, and it has nothing to do with my life being in Connecticut.

It has everything to do with the girl who whistles between her teeth every few minutes while she’s asleep.





When I wake up, every muscle in my body screams in agony, reminding me of the events last night.

I roll over at the sound of Graham’s light breathing. He stirs when I shift closer to him. Of their own accord, my fingers trace the worry lines on his face. Even in his sleep, he appears tense. When I graze his bottom lip, those lines disappear, and his eyes spring open. He grabs my hand, halting my perusal.

“Bad dream?” I ask.

“This morning is a bad dream,” he answers, kissing my fingertips, taking extra care of each of them. The gesture is tender.

“Make me a promise.” I rest my head on his chest. My middle finger traces small circles on his abs.

“Anything you want, you can have.” He drops a kiss on the crown of my head.

We fall silent, letting the morning reality settle into our bones.

“Okay, two things.” I gaze up at him. “First is, you can’t give in to everything I say. I love the boy who challenged and fought me at every chance he found.”

“You mean you don’t want the sweet version of me?” Graham props up on his elbows.

“I think you have room to be both.” A smirk plays on my lips.

“Okay, I can find it in me to fight with you, but what’s the second promise?”

“It’s actually for both of us. We promise to see each other as much as possible.”

“Easy enough.” He places a chaste kiss on my lips.

Sliding my legs over the side of the bed, I get to my feet and snatch pants and a plain t-shirt from my open suitcase. A glance at Graham, in nothing but his black boxer briefs and a grin, has me biting the inside of my cheek. The changes in him surprise me. His hair is a little longer, but not obnoxious in length, and he seems calmer and more mature. But his body is the most drastic of his transformations. Clearly, he’d been something to look at in high school, but now, his attributes are magnified, making him hard to look away from.

“Find something you enjoy, Kennedy?” Graham’s voice breaks my eyes away from his gorgeous body.

“Do you want to shower with me?” I blurt without thinking and giggle when he freezes. His head tilts in question, so I wave an easygoing hand at him. “It’s okay if you don’t want to.”