FADING (A novel)(97)

He makes me laugh as he leans down to kiss me. My legs wrap around his waist, and I twine my fingers in his hair when he picks me up. When we fall into bed, he trails his kisses down my neck, and my body starts to shiver. He slowly pulls back and gazes down at me with an intensity burning in his eyes. Sliding my hand up his chest, I wrap it around his neck and pull him back to me.

Our kisses are slow and with a passion I haven’t felt before. I thrust my tongue into his mouth and taste him, throwing myself into our kiss. His arms band tightly around me, and I’ve never felt so safe. My mind blurs, and I begin to lose myself in his touch.

When he lifts my back off the bed, I’m barely thinking when I pull off my top as he lets out a low groan. Lowering me back down, he shifts his hips between my legs and drags his head down to my breasts.

We’ve never moved quite like this before, but a part of me doesn’t want to stop. What I feel for this man is more than I ever thought I was capable of feeling. For a while, I thought I would never truly laugh again, but with Ryan, I’m my happiest. He gives me what I have been desperate for. Feeling him on my fingertips is enough to take me over, and I now want more.

Dragging his mouth from me, he pants, “We should stop.”

I’m not sure I want to though. I know I will never love anyone the way I love him; he’s all I want.

“Don’t.”

“Babe,” he says in heavy breath, searching my face.

When I look up in his eyes, I see all I ever want to see. He loves me in a way I never thought I could be loved.

“I don’t want you to stop.”

“I need you to talk to me.”

I can tell he’s unsure, I see it in his face.

“I don’t want to stop tonight.”

He closes his eyes and drops his head to mine. “Please tell me this is okay.” When I nod my head against his, he says, “I need to hear you say it, babe.”

Cupping his face in my hands, I say, “It’s okay. I want this, with you, I just . . . I don’t know if I can.”

There is a worry in his eyes that I don’t want him to have. Although I’m scared, I know I want him.

I take his hand with my trembling one and place it back on my breast and whisper, “Just touch me.”

He leans down and kisses me, long and slow while he slides his hand underneath my bra strap and slips it off my shoulder. I’ve never taken my clothes off in front of him before, and I feel the anxiety pool in my belly as he slides the other strap down, kissing my bare shoulder along the way. Pulling the fabric down, my pulse quickens, and in a moment of nervousness I confess, “I’m scared. I’ve never . . .”

Sweeping my hair back, he assures me, “It’s just you and me. You’re all I’ll ever want.”

He wraps his arms around me and unhooks my bra, dropping it on the floor. When he looks down at me, he sees my scar.

“He bit me,” I say on a hush.

I hate that I have Jack’s mark on my breast. It torments me to look at. It surprises me when Ryan leans down and kisses the scar.

“God, you’re perfect,” he breathes against my skin.

He drags his kisses down my stomach then sits back on his heels. Taking my hand in his, he places it over his scar on the side of his ribs. With words unspoken, I hear what he’s telling me. We’re both still alive, together, and we’re okay. Brushing his scar with my thumb, I bring my hands to his stomach, feeling his defined lines under my touch as my fingers slide up, around his neck, and tangle into his hair. I pull him down and lose myself in him.

My legs begin to quiver when he hooks his thumbs inside the waistband of my pants. He strokes his knuckles across my belly before gently tugging down. When I lift my hips, he pulls off my pants and underwear, tossing them aside. I watch as he removes his pants, and when we are both naked, he lowers himself back on me and my whole body is trembling. He pulls the covers over us, and I start to wonder if maybe I can’t do this. I want to, but I’m so scared. I have nothing good to associate with this, and I’m not sure I can.

Holding himself up on his elbows, he says, “Babe, you’re shaking.”

“What if I can’t do this?”

“Then we stop.”

Nodding my head, I am filled with nerves.

“We’ll move as slow as you need. You just tell me when to stop.”

“I don’t want you to stop.”

Giving me a smile, he leans down and kisses me. I wrap my arms around his neck and part my lips for him. He slides his tongue across my lower lip before he dips it into my mouth. We meld together as I run my hands down his neck and over his chest. His muscles are hard and cut beneath my hands, and I’ve never really taken my time to explore him until now. He’s a lot larger than me, and I feel tiny underneath him, sheltered. I take my lips from him, skimming them across his tattooed covered shoulder to his neck.

I need him when he grazes his hand over my breast and takes me in his mouth. I let out a soft moan when he slides his tongue over my nipple and gently sucks. My body heats, and I arch myself into him.

“Ryan,” I breathe out.

He drags his damp lips up my neck before saying, “You sure?”

When I say yes, he takes a moment to make sure we’re safe and protected. Resting his forehead against mine, he says, “Tell me that you want this, that you want me.”