More Than Words
Page 34

We both moved toward each other at the same time, meeting at the foot of the bed, our bodies colliding gently. I took her face in my hands and realized I was trembling. Am I scared? I wasn’t sure what I felt other than an all-consuming need for her. “Jessie,” I repeated, her name anchoring me somehow, as if I had fallen somewhere deep and unfamiliar and she was the only thing holding me steady. Rescuing me.
For several heartbeats, we quietly studied each other up close in the pale yellow light of the room. I’d made promises to myself, set boundaries, and yet suddenly it felt as if none of them mattered. They felt far away, unimportant, made in a place where all the rules were different and where I was not free to follow my heart. We’d have to return to all that later. But here … here …
My breath hitched as my gaze moved over Jessie’s arched brows, to those sensitive hazel eyes, across the light dusting of freckles that made my heart careen wildly in my chest, down to that beautifully pouty top lip. My own lips parted, a question floating in the air that I didn’t know how to voice.
Jessie’s eyes met mine, and she seemed to know what I was thinking because she answered the question I’d been too afraid to ask. “Yes, I want you, too.”
I let out a harsh exhale, bringing my mouth to hers, first running my tongue across that delectable upper lip. Mine. I delved my tongue into her mouth, tasting the sweetness of her as she moaned and pressed her softness against me. I broke from her lips to trail mine down the silky skin of her throat. “Are you sure, Jessie?” I murmured. I wanted this. I wanted it so much I thought I’d die if she changed her mind, but I had to give her the opportunity to do just that. I had to know she wouldn’t regret this, that she wouldn’t hate me for taking something so precious. Her.
And yet the harsh pounding of my heart was as much fear as it was desire. The fear was an aphrodisiac, too, the knowledge that this mattered in some way sex had never mattered before. My blood hummed with the thrill, my senses utterly and completely aware of every gentle brush of her fingertips, every soft inhale of breath, the smell of this room—orange-scented furniture polish and old wood—and Jessie, bathed in the subtle fragrance of roses. “You smell different,” I murmured. “Like the garden at the winery. Did you bring the roses back with us?”
I felt her lips move into a smile. “I think so, yes.”
Her fingers threaded through my hair, the scratch of her nails on my scalp delicious bliss, and I moaned, hardening even more and pressing my aching groin against her. Jessie met my moan with one of her own and dropped her hands from my hair, stepping back. She gripped the material of her nightgown at her hips and pulled it up slowly, her gaze remaining locked on mine until she pulled the fabric over her head. Her hair cascaded around her shoulders and over her breasts as she tossed the garment aside.
My blood thrummed hotter as I allowed my gaze to move down her naked body. She was a masterpiece. I used my finger to brush one side of her hair back, exposing a perfect breast, pale pink areolas, and her already hardened nipples. I leaned in and took one in my mouth, running my tongue around it slowly as Jessie let out a groan, bringing her hands back to my head and pressing her breast more firmly into my mouth. I sucked gently, and Jessie let out another sweet moan. “Oh, Callen, yes.”
Leaning back, I moved her hair off the other breast and licked and sucked at that one as well, until I felt her hips lift slightly, seeking relief. The heavy buzz of electricity pumped furiously between my legs to the same rhythm as my heart.
Jessie’s hands pulled at my T-shirt and I leaned back, yanking it over my head quickly and taking her hand, leading her to the side of the bed. Reaching around her, I pulled the heavy comforter back, exposing crisp white sheets. She sat down, gazing at me with so much trust that my heart nearly beat out of my chest.
Her hair spread out around her as she lay back, and for a moment my eyes drank in the sensual beauty of her: the shape of her curves against the white background of the sheet, the peachy tone of her skin, the roundness of her breasts, capped with pretty, pink nipples, down to the patch of brown hair between her legs.
Her breath shuddered, and I kicked off my shoes, removing my pants and boxers and kicking them aside before I slid into bed. The feel of our naked skin pressed together was almost too much, and I wondered if I would even be able to hold out long enough to bring her pleasure. I felt like an overeager boy, so filled with lust my body vibrated with it.
What are you doing to me, Jessie?
Music pulsed inside me, not a melody but a harmony, a deep, slow-moving, primal tempo that played in time to the blood pumping through my veins. I held on to it, though loosely, somehow knowing I only had to recall this moment, the dreamy, blissful expression on Jessie’s face, the scent of this day—roses and rain—for the refrain to return.
Struggling to rein in my pulsing desire, I ran my hands down her body, learning her intimately, the velvety texture of her skin, the way her belly clenched when I touched it lightly, the firm smoothness of her thigh, the birthmark on her hip, the things that made her her and no one else. Possessiveness coiled inside me, and I brought my lips to hers, kissing her slowly—marking her maybe—as I brought my hand between her legs. I groaned when my finger slid into the already slick wetness of her tight opening. “Jessie,” I moaned. She pressed her hips upward, silently asking for more, so I breathed in a deep, steadying breath, bringing the silky liquid up and over the tiny swollen bud at the apex of her thighs, circling it slowly. She let out a strangled moan, pressing herself toward my hand as I attempted to cool my own raging desire.
Her moans became loud gasps when I brought my mouth back to her breasts and licked at her nipples in time with the circling of my finger.
I wanted her to lose her mind with arousal, to go halfway insane with lust, to feel heaven and earth colliding as she came on my hand. I didn’t have to wait long. Several seconds later, she arched her back, screaming my name as she climaxed.
A short sob came from her throat as she came down, her body relaxing all the while her legs circled my hips, bringing me closer to her.
“Now,” she breathed, a desperate note to her voice, moving her pelvis to line up with mine. I laughed shortly, a strangled sound of humor that turned into a hiss when she succeeded in bringing the tip of my penis to the wetness of her opening.
“Wait, Jessie. A condom.”
I reached blindly for my pants, locating them and fumbling for my wallet with one hand, holding myself off Jessie with the other. I finally managed to extricate my wallet from the pocket of my jeans and removed the condom. Leaning back, I ripped it open and slid it over my length, the brush of my fingers causing me to suck in a breath. I was so hard I felt like I was going to explode with the merest touch.
Jessie watched me with lazy eyes, reaching toward me in a silent request to move back into her arms. I did, bringing my lips to hers, leaning one elbow on the bed next to her to hold my weight and using my other hand to bring my erection to the soft, sweet warmth between her legs. I held myself there for a moment, suddenly afraid, worried not only that I was going to hurt her, but that this somehow was going to hurt me as well. “Jessie—” I started, intending to ask her again if she was sure, if she was certain she wanted to give this to me.
“Callen, yes,” she said before I could form the question. And then she lifted herself, bringing me deeper into her. I groaned out in bliss at the tight squeeze of her around the throbbing head of my arousal. She tensed up. I’d never been with a virgin before, but I figured the best way to do this was quickly. I pressed inside her, feeling the tearing of the delicate membrane. She cried out, her thighs clamping more tightly around my hips.
“I’m sorry, Jessie. I’m sorry,” I said, kissing her face even as my hips demanded that I move. It felt so fucking good to be inside her; I felt half-crazy, the need to thrust and pound so overwhelming that I could barely hold myself back. But I didn’t want to hurt her any more than I already had, and so I waited.
“It’s okay,” she whispered. “I’m okay now.” She brought her lips to mine and kissed me sweetly, tenderly, her fingernails running down my back and over my ass, causing my whole body to shudder. “You can move,” she said, obviously feeling the effort I was exerting in remaining still. “Let me feel you. All of you.”