My head tilted, arching a brow. “How do you know mine?”
He chuckled softly. “Fair point.”
I wouldn’t subject Emmett toThe Notebook, even though he said he’d watch it, so we put onThe Shining. It wasn’t long before I was curled into his side, his arm around me to hold me close. As much as I loved him holding me, I couldn’t relax. I didn’t know why he was here, what this meant, or what it was. Movie nights and ice cream weren’t something friends with benefits did. But neither was crying to one another. Or playing in the creek. Or threatening to quit jobs for the other. So I guess the rules of what fuck buddies could and couldn’t do didn’t apply anymore.
Would this be what dating him would be like? Movie nights and thoughtful gestures that made me feel seen? Like so many times before, I imagined going on dates with him; us getting dressed up for each other just to barely make it through dinner before we were tearing at each other’s clothes as we stumbled through the door of the home we shared. I imagined waking up beside him and making him breakfast. I pictured taking Birch and Willow out for rides to the creek.
I wanted it. All of it. But that wasn’t our reality and wouldn’t be.
About halfway through the movie, Emmett’s fingers began slowly swiping along my thigh in a dizzying back and forth. It didn’t take long before I couldn’t focus on the movie anymore, not that I really was to begin with. But every time he touched me, my mind went a little haywire.
Jack Nicholson had started swinging his axe around when I couldn’t take it anymore. Not exactly panty-dropping stuff, but Emmett’s hands on me made everything feel sexier. I tilted myhead, nuzzling the crook of his neck, and started leaving little kisses along his skin. His chest rose with a heavy inhale, and I smiled before kissing him again, this time with my tongue.
His voice was husky when he said, “What are you doing?”
I swung my leg over him and straddled his lap. Pouting, I ran my hands along his chest. “All work and no play makes Lilah a dull girl.” I slowly pulled the tie on my bathrobe open. I shrugged my shoulders, and the plush robe fell away, pooling around my legs.
Emmett’s jaw tightened, swallowing thickly. His hooded gaze fell to my chest before trailing down my stomach to between my legs. He looked at me so intently, so reverently, it was practically tangible.
He didn’t say anything, just looked. And I let him get his fill, having never felt more beautiful than I did when his eyes were on me. My pulse fluttered when his stare finally met mine. His eyes were all pupil. The want, the pure desperation, of it lit me up from within. Warmth pooled between my legs until I ached with it. The kind only he could soothe.
His voice was nothing more than a whisper. “So beautiful.”
I wrapped my hand around his jaw to tip his head back. Our mouths collided roughly in a clash of pure want. He groaned into the kiss, meeting me with just as much ferocity.
A shaky breath slid past my lips when Emmett finally touched me. It was like stars dancing on my skin, engulfing me in sparkling, tingling warmth. His hand glided slowly up my back, settling at the nape of my neck. My nipples hardened at the possessiveness of it. How he could move me any way he wanted with just a flick of his wrist.
Wordlessly, Emmett spun, laying me down on the couch. He pulled his shirt off before crawling on top of me. I couldn’t stop myself and ran my hands up his arms. Over every ridge and valley of muscle that popped as he supported himself above me.
“I love your arms,” I panted. “Love how strong you are.”
He let out a low hum, lips trailing along my jaw to my neck and chest. My eyes fluttered shut when his mouth wrapped around one of my nipples, sucking gently. “I love your tits,” he replied, just as breathless, before moving to the other. “And these little piercings. So fucking sexy.”
I chuckled. “Lucky for you, there’s two.”
My nipple slid past his lips with a pop. “Yeah,” he said, voice rough. His hand ran up my thigh to hike it up over his hip. “Lucky me has the sexiest woman alive beneath me.”
My heart stuttered, maybe even exploded, I wasn’t sure. “Sexiest woman alive, huh?” How I even managed to utter the words, I didn’t know. My head felt full of static. Everything inside me did. Endless buzzing that only intensified the longer he touched me, as if I was actually his. Like we were together for real.
“Yeah, sugar. I’d have to be blind not to notice how gorgeous you are.”
Butterflies swarmed in my stomach. I reached between us and slid his sweatpants down. “Interesting, considering you never once looked my way in the last twenty-seven years.”
He shifted his weight, taking them off completely. His skin was scorching against mine. “Sorry, I only recently got my vision restored.” My breath caught when his fingers met my clit, rubbing in slow, soft circles. I spread my legs wider. My hips tilted up into his hand. I needed more. Needed everything I knew he could give.
“But now all I see is you,” he whispered. And when he looked at me, it was like he was seeingme.
The words landed like lightning strikes, obliterating everything in their wake. “Emmett.”Say it now.Tell him now.
“I love the way you say my name,” he continued before I could confess, rubbing faster. My lips parted, but nothing cameout. Nothing could. “I love the way you look at me when we’re like this. Like you can’t believe this is happening. Like you never want it to end.”
My heart swelled, punching all the air out of my lungs. “I can’t,” I gasped. Choked, really, when two of his fingers slipped inside me like they belonged. I reached for his arm, grip strangling, as I pulled his hand into me harder. “I don’t.”
My body wound tighter with every brush of his fingers. My thighs quaked. Toes curled. Head lolling back, my eyes fluttered shut. “I love how good you are at this.”
“Yeah? You gonna come all over my hand, sweet girl?”
A ragged groan tumbled out of me, nearly there. “No,” I panted, forcing his hand away. “I want you inside me while I come for you.”
