“What is it?”
“Thank you for inviting me tonight.”
“Darlin’, you don’t have to thank me. There’s nowhere else I’d rather be.” And when she lights up at that, I just gotta kiss her.
I lean down, closing the distance between us. And I don’t intend for it to go far, but her lips taste like chocolate, and she’s sliding her hand up, gripping my t-shirt.
She lets out a quiet sound, and fuck, it does something to me.
Somethinghungry.
I tilt my head, kissing her deeper, my tongue tangling with hers. One of her hands wraps around the back of my neck, and suddenly there’s barely any space left between us.
My hand moves to her waist, thumb brushing warm skin where her sweater has ridden up, revealing golden brown skin I want more of.
I slip my hand under the hem, running it up the curve of her back, and she gasps, but she doesn’t pull away.
If anything, she kisses me harder, my thumb brushes the side of her breast, light, testing.
She lets out a shaky breath.
Outside, the wind rattles the porch, a reminder that the world’s still spinning, but right now, we’re the only people in it.
I pull back enough to look at her. Her mouth is kiss-swollen, her cheeks flushed, pupils wide. Neither of us says a word as I start to ease her sweater up, slowly, giving her time to stop me.
Looking down, I slide her sweater over her ribs, revealing the shallow rise of her chest, and my breath stumbles as I discover that she isn’t wearing a bra.
I look down at her small, perfect curves, at her dark nipples hardening in the cool air. She’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.
I lick my lips.
While I’m staring down at her, mesmerized, Iris makes a small, startled sound.
I freeze.
When I look up at her, the heat in her eyes from before is gone, replaced by what I can only describe asfear.
I drop her sweater immediately, letting it fall back over her body, as my hand moves to cup her cheek. “What’s wrong? Did I- I didn’t hurt you, did I?”
“No!” She responds, shaking her head. “No, Nate. You didn’t do anything wrong.”
I wait, not wanting to push her, but my heart is pounding hard, every bit of arousal draining away, dread settling in. I wouldn’t be able to stand it if I hurt her. If she didn’t want—
“I just,” she pauses, looking up at the ceiling, flustered, by what she has to say or what we did, I’m not sure.
“I’ve never done this before,” she admits, twisting her fingers together like she does when she’s anxious, biting her lip, looking anywhere but at me. “I want to, with you. Someday. But I’m not ready to do anything yet.”
Relief floods through me so fast it damn near makes me dizzy. “Hey,” I say, making sure she’s looking at me. “That’s okay. More than okay. I swear I wasn’t trying to rush you.”
“You didn’t, Nate.”
“I do want you,” she continues, her cheeks coloring more than they already were, “But it’s my first time and—”
“I know,” I murmur, brushing my thumb across her cheek, then down to her chin, tilting her face up to me. “I can wait.As long as you need.”
“You can?”
“You got no idea how much I want you,” I say, my voice going a little rough. “But more than that, I want you to be comfortable.”
