Page 43 of Speak from the Heart

He releases my lips and looks down at his hand, fingers reaching for me. When he swipes over my slick skin, I’m instantly on fire. Wet and willing, I want him more than I should.

He groans again as he feels how ready I am.

“Jess,” I purr. I don’t need the foreplay. I only want him. I want to move over him. He pulls his fingers away and lifts my hips, aligning me with the tip of his length.

“Condom,” he whispers as an afterthought, and I freeze. He’s right. We need to be responsible. I sit back, knowing I don’t have any, and he reaches for his shorts. I watch in heated anticipation as he rolls one on and returns me to my previous position. I balance over him for only a second before lowering onto him. Time stills as I sheath him in me. He’s thicker than anyone I’ve experienced before, and my movements are measured, almost torturous. He’s also long, and when I take him to the hilt, I feel him in places I didn’t know existed inside me. His fingers dig at my waist while I pause, taking a breath to absorb the depth of him.

“Jess,” I whisper, knowing I can’t offer any more than his name. Can’t tell him it’s never felt like this. Can’t tell him it will be so difficult to walk away. Gradually, we move, him thrusting upward and me pressing down. We rock—a sultry dance where I grip his shoulders and undulate over him as he surges upward, tapping a place deep within me. If feels so good, better than anything, and I don’t want us to ever stop, but the tension is building. My toes tingle. My belly drops.

“Jess . . .” I warn. The thrill moves like electricity racing to an outlet, ready to connect. A power surge of energy collides with the next thrust from him, and I give in, sparks flying in all directions as I come. My arms wrap around his neck, and my mouth falls open.

“Scream, dammit,” he growls. “Let me hear what I do to you.”

“I-I can’t . . .” I whimper, trying to take in oxygen. “You take my breath away.”

His mouth leaps for mine, crashing against me. His tongue delves forward as he begins to move me with more purpose. One minute, we’re making love in this upright position, and the next, we’re transitioned to vigorous sex. I pant and he grunts as I slam down on him and he bucks up. The friction sends aftershocks through me until I realize, “I’m going to go again.”

Surprise fills my voice, and it cracks as I sit back, watching where we move together as if I can see what’s about to happen to my body.

“Jess!” This time, I bellow his name, drowning out the music on the radio and the rushing in my ears. All I hear is the thundering of my heart as a second orgasm rumbles through me as intensely as the first.

“Fuck yes,” he whispers with his lips at my throat, my chin resting on his head. He hammers into me, dragging me to the edge of my pleasure, and then he stills, holding me in place over him. I feel him jolt but not fill me. Protection keeps his seed from seeping into me, and I almost cry out with disappointment. I want everything from him. Reality will register later how that wouldn’t be a good decision, but right now, as my arms circle his neck, clasping him to my breasts, I want every drop, every kiss, every heartbeat of his. I want all his sounds like he wants mine.

His forehead presses against my shoulder, and he kisses my skin.

“That was—”

Please don’t say ‘not supposed to happen.’ My eyes close. My shoulders begin to slump.

“Incredible,” Jess says, a chuckle in his voice.

For some reason, I pull back and question him. “Yeah?”

“Oh yes,” he emphasizes, reaching for my mouth and kissing me once again, remaining inside me until he no longer can.

Once we clean up and dress—Jess can’t stay because of Katie—he invites me to another family party.

“I have so much to do,” I say, glancing around the house. It needs fresh paint no matter what I decide, and I still need a new kitchen sink. All this time, I’ve been using cold water from the bathroom when needed.

“Let me come over and take another look at the sink. Then I can take you to the party with me.”

He tucks a piece of hair behind my ears, and I smile at the ease with which we stand together.

“I can’t. I have a meeting with Nana’s lawyer tomorrow in West Bay.” The larger town is three over from Elk Lake City and rests at the mouth of the West Bay, thus the name. It’s still small-town Americana but on a grander scale.

“Okay, well, tomorrow night for the party and the following day for the sink.” He leans in for a kiss before I can answer, and breathlessly, I realize I won’t refuse his invitation. He only has to ask, and I’d do anything for this man.

Maybe even stay.