Page 119 of Always: A Legacy Novel

Almost, almost, almost.

His low rumbling approval, hidden under her jaw where he kissed and kissed, let her know those words did not stay hidden inside her head. That was okay, too.

“Come again, for me.”

It still managed to surprise Catherine when she finally fell off that teasing cliff. No matter how long it had been building, she still couldn’t pinpoint exactly what it was that pushed her over, or how it felt just before, so she could prepare.

There was no preparing.

She just felt.

She just fell.

Cross clouded her vision, and she was just so damn high. Or, that’s how it seemed. His thumb stroked over her bottom lip, and she could taste herself on the touch, tart and new. He was already between her spread legs. His weight substantial—lovely—against hers.

He opened his mouth to talk—to ask, maybe.

Don’t ask questions.

Don’t make this weird.

He did ask, but it wasn’t weird.

Cross’s thumb swept her lip again, but this time, she peeked her tongue out to taste while she had the chance. “Okay?”

She smiled. “So okay.”

Catherine didn’t want to overthink it; she didn’t want Cross getting lost in that crazy headspace, either. She was still quite sure in what she wanted. Her nerves fluttered like butterfly wings beating in her stomach, but it wasn’t as bad as before. Not nearly as bad.

So, she didn’t give either of them time to overthink at all. Her hand slipped between them, and found his shaft hard in her palm. She liked the way his heartbeat thudded on the underside of his length. When she did something he liked, that beating pulse picked up, and she could feel it reverberating through her bloodstream.

Catherine held him where she wanted him, then leaned up to kiss under Cross’s jaw. “Okay.”

She expected pain.

She found none.

People talked of pain, and that had frightened her a lot. Others said they felt no pain at all, or very little before it was quickly gone. Both were normal, apparently, but Catherine was happy to have fallen into the latter category. She did not want pain to be the thing she remembered about having sex for the first time; she didn’t want it to be the sharpest memory to come forward.

It wouldn’t be, now.

It was a tight, too-full sensation. A stretching pull that wasn’t at all bad when her muscles clenched and unclenched, and she could move. It was every single one of her nerves being lit on fire and woke up as Cross pulled back, and then pushed forward again with a slowness that was going to drive her crazy.

His fingers dug into her waist, and pulled her body into his. She liked the way he looked like this—high above, muscles flexing with every twitch, and his gaze sweeping over her, back and forth, up and down.

Catherine hadn’t realized how hard she was clenching her muscles until she heard Cross mutter, “Jesus Christ, you’ve got to relax, or you’re going to kill me.”

As fast as Cross said the words, his arms wrapped around her back, and he rolled them over. The sudden movement left Catherine dizzy, and her vision blocked by the wildness of her hair. His hands pushed her hair back, and his thumbs swept under her eyes with soft touches.

She found they were both sitting up, but with her in his lap, and God.

Catherine shifted just a bit, her knees digging hard into the blankets, and found that he was hitting something inside her that made it hard to breathe. She must have relaxed enough for Cross because his husky laughter echoed in her ears. His amusement rocked them both, making her shift all over again and hit that spot again. Her fingers on his shoulders tightened hard with the intense sensation, making her nails score red lines on his tan skin.

“Found something, did you?” he asked. “You do what you want, babe. Make it feel really fucking good for us, Catty.”

She could do that …

That was easy.