Page 56 of Meet Me in Ivy Falls

She melted into my arms, and I let all the pain and anguish of the last years melt over the top of our bodies.

‘I picked a college over a thousand miles from Ivy Falls and I stayed away,’ she whispered into my chest. ‘Not only because of my father, but because every corner, every shop, reminded me of you. I couldn’t drive near the lake without my heart aching. Walk past the movie theater without remembering how you’d drape your arm over my shoulders, pull me in close and place a soft kiss to my forehead.’

‘I’m sorry I made everything such a mess.’

‘When I first saw you at the auction, I hoped you were a ghost – a figment of my imagination. The reality of you reappearing in my life felt like a cruel joke much like that damn video. But…’ Her whole body shook and I held on to her like I’d never let her go again. ‘The truth is all those old feelings, no matter how much I’ve fought them, they’ve resurfaced again.’

She leaned in and ran a gentle finger over the scar beneath my lower lip. A reminder of the time we jumped into the lake as kids and I scraped my mouth against a thick branch floating in the water.

When she was done tracing its edge, she pressed her mouth to the thick, patchy scar above my heart and I nearly sprang straight out of my skin.

‘Can I touch you?’ I whispered.

She gave me a small smile and I unlatched her overalls, letting one strap and then the other fall. Once her shirt was gone, I undid her bra and let it fall to the floor. She was the most stunning woman I’d ever seen. As a kid, she’d been all sharp curves and angles, but this woman next to me was no longer a girl. She was a shining light. Every inch of her long neck and soft breasts a living, breathing symbol of all I needed in my life.

‘Tell me what you want.’

My words were meant to be a statement but they tumbled out of my mouth more like a plea. She’d pushed me away time after time, and I needed to know she was sure of this choice.

‘You,’ she rasped. ‘It’s always been you.’

Her admission was all I needed. I pressed my lips to her forehead, cheeks, the open skin at her neck, my mouth eager to brand every part of her skin as mine.

Our tongues swirled in a dance that had my blood humming. My brain screamed to move faster, but I’d waited for this moment too long. Dreamed of it for years. I was going to take it painstakingly slow. Memorize every inch and freckle as I explored this beautiful woman who’d held my heart since I was twelve.

I loved the way she moaned and sighed beneath me as I lowered my mouth to slowly caress her nipples with my tongue. Her body rocked and moved like my touch was something she craved. My hand palmed her back until my fingers found the top of her lace underwear. My body strained against the wool fabric of my pants. I’d been hard since the moment she’d confessed she wanted me.

‘The last time I touched you like this we were kids fumbling on a blanket, not quite sure where our hands and lips should go. Hell, it’d taken me at least two minutes to figure out how to open the shiny silver condom package.’

‘I remember,’ she said, pressing another hot, wet kiss to my chest.

‘But now, here in what used to be my childhood bedroom, a place where I’ve had dozens of fantasies about you, I plan to touch you in all the right places. Make you ache so badly that my name rips from your throat.’

Her kisses became more insistent as she used her tongue to trace a line down to the spot where my waistband began. I bucked under her touch as she skimmed her hands down the front of my pants. Knowing I wouldn’t last long if she kept going, I pulled her back to me.

‘This isn’t going to be a quick and fast roll in the sheets.’ I sucked and kissed all the places on her neck I knew she loved. A sensitive spot beneath her chin. The deep hollow of her throat. She whimpered as I continued the exploration of her body. ‘I’m going to take my time. Trace the red outline of your lips. The hard peaks of your nipples. The sweet wet spot between your legs.’

She grabbed my hands and placed them where her overalls hung on her waist. ‘Take them off,’ she ordered.

‘Yes, ma’am.’ I shoved the material down until it puddled around her feet. With the lightest touch, I slid my fingers down along her side, over her delicious hipbone, and then past the small strip of lace between her legs.

She grasped my fingers and placed them on her wet center. Slowly I used my fingers to taunt and tease the outside of her. I bent down and used my teeth to pull off the small slip of fabric. My fingers slid back up her legs. I touched her again, letting her quiver on the knife’s edge of bliss. She bit the corner of her lip and reached out for me like she wasn’t quite ready to go over that edge yet.

She clawed at my pants and I grabbed hold of her hands and slowly inched her down onto the khaki-colored tarp, shoving tools and paintbrushes out of the way. After tugging down my pants and then my boxer briefs, her hands moved to my chest, touching and kissing every bump and jagged scar. Her hands lingered lower and I had to suck in a breath not to lose it right in that moment.

‘Wait,’ I groaned.

My gaze ran the length of her from head to toe. I couldn’t believe I was here. Getting to touch and taste her again. I sat back on my heels and slowly took my time running my fingertips along her ankles, up past her calves, and onto her gorgeous thighs. Gently I pushed her legs wide and bent down, eager to taste her. To take her to that edge another time.

She writhed beneath my mouth. Her body arched into me for more until she took a heavy breath and shoved me back.

‘Condom,’ she demanded.

I reached for my pants and pulled the foil package out of my wallet.

‘What? Are you still seventeen?’ she teased breathlessly.

Heat filled my cheeks and all I could do was shrug as I slid it on.