AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Not on the cheek or my forehead or my hand. His lips crash directly into mine and he pulls me firmly against his strong body. I’m so stunned I don’t know how to react, but then it sets in.
Seth. Is kissing me.
Like a flip was switched, the lightbulb goes on. I raise my hands to rest on his shoulders, matching him move for move. I’m on the lake all over again because Seth’s kisses feel just like the water—strong and relentless yet warm and soothing. I fall into him and allow myself to swim, feeling the urgency in every brush of his lips over mine.
He alternates between deep, aching kisses and quick, needier kisses. His hands hold me tight at the small of my back, and I’m on my tiptoes to be close enough to him. My right hand grasps his strong shoulder for extra support, and my left hand wanders to the base of his neck, where I run my fingers through his dark hair. My touch makes him release a low groan, and he brings one of his hands to cradle the back of my head as he deepens our kiss.
Now it’s like we’re soaring across the lake, which I’ve learned is one of the most exhilarating things I’ve ever experienced in my life. Until this kiss. Now that I’ve felt Seth’s lips against mine, I don’t think I’ll ever be able to kiss another man without rememberingthismoment. I don’t want to kiss another man, I realize.
I want to kiss Seth exclusively for the rest of my life.
He presses lingering kisses to my mouth as he slows and his grip releases softly, each kiss more tender than the last.
I think I might cry.
When he eases his lips away, mine are tingling. My breaths come in short, unsteady little huffs and my heart pounds dramatically as he rests his forehead against mine. I don’t think I can put into words how I’m feeling right now. I can’t even fully comprehend it. In fact, I’m so awestruck that I say the absolute first thing that pops into my mind.
“So much for taking it slow, huh?” My joke sounds winded to my own ears.
Seth doesn’t respond. No, wait, he does. He presses another soft kiss to my mouth, but this one is different. I taste salty tears on his lips, feel pain in the way his hand trembles as his fingers skim my jaw.
Though I don’t particularly want to leave this euphoric bubble, I pull back, framing his face in my hands. It’s become one of my favorite things to do recently. His breathing is ragged, his lips slightly swollen, and he closes his eyes briefly as he leans into my touch. Then he opens them, new tears standing in the deep blue depths.
“I’m sorry,” he whispers, catching me totally off guard. “I shouldn’t have kissed you like that without asking your—”
“What—No, Seth.” I force him to hold my gaze, finding my voice. “I was teasing you. Honestly, I’ve sort of been waiting for you to kiss me.”
My lighthearted, flirty comment does not make him smile. Not even the slightest twitch in his lips.Lips that were on mine a moment ago.The thought makes me physically shiver. Seth notices. He runs his calloused palms up and down my bare arms. My thoughts scatter at his touch, and I swallow. Then I remember that I’m standing here in my Slothies and a pair of yellow cotton pajama shorts and my favorite T-shirt. I look like a little kid who never grew up and Seth looks like a war-weary hero who just kissed me like the world was ending.
“Jenna, I know what we said about taking things slow, but I…” He’s starting to sound a little less shaken, though I still see weariness in the lines around his mouth. Fatigue drowns out the sparkle that was in his eyes earlier. “There was an accident tonight. On the highway about two miles out of town.”
My stomach tenses because my gut knows what’s coming next isn’t good. I lean more fully into Seth; grateful his body is still strong and tall when he’s hurting. My fingers touch a streak of dirt on his forehead, and I brush his dark, unruly hair away from it.
Seth captures my wandering hand and presses a kiss to my palm. I see it in heartbreaking detail—his fingers grasping mine, his lashes resting on his cheeks as he closes his eyes, his lips against my skin. He cocoons my hand in his and rests it over his heart.
I love him.
This realization doesn’t rock me like it would’ve a few weeks ago. It doesn’t surprise me. It doesn’t make me feel anxious.
“A semi swerved and hit the…hit the sedan.” His words are choppy, but he keeps going. “There was a man and his son in the car. All three of them died, but I got there before the dad was gone. I was the one with him when he—when he—” He stops, voice too thick with emotion to go on.
“Shh,” I soothe, allowing my thumb to caress his cheek. “You’re safe with me, Seth. It’s okay now.”
“He told me to tell his wife and daughter he loved them.” His voice cracks on the last words. My heart breaks for both him and the family. “And then he was gone, right there in my arms. Jenna, I need you to know that I—that I love you. I know how fast this is and I will understand if you’re not ready, but after tonight I couldn’t bear the thought of you not knowing how I feel. I had to tell a woman that her husband and son died tonight, and all I could think as she cried in my arms was that, if something were to happen to me, you wouldn’t know how I feel. The kids wouldn’t—” he chokes on a sob “—know that I love them.”
“Hey.Hey.” I lay a tender kiss on the side of his trembling jaw. “It’s not too fast, Seth. I love you, too.” His body physically relaxes at my admission and his eyes sink closed, noticeable relief in his expression. “But you’re wrong. Ella knows how you feel because you told her. And even though you haven’t said it to Eli, he knows. He knows because of how you treat him. I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but my son doesn’t say a whole lot of words. He communicates best through actions. And based on how you just kissed me, you’re pretty good at nonverbal communication too.”
Seth takes a deep breath, exhaling it slowly. He takes two more just like it, then releases me. It surprises me, until I realize he wasn’t letting go. His fingers start messing with my hair, and it’s not until I feel my bun loosen that I realize what he’s doing. He lets my hair down, tosses the black ponytails on my entryway table, and then runs his fingers through the windblown strands I haven’t bothered to brush yet. I open my mouth to tell him it’s too tangled, but he shakes his head. Carefully and deliberately, he finger-combs the tangles out until my hair is falling in loose waves around my shoulders. I just stand there, my breathing shallow, unsure if I’ve ever felt so beautiful to a man before.
“I like you in a messy bun,” he murmurs, “but I love you with your hair down. It’s beautiful.You’rebeautiful.”
Just because the man is clearly a mind reader and because I love him, I flatten my palms on his chest and lean up to kiss him again. It’s dimly lit in my entryway, setting the mood, and he allows me to lead this kiss for a couple moments before he assumes the role. His lips are soft and gentle, less hurried than our other kisses, but no less assured and confident.
It’s not until the baby monitor on my hip goes off that we break apart, and it still takes me a minute to gather my wits. Then another whimper comes through the monitor, and my mushy brain latches onto the reality that I have two children. One of which is obviously now awake.
“I should probably go up—”
“Can I?”
