Oh my God. Holy crap. I cling on to him, my back arching over the table, as he slides home, inch by unbearably pleasurable inch. My eyes are falling close as my body shakes, an overdose, but I stubbornly keep them open, needing to see his face.
His dark brows are drawn together, a deep crease between them, and sweat clings to his long lashes in crystal drops as he holds himself still for an endless moment.
Then he draws back, his cock doing a slow drag against my inner walls, only to slam back in.
We both cry out. He lowers himself over me until his face is directly over mine. He captures my mouth, kissing me hard, while he does the withdrawing-and-thrusting-back-inside thing. Again. And again.
He fills me up, possesses me like no one else has. His hard cock inside me burns, stretching me as far as I can go, but it’s good. So good I want to cry. Pleasure of this magnitude should be illegal. A boy so sexy should be outlawed.
A boy so kind.
But he breaks the kiss, lifts up on his hand, doing a reverse push up, thrusting a little bit deeper, a little bit better—and the fleeting thought is swept away in the torrent of pleasure as my body convulses. My core closes in around his cock, tightening like a steel coil, cutting off my breath.
He grimaces, his movements growing faster, frantic. He swells inside me and he lets out a pained groan, his mouth falls open…
Stars burst behind my eye lids—I didn’t realize they’d fallen shut—and I manage to whisper his name before I shatter into a million pieces.
***
“Hey, kitten.” He’s in the bathroom, drying his hands with a towel, his eyes bright, a small smirk on his lips. He crooks a finger at me. “Come here.”
“We’re late.” I fuss with my dress. Crazy that we never got undressed. The shiny fabric falls flawlessly over my hips and thighs. No sign that he pushed it up and made me come on the kitchen counter, then fucked me on the table.
Oh God, that was…
“Embers.” He catches me in two strides, throwing the towel on the rack, and cups my face in both his hands. “Look at me.”
“Why?” I have no choice by to lift my eyes to his, and I tumble into their depths—a starburst of moss green against smoky gray with flecks of gold. It’s dizzying, so I place my hands on his hips to steady myself.
“Because.” He leans in and drops a soft kiss on my mouth. So warm. So unbearably sweet and full of promises of tenderness that a knot forms in my throat.
“Now you’ll tell me you’ve never done this before, either,” I whisper, my voice rough. Because I sure as hell haven’t, and it makes me nervous. I’m falling deeper and deeper for him. “And I…”
“I haven’t,” he says, his hands shifting on my cheeks, cradling my jaw, his gaze clear and honest. “Any of this. And certainly not this.” He bestows one more kiss on my lips, the briefest caress, and there comes that faint smile no one can fake. Boyish, innocent, full of happiness.
Shooting me straight through the heart.
We’re late for the wedding, but right now I don’t care. I smile back and we just hold on to each other.
Could he be serious about this? About wanting to be with me? Give up on one-night stands, stop hooking up with the hordes of girls lusting after him? How can I believe a sex god like Jesse Lee will keep his word?
Has he even given me his word?
Does it matter?
“You’re trembling,” he whispers, and he pulls me to him, crushes me to the wall of his muscular chest. His heart thuds steadily against my ear. “Are you okay? Is it because of wedding reception?”
I say nothing, letting him think that’s the cause. I’m afraid, but the reception is the last thing on my mind right now.
Though that’s going to change, soon. The reception. People. Noise.
Oh God, why did I ever agree on going?
Well, at least it will take my mind of the fear of falling for Jesse and the mess I’m getting myself into. Have gotten myself into, ever since I met him.
“Let’s go,” he says, squeezing me one last time but keeping one arm around me as he starts walking us to the living room. “Don’t worry. I won’t let you down.”
At the reception, or in this thing happening between us?
Don’t ask, Amber.
I’ve always been insecure, and frankly, bullying hasn’t helped things, but I have to at least hide it. Get over it. Fight it. Take this a day at a time, read nothing into the fact he’s still holding on to me as I grab my purse and wedding gift, and we make it out the door. That he holds my hand down the stairs and while waiting for a cab.
Or even that once in the back seat of the car he puts his arm around my shoulders and kisses my temple, then rests his cheek on my hair, rubbing it like a big cat.
Read nothing into this at all, and live for the now.
If only my heart would listen.
***
The wedding is being held at the Gates of Heaven shelter in James Madison Park, near Lake Mendota. The shelter itself is a beautiful nineteenth-century synagogue, and when I see a crowd at the entrance, my stomach sinks.
“Do you think we missed the wedding?” I ask as Jesse pays the cab and we get out.
“Nah. Everyone’s looking this way. I think the groom and bride have been delayed.”
He’s right. Besides, it seems we’re doing this out in the open. There are flower stands with ribbons fluttering in the breeze set on the side of the synagogue, on the grass, lit up with spotlights. As the evening light is fading, the flowers seem to float on the air and their scent drifts over us, ghostly.
Roses and lilies. I breathe in their scent, mingled with grass and the freshness of water from the lake. Familiar faces and a blue Mohawk draw my attention. Clustered around a table decked in white cloth are Ev, Micah, and Kayla, and the guys I met at our party.
The party where I met Jesse—who had just been sucked off by a blonde in the bathroom.
Stop thinking about that. He says he wants to try with you. He didn’t know you then, so why hold it against him?
Because… Come on, Amber. Do you really think you’ve miraculously changed him? You? The wallflower at parties? The boring jewelry maker? Where every other girl has failed?
Shit.
A table with the wedding presents stands by the synagogue entrance, and I drift toward it.
“Wait up.” A second later, Jesse is by my side, his arm back around my waist.
I admit I’d not expected this. Not in front of everyone. It’s as if he’s telling them we’re together, and it has to be a first, if the shocked looks on their faces are any indication.
“So showing me a good time means holding on to me?”
“Busted.” He winks at me and grins. “I like holding on to you. Don’t you think we’d have a good time fused together?”
God, yes. But I shake my head, unable to keep from smiling. This boy…
I place my wrapped up package with the rest, and glance up at him. “Your gift?”
“I haven’t bought it yet.” He rubs the back of his neck and winces. “I didn’t want to ask for your help with that, too. Gotta man up and do it, right?”
Laughter bubbles up my throat. “Man up and buy some baby clothes?”
He shoots me a crooked smile and shrugs.
And here I am, making fun of him for something he can’t help. This from a person who needs help to get through a party without getting into a panic.
Nice job, Amber.
Before I get a chance to apologize—and how didn’t I think he’d need help to buy a present if he had trouble going out to buy clothes for himself?—a murmur goes through the small crowd. A white limo is arriving, and going out on a limb, I’d say the bride and groom have arrived.
The door of the car opens, and a tall, broad-shouldered guy in a dark suit steps out. His hair is short and spiky, and even from the distance I can tell his eyes are very pale. He’s very handsome.
“That’s Asher Devlin,” Jesse whispers in my ear, sending goosebumps all over my skin. His arm is solid around me. He points at the tall, blonde girl who steps out of the other side. “And that’s—”