We ease into our friendly conversation.
Leaning closer, he closes the gap between us and lowers his voice as he says, “I’m sure you would have tuned in just to see me naked.”
“Get over yourself.”
I push his shoulder hard with my hand, and he exaggerates the impact, bumping into the couch.
Chuckling to himself, he holds the burrito up in his hands and turns to me. “I’d DVR it if you were naked on TV.”
Then, I watch his mouth cover the top of the burrito, and he takes a healthy bite. All the while, my stomach flips and flops with his declaration. Just from one sentence, the tension fills the room again.
He swallows the last of his bite. “Man, I wish I would have figured that out years ago.”
“Figured what out?” I bite a much smaller amount than Tanner.
“If I compliment you, it shuts your mouth.”
He takes another bite, and I wait for a sign that he in fact likes the burrito.
“So not true,” I hammer back. Even though he’s correct, I’m not about give him that ammunition.
His eyes glimmer with mischief. “I’m going to store that to memory.”
I press the button on the television, to divert his attention to something else. I hate when uncomfortableness overcomes me after someone has said something nice. Then, an advertisement for Naked and Afraid comes on, and we both look at each other and bust out laughing. Tanner slaps his knee, and I attempt to swallow the food before I spit it out. Similar to a teeter-totter, we’re back to casual and easy.
“You’re imagining me on that show naked right now, aren’t you?” He places his burrito down and grabs his drink while his stare speeds up the beating of my heart. I pretend to rotate my head to free tension, so I can compose myself.
“No,” I lie, heat bringing a blush to my cheeks.
Placing his drink back down, he scoots closer. “It’s okay, Piper. You want a sneak peek.”
I glance up through my eyelashes, and my breathing stops as I watch his fingers unbutton his shirt. My fingers ache to touch his bare chest. When he reaches four buttons down, my hands ball into fists, and my fingernails dig into my palms. I refrain from ripping the fabric the rest of the way to help him out.
“Can I tell you something?” he asks.
His fingers stop moving, and my eyes flicker up to his somber face.
“Yes.” I can barely hear my shallow voice.
“I like you. I’ve liked you for a long time.”
My whole body heats from his words I’ve dreamed about hearing.
“Oh,” escapes my mouth. I inwardly cringe from not conveying my own admissions back.
Not skipping a beat, he continues, “I’m fairly certain you like me, too.”
His hand reaches out and cups my cheek. I press my weight into the heat of his palm, slowly losing myself in this moment.
“Am I right?”
“Oh.” I sit up a little straighter, taken aback from his directness. “Yes,” I release the word he was prying for.
A smile begins to form across his mouth. “Good,” he whispers.
He inches closer, and my body shivers from the expectation of a kiss. Holding in a breath, I close my eyes when the lightest brush of his lips land on mine. He holds the kiss steady, not accelerating the pace, and my lips tingle, desperately wanting to open, while my mind fights the urge. I don’t want to seem too aggressive. I allow him to take the lead on our first true intimate moment. When his other hand matches the placement on my other cheek, I inhale a deep breath through my nose, and my chest rises and falls.
His tongue licks along the seam of my lips, asking me to open up for him. I’m probably a little too eager, but I never perfected the hard-to-get role like other girls. His hand slides to the back of my head and gently tilts it to the side, his fingers threading through my strands. My stomach flutters, and heat builds in my core.
Our tongues slide together, diving deeper into each other’s mouths, as the kiss becomes frantic. Tanner gently urges my body down to the carpeted floor, and I glide backward, his lips remaining on mine. He’s so caring, as though he’s placed me down on a bed of nails. I forget that this man, who has kidnapped every sense I currently behold, used to be the one who tormented me the most.
My hand sweeps along his wavy hair, my fingers massaging the back of his hairline. A moan releases from me into Tanner’s mouth when his tongue deepens, demanding my mouth to open further and wider. Goose bumps travel up my spine as he removes one hand from my cheek before grazing his fingers painfully slow along my body, passing the swell of my breast, until he reaches between my thighs. Nudging one leg to the side, he slides his body in the opening, occupying the space as though my legs are meant to part only for him.
He slows the kiss, and his lips travel along my jaw, moving down to the crook of my neck. Arching my head back, I revel in the fact my dream has become a reality.
“I’m barely controlling myself,” he murmurs against my skin.
My body responds to his compliment by arching more, trying to entice his hands to explore me further.
“I want to rip this dress off.” He fiddles with the belt that’s barely holding the dress together by a knot.
The pressure of his bulge nudges into the barrier of only my panties, making me wetter.
“Do it,” softly slips from my lips.
His head startles up, observing me in shock. When he sees how serious I am, a sly grin takes over, and he descends down my body, nipping at my collarbone.
“I’m never one to turn down a request.” A small chuckle leaves his mouth, and his tongue slips out to joins his lips in the assault of my body.
“Always the pleaser,” I joke.
His back vibrates from the laughter he’s unable to hold in. “You know me all too well.”
His finger manipulates my belt loop, and his hand pushes the fabric aside. The heat of his palm tingles my flesh along my stomach. A guy’s touch has never felt this good, this hot, overcoming me with lust.
With my dress falling down on each side, exposing my white bra and panty set. The sheerness leaves nothing to the imagination. His eyes rake over my body with a predatory stare, and his tongue snakes out, licking his lips. When his gaze hesitates a bit longer between my legs, my panties dampen more, if possible.
“Jesus, my dreams didn’t do you justice. I thought I knew your body, but damn, Piper. I’m holding on by a thread here.”
His words bring an overwhelming ache between my thighs.
He thinks he’s going to explode? I might combust if he continues staring at me as though I’m the first woman he’s seen naked.
“Do you plan on talking the whole night?” Finding a hidden sex kitten deep inside of me, I jut my finger out, grazing it along the waistline of his jeans, as I try to give him my best come-and-get-me expression.
“Hell no.” He bends back down, his hand pulling down the cup of my bra, freeing the flesh into his hand. He massages the tender skin, pinching my nipple between his thumb and forefinger.
His lips explore the crevice between my breasts, and my fingers press his face into my body as my legs wrap and clench around his waist.
He grinds his erection into me, and I gasp for a breath. His moist mouth sucks my breast in while his two hands explore around my back and releases me of my bra. He helps me completely shed my dress and bra, and something deep inside me roars to life. It’s not shyness or self-consciousness. Rather, an out of control hunger from finally getting what I’ve craved for so long.
I push on his chest, and he scoots off of me. His brows furrow from me stopping him. He sits up, and I straddle his lap at the same time. He moves back to lean against the couch. His two hands dive under the fabric of my panties, massaging and molding my ass, as I began unbuttoning the last of the shield between us.
I push the button-down shirt off his shoulders, and warmth shoots through my veins. The moment processes that this guy in front of me is mine—at least for right now. Inching forward, his lips find my shoulder, his teeth nibbling on the flesh. My head falls back, and my body leans into his tight hold.