other. Tears pricked my eyes at how perfect he was being, how he knew exactly what to do and didn't hesitate, or question, or make me feel uncomfortable. Not only because of my legs but because of the two people here, one of us was new at this whole sex thing.
But the newness for both of us was in the uncovering of our bodies, the unveiling of skin so that we could touch and taste it. I pushed his shorts down and tracked the V bracketing his hips with my fingers as I stared unabashedly at him. He leaned down and kissed the tops of each of my thighs and spread his hand over the middle of my stomach, only turning his fingers toward my core when he kissed me deeply again, claiming my mouth, claiming everything.
He worked his hand between my legs, and my body started trembling after only a few touches from his finger. I clapped a hand over my mouth as I felt a terrifying, mounting pressure climb. He pulled my hand down and whispered against mouth. "Don't hide those sounds. Give them to me, give all of them to me."
His fingers pressed down again, and I cried out as my body separated in a blinding, overwhelming pulse of light that split my skin wide open.
It was bigger, bigger, so much bigger than anything I'd felt alone.
"Holy shit," I breathed as I sagged back onto the bed. He kissed me, moving between my legs and leaning up so he could grab a foil wrapper from his nightstand. I couldn't stop kissing his shoulders, his chest, his chin, his lips. He laughed under his breath while he tried to focus on his task.
"Joss," he groaned when he was finally done. He clutched my hands and pressed them down on the bed. My frantic movements still had him smiling when I couldn't stop myself from trying to catch his mouth again. "It might hurt, just a little."
"I trust you," I whispered against his mouth.
He lined himself up against me, and I whimpered at just that one meeting point of him and me, a fraction of what waited.
His eyes snagged mine as I breathed through the delicious aftershocks. I pulled in a breath and slid my hands away from his and down his back. Levi pushed his hips forward, inch by inch, his forehead pinched tight with concentration, and I held my breath through the sharp pop of pain. He felt it, and I saw his shoulders start to shake as he held himself still.
"I'm fine," I breathed. "Please, Levi, it's good. It's so good."
We kissed softly as he pushed the rest of the way forward. When he was fully inside me, I wrapped my arms around his neck and wound my fingers through his hair.
"You feel," he whispered, pulling back and pushing forward again, "you feel incredible, Joss. You're so perfect."
His hips picked up speed, then the pace would lessen, and beads of sweat coated my forehead at the slow, slow build of pressure in my core. We stayed wrapped tight like that, his arms clutching me tight as his back curved up over me with each movement. I never wanted to leave. Never wanted it to end.
His muscles bunched under my hands as I moved them greedily over his damp skin.
As he moved faster, my body tensed tight at the surprising build of another explosion that simmered dangerously under the surface, waiting, waiting, waiting for something to release it.
With three words, he pulled the pin.
"I love you," he breathed against my mouth.
Boom.
It was sharp and hot and excruciating and perfect.
I cried out again, and he thrust forward with a loud groan, sinking slowly against me as he tried to catch his breath.
Tightly, so tightly, I held him to me, two tears rolling down my temples into my hair.
He loved me. I was loved by him.
Maybe it hadn't been according to his plan, but it was perfect.
Chapter 23
Levi
"Did you want more corn?" I asked Joss.
That was what came out of my mouth, at least. Across the table on my parents' deck, my eyes were saying something completely different. I might have been holding out the plate of bright yellow corn on the cob, but she smirked because she could read between the lines just fine.
"Not at the moment, thank you," she answered politely. Her eyes bugged out in warning.
I sighed quietly, and my mom cleared her throat.
My dad winked at me, giving me a nod because I guess I