my body fought to accept all of him. A physical connection making us one. Two hearts so closely beating, two hearts that beat as one. Our bodies, with limbs intertwined as he established a rhythm that escalated, glided together in the most carnal way.
“Christ, Phoebe,” he sighed as his hips entertained slow deliberate thrusts that were almost too much to bear, yet I never wanted to deny him any part of me. If I could give it to him, I would, willingly.
“I’m gonna come,” he admitted through ragged breaths. I held tight to him as he climaxed, using my body for pleasure. My hips, my thrusts, my body… in return accepted him, devoured him with my eyes, and pledged to please him again as his body released. I loved him in those moments. I loved how he made me feel. I loved all that he’d done on this trip simply for me. He’d shown me the world. He’d shown me his heart. I wanted it. I just worried, as we got closer to his past, if it was up for grabs.
Chapter 7
AUSTIN
The Crew—The Replica
“IS THIS YOUR place?” she asked when she padded out barefoot to the kitchen in my shirt. Damn.
“What makes you ask?” I was worried about intimidating her with the things that were mine. Her tussled hair went every which way…so damn sexy.
“You’re standing in this kitchen like you own it. Literally.” Her lazy smile turned me on as she tucked herself beneath my arm. The second her green eyes flashed up to mine, my mouth covered hers with a series of slow kisses. A toothpaste-minty flavor lingered in her mouth. When she turned to putty under my arm, there was no part of her that I didn’t want to make mine. To erase any man who had ever come before me. Even though I hadn’t known her very long, a small part of me was envious that anyone else had experienced any part of her sweet, innocent perfection.
“What’s on the see-the-world agenda today?”
I snatched her up off the ground, resting her on the countertop and nestling myself right between her legs. The t-shirt wedged on her hips, exposing her panty-less lower half. My shocked eyes shot up to hers with a lustful moan.
“Don’t even think about it,” she said, bashfully burying her face in my shoulder.
Completely disregarding her words, my fingers massaged her warmth before dipping inside her, bringing back vivid pictures of how incredible she felt last night. Sitting more upright, her eyes glazed over in the hottest way, but I stopped when I noticed the slightest wince. “You ok?”
“A little sore. It’s,” she paused. “Been a while.” She shook her head as if she was embarrassed about that.
“Is there something I can get you?”
“Time. Isn’t that what heals all wounds?” Her lips turned upward in that contagious grin of hers.
“Regrets?”
A heavy swallow moved her throat as her head shook unconvincingly.
I touched my lips to hers, softly reassuring, needing her to not regret last night.
“We have some driving first and then you’ll be meeting people. I promise, I’ll keep my hands to myself.”
“As my boss, you should.” She smirked. I didn’t. Even the slightest insinuation that last night had been because she felt some sort of obligatory bullshit pissed me off. She slid down off the counter and with barely audible footsteps padded away from me. In that quick moment, I made the choice to let the comment slide.
_______________
The Washington state drive to the coast was as beautiful as the Oregon side. I wanted to introduce her to the coast, so the plan was to drive across the Astoria bridge, the Washington side was my choice. Our hands found each other during the car ride, but after her earlier comment, a part of me questioned her intent. I wouldn’t call her out on it, at least not yet. This obligation bullshit crawled inside my brain like a virus, consuming me. Drawing in a breath, I tried to let it go. Every move I had made last night held intent—to measure her response. Knowing she had been hurt…violated at some point by a fucked up foster care placement, I never wanted her to feel anything but desire or pleasure. I wanted to give the control to her.
Her gasp pulled me out of my thoughts. The minute the massive bridge came into view, her smile grew by the mile.
“It’s so big. So beautiful. Do we cross it?”
“Yep. Unless you wanna swim it?”
She rolled her eyes. “I can’t swim…so.”
“What