Bittersweet (Redemption #3) - Jessica Prince Page 0,49
head to the side to allow him better access.
It wasn’t my first kiss, but it was my first with Jensen, and it was by far the best I’d ever had.
His fingers pressed deep into my skin as he slid his hands down my ribs, my hips, my butt, where they came to a stop and squeezed. He used his hold to pull me tighter against him, bending me backward as he ramped the kiss up even more.
I was breathing erratically by the time he pulled back. My lips felt swollen and bruised. My skin tingled all over, and I felt a pulse between my thighs.
“Shit,” he hissed, resting his forehead against mine as he desperately gulped at the air. “Knew it would be that good. You got no clue how long I’ve been wanting to do that.”
“Really?” I asked, slipping my fingers down to the nape of his neck and gently running my nails along his skin. It made him shiver so I did it again with a smile.
“God, sunshine. I’ve been dyin’ to kiss you. You have no idea.”
I felt positively giddy and my smile reflected that as I let out a sigh. “I thought you weren’t into me anymore. When you stopped hitting on me and quit making jokes about getting what you wanted, I thought you’d lost interest.”
He gripped me harder, pulling me against him so I could feel just how interested he really was. My lips parted on an exhale. “Not for a second. I knew if I didn’t want to push you away, I needed to play it cool.”
“Well . . .” I swallowed, my throat suddenly feeling dry and scratchy. “I’m glad you did. I’m not sure I’d have gotten to know the real you if we hadn’t had these past couple months.”
He lifted his head, his eyes bouncing back and forth between mine as his expression turned serious, even . . . concerned. “And now that you know the real me?”
“I really like you,” I confessed in a soft voice.
He gave me a smile that didn’t hold an ounce of arrogance. It was all genuine and it was the most beautiful smile I’d ever seen. “I like you too, baby. A whole fuckin’ lot.”
For what had to be the first time in my life, I emitted a girly little giggle. I would have been embarrassed, but I was too damn happy. “So we’re . . .” I hedged, needing him to say the words so I knew they were real.
“Together,” he finished for me. “We’re together. If you need a label that’s cool. You’re my girlfriend.”
“Ooh! Jensen Rose has a girlfriend,” I singsonged. He tickled my ribs until I begged him to stop, laughing so hard tears had formed in my eyes.
“And you have a boyfriend, sunshine. Don’t you forget it.”
“I won’t,” I said on a blissed-out sigh. “And even if I did, my boyfriend’s kind of a hothead. He’ll be sure to remind me.”
“Damn right he will.”
Chapter Fourteen
Shane
Sixteen years old
Looking at my reflection in the bathroom mirror, I brushed the strands of hair off my forehead and studied my face closely, trying to find any signs that I looked different. Because I certainly felt different.
Shane Hendrix was crazy, stupid, head-over-heels in love. And as of a few minutes ago, she was also no longer a virgin.
At the thought of that, my reflection blushed pink and smiled goofily.
It had been . . . incredible. The pain I’d always heard about was there in the beginning, a nasty pinch then a brutal burn. But he’d been so gentle. He worked me up beforehand, making it so I was good and ready before pushing himself inside. He’d gotten me to a point where I was comfortable, but I hadn’t been sure I’d be able to get off. He’d set those doubts aside, using his hand between my thighs to make me come while he was inside me.
Jensen and I had officially been a couple for four months, and not once had he pushed me for sex before I was ready. The decision was all mine to make, and he’d been so patient. It felt like we’d been together forever. Our relationship didn’t feel like a naïve, clichéd high school relationship. It was intense and magnetic and consuming, sure. But it was also so much more. I might not have had a real boyfriend before him, but I’d been observant. I saw the drama that came with being part of a teenage couple. The fights, the