Cursive - By Phoebe Lane Page 0,77

him, her arms wrapping around his neck.

"I was nearby, and I didn't want to go home, and—" She suddenly stopped and shook her head, eyes turning down. "I'm sorry. That's not really why I'm here."

"What is it, babydoc?" he asked. He could feel her struggle, how hard it was for her to open up, tell him what she needed and how she really felt.

"I want you. I want to be with you tonight…all the time," she said, letting out a deep breath.

"That's the best thing I've heard all day," he said, softly kissing her lips. "Now, that wasn't that hard, was it?"

"You have no idea," she said as she let out a deep breath and walked behind him into the house.

He gently pulled her jacket off her shoulders and tossed it on the sofa. He then pulled out the pin holding her hair up and watched it cascade down her back slowly.

Why does that turn me on so much?

Once inside his room, Jace stood in front of her and very slowly undressed her. He took off her scarf, then unbuttoned her jeans and pulled them down her legs as she ran her fingers through his hair. She crawled into bed wearing only her plain white t-shirt and panties, the white sheets on his bed a perfect background for the angelical vision in front of him.

He lay down next to her and just watched her. She took deep, steady breaths and moved closer to him, their fronts now touching and the heat of their bodies intermingling. Jace couldn't resist running his fingers through the long strands of hair falling over the side of her pillow. The smell was subtle and fruity, making his tongue tickle.

"I think I want to marry your hair," he said.

Aislynn's laugh was the most enchanting sound he had ever heard in his life, second only to the wonderful sound of her moans when she was coming.

"That's only legal in three states, and I'm pretty sure California isn't one of them," she said, eyes closed, her tongue moistening her bottom lip. "Jace?" she said as her hand caressed the stubble on his face.

"Yeah?"

She took a deep breath and slowly opened her eyes. They were sparkling, like when new tears start to form, but she didn't look sad. He wondered what she had been thinking about to make her this emotional, but before he could give it any more thought, she crawled on top of him and kissed him.

The kiss was soft, so very soft, but he could feel the sentiment behind it almost crush him with its intensity. She pulled away to catch her breath, her eyes expressive, but lips closed tight.

"Aislynn, please…say it…tell me what you want. I don't want it to be this hard for you to trust me, to reach out to me."

She kept staring at him, her silence absolutely deafening. The only sound in the room he could hear was her heart, which beat faster with each passing second. Her eyes moved down to his mouth and her fingers traced his lips slowly. Her hand crawled down his neck, to his chest, and rested over his heart.

He waited her out. He had to. She needed to do this. He had counted one hundred and ten heartbeats before she finally spoke.

"I'm trying not to love you," she whispered, her eyes closed off to him. His heart took off running almost as fast as hers and a rush of adrenaline shot through his body.

Don't stop there. Say something else. Please.

"But I do." She opened her eyes, and he was surprised to see they were full of determination. And love. Lots of love.

"My brave girl," he said with an exhale and reached up to touch her cheek. His chest wanted to explode with love for her.

"No, not brave," she said, shaking her head. "I'm so scared, Jace."

"Scared or not, I love you, too. So much, babydoc," he said, holding her face with both his hands now. He had never spoken truer words. He loved her.

I love you.

"And I'm scared, too. After everything that happened to me, what happened to you…but I'm ready for this. I'm all in," he added.

Aislynn's breath hitched and she leaned down to kiss him. She kissed him with all the love he had seen in her eyes moments before. Jace rolled over and hovered above her, not able to stop himself from tasting her lips, her tongue, her neck. Somehow, all their clothes disappeared and Jace reveled in the feeling of her warm