to touch her face. I trace the length of her nose. The curve of her lips. “I figured you might want to take this slow.”
“I thought the same about you.”
I send her a come on look. “I’m not a take it slow kind of person. You know this.”
“No, you’re really not, are you?” She smiles. Her eyes are clear. I don’t think she feels like crying anymore. “Did you bring condoms?”
She whispers that last question.
“Maybe.” I did. I carry one tucked away in my wallet where it’s not obvious. There are more in my car. I’m not stupid.
“If you didn’t, we can do—other stuff.” She scoots closer to me, and I slip my arm around her waist, sneaking my hand up the back of her shirt so I can touch bare skin.
“What sort of other stuff are you thinking?” I kiss her nose. The corner of her mouth, keeping it gentle. Downright chaste. I’m both eager to get inside her and dying to drive her out of her mind.
Still not sure which side will win, I decide to see where this takes us.
“Oh, I don’t know,” she says before I kiss her full on the mouth now, my lips lingering. Tugging on her lower lip with both of mine. “What do you want to do?”
“Strip you out of your clothes.” Another kiss. This one longer. I swipe my tongue across her upper lip right before I end it. “Kiss you all over your body.”
“I might like that.” A shiver escapes her when my mouth drifts across her jaw, down her neck.
“Only might?” I keep kissing her neck. She likes it when I do that. “What if I took off your panties with my teeth?”
A laugh escapes her. “You think that’s possible?”
“Don’t say it like that. You know I love a challenge. I’ll prove to you it’s possible,” I say, right before she kisses me.
And what a kiss it is. Full of tongue and heat, with these soft whimpers coming from the back of her throat. She shifts out of my grip so she can hover over me, her mouth seeking mine again, the next kiss getting sloppy. Dirty.
I reach for her, threading my fingers in the soft hair at the back of her head. I slide them down, streaking across her nape, and when my fingers stumble over a chain, I can tell something is hanging heavy on it, dangling from her neck.
Breaking the kiss, I lean back, trying to take her in, but her mouth chases after mine, reconnecting with an impatient moan. I place my hand on her shoulder and give her a light nudge, making her break the kiss. She lifts away from me, a little scowl on her face. “What’s wrong?”
That’s when I see it. My #1 pendant hanging from her neck. On a different chain, one that’s much more delicate. A mixture of joy and possessiveness floods my veins at seeing my number on her.
I thought it was lost forever.
“Where’d you find this?” I touch the pendant. Curl my index finger around the thin chain.
“It must’ve broke when you got into the fight with Jake. I found it that night in our yard, after you already left.” Her fingers brush against mine as she touches the pendant as well. “I’ve been wearing it ever since. So I always had a piece of you, even though you left me.”
I broke her fucking heart. Just like she broke mine.
“This is mine.” I tug on the thin gold chain, pulling her down so our lips are perfectly aligned.
“You want it back?”
“Keep it. You’re mine too.” I kiss her. Nip at her lower lip with my teeth, making her gasp. “I eventually wanna see you wearing that necklace and nothing else.”
“I can make that happen,” she says eagerly.
“Oh yeah?” Another kiss. “Prove it,” I murmur against her lips.
Thirteen
Ava
His words are just the push I need.
I pull away from his kiss, smiling as I climb off the mattress and stand. Eli rolls over so his head is propped on the pillows and he’s watching me with a smirk on his face, his arms bent behind his head.
He looks good lying on my bed, wearing jeans and the Bulldogs T-shirt, white socks on his feet. He must’ve kicked off his shoes at one point. I didn’t even notice.
Reaching for the button on my jeans, I undo it, then slowly slide down the zipper. I thought it might feel awkward, stripping in front of my boyfriend, but from the appreciative gleam I