Settling the Score (The Summer Games #1) - R.S. Grey Page 0,89
She resisted, the fire inside her not quite extinguished by the storm of the day. She’d been through so much. I could only imagine what her day had been like, but I wanted to make her feel better.
“Let me erase it all,” I said, bending low and kissing the sensitive skin just below her ear.
She shivered against my hand.
“This won’t change anything, Freddie.”
“Let me try…”
Her eyes pinched close as I dipped down and trailed kisses along her neck. Her tank top was tight and I could see her nipples pebble beneath the surface. She didn’t want anything from the day, but she wanted me.
“I won’t let her take you from me.”
She shook her head. She didn’t believe me. All day the world had chipped away at her. My confident Andie was gone and in her place was a broken shell of a girl. I wanted to remind her what I saw when I looked at her. I needed her to remember that the gossip and the names didn’t define her.
I gripped her arms in my hands and massaged them, loosening the clenched muscles. She was poised and taut after an entire day spent in fight-or-flight mode. I eased the tension out of her limbs. “These arms are so strong. They’re so powerful. They’re the arms of a woman who beat out hundreds—thousands to be where she is today.”
She squeezed her eyes closed, but a tear slipped out then, trailing down her cheek. I brushed it away and kissed the spot where it had landed. I trailed my hands down her arms and bent down. She opened her eyes to watch me trail my finger up behind her Achilles tendon and around her calves.
“These legs belong to the most confident, beautiful woman I’ve ever met. Do you feel how strong they are? Do you remember how hard you’ve worked for these?”
She watched me worshipping her with her bottom lip tugged between her teeth.
“Do you, Andie?”
She nodded, hesitantly.
“These legs are so beautiful; I could worship them every day.”
The edge of her mouth tipped up; I was getting to her. I stood and dragged my hand up over her chest and pressed down against her rapidly beating heart.
“This heart, Andie…”
She let go of her bottom lip and inhaled a shaky breath.
“I want this heart all for myself.”
“Freddie…”
I didn’t give her time to push me away. “This smile. This is what unwound me. I’m powerless when it comes to this smile.”
I dragged my finger across her bottom lip. I could feel her breath against the pad of my finger and I wanted to kiss her. I wanted to steal that mouth and show her what she meant to me.
“You’re confident and you’re funny and they don’t know that, Andie. You’re more than what they see.”
She leaned forward then, pushing her body against mine and wrapping her arms around my neck. I cradled her against me and whispered in her ear. “I promise you that, Andie. You’re more than what they see.”
She laughed. “Is that why we’re kissing in a supply closet?”
I smiled and shook my head, slipping my hand into the waistband of her pants. “Just close your eyes.”
She smiled sadly against my neck, easing her fingers into my hair. “I don’t know what’s going to happen with us Freddie.”
I wanted to tell her everything would be easy from here on out, that we could be together and tell the world to piss off, but truthfully, I wasn’t any surer than she was.
“Just give me this,” I said, kissing her neck. “This is all we need.”
It was a lie. Secret sex in a broom closet wouldn’t sustain us for long. Andie deserved so much more, but it was the only thing I could give her that wouldn’t make things worse. I could make her happy for that one moment. I could drag her out of the terrible day and make her remember why the fight was worth it.
My hands were everywhere, feeling her smooth stomach beneath her tank top and sliding up higher to palm her breast. I needed her more than I needed my next race. The water was soothing, but Andie lit me on fire. Her touch on my arms was enough to send me over the edge.
“Kiss me,” she begged.
I crashed my mouth against hers and hauled her up against my body. I picked her up and she wound her legs around my waist. I wanted to take my time and make love to her on soft sheets, but there was