he commanded.
My hand disappeared into his, and I followed him to the VIP dance floor. We were isolated there in the crowd, surrounded by people and noise and bodies, the music electronic and sensual, not too fast, just the right tempo to move to.
His hands found my hips, then his hips found my hips. We swayed, our bodies rolling to the beat. I was surrounded by him.
I was safe with his hands on my body, safe with his eyes locked on mine.
He bent, brought his lips first to my neck, then to my jaw. “I won’t let her hurt you,” he said.
“She’s not going to stop until she blows this story, our secret. She wants to prove it’s fake, and she will not let it go until she does,” I said, my lips to his ear, my arms around his neck. “She’ll unravel everything.”
“Well, we know the truth.” The words brushed the shell of my ear.
“What do you mean?”
He backed away so I could see his face, so I could see every line, every plane, every angle. So I could know with certainty that what he was about to say was honest.
“It isn’t fake, not anymore. Not for me.”
The band on my lungs was so tight, I couldn’t breathe.
“You have become necessary to me in all ways. The worst part of my day is saying goodnight, and the best part is waking up to you. No,” he corrected with a shake of his head, “the best part of my day is when we leave the house and I can touch you. I live for the kisses I’m granted and the warmth of your hand in mine. That’s the only time it feels real—when we’re faking it. I’m tired of pretending, Amelia.”
I cupped his jaw, the scruff of his stubble scratching my palm. “I’m scared,” I said softly. “I…I don’t know how to do this.”
He covered my hand with his. “I know, and I don’t either. Not when it’s real. I don’t trust anybody, Amelia. I never have. Not until you.”
“But why, Tommy? Why me?”
“Because you want to protect me like I need to protect you.” He paused. “Am I right?”
“Yes,” I breathed.
His grip tightened, his voice rough. “And you want me like I want you. You don’t want to pretend. You want it to be real, this. What’s between us.”
I hung on to him with all my strength, which waned as all my power shifted to my heart. “Yes,” I whispered.
Something in him broke open and poured out. He held my face in his palms, his eyes on mine with such intensity, I could see nothing else.
“Do you trust me?”
“More than anyone.”
“Can I have you?”
Four devastating words, and my will crumbled into dust. “Only if I can have you, too.”
A smile—a bright, brilliant smile—flashed across his face, relief spilling over him, over me, into me.
And then he kissed me, and gravity shifted into him.
I thought that I’d been kissed by him. I thought I’d known the power of such a thing, a meeting of lips, of tongues, a mingling of breath. A rush of desire and anticipation.
But that had been nothing compared to this kiss.
Slowly, deeply, his lips moved, drawing mine into his mouth to taste them, to own them, to know them. His tongue brushed mine, tangling, curling in languid motion that said one word, over and over, without ever speaking.
Yes.
It was the yes of his heart and the yes of mine, the plea of our bodies that twisted around each other in both submission and command.
It was too soon that his lips closed, his forehead pressing mine, our breath heavy and mingling. I couldn’t open my eyes, couldn’t find my footing, couldn’t think about anything beyond the places where we touched.
And then he grabbed my hand and smiled.
“We’re leaving. Now.”
Kablooey
Amelia
I couldn’t stop kissing Tommy.
Not in the car, curled up in his lap like a purring cat. Not as we blindly climbed the stairs. Not when he opened the door and I almost fell into the entryway. Not when he kicked the door closed with his boot.
He leaned against the door, legs wide so I could fit between them, the never-ending kiss slow and lazy, an unhurried exploration by tongue and fingertip, by lips and palms.
Kissing Tommy was the most brilliant thing to ever happen to me.
One hand skated my waist, the other cupping my face, my body nestled between his legs and my hands resting on the hot, velvety skin of his solid chest.
I never wanted to stop