Page 41 of Hearty

The minute our lips touch, I feel a surge of electricity ripple down my body. It’s so intense that I latch on to Evan all the way, almost at the exact moment his arms wind around my waist. It’s also the split second in which his mouth moves too, the shock of my advance wearing off, and he slips his tongue past the seam of my lips.

A moan fills my ears, and I realize it’s a guttural noise from my throat, the relief from the sexual tension between us for weeks now finally breaking over me like a tidal wave. I fuel all the frustration, anger, and waiting I felt it into the kiss.

We’re both hungry for it; his hands in my hair, my fingers pushing past the hem of his shirt, my clothed breasts rubbing against his chest, the feel of him hardening against my hip. Our bodies undulate with the make-out session, neither of us breaking for air or to question if this is smart.

Because it’s not, we both know it. But it’s been coming for too long, the destiny of it already written since we first moved down the hall from one another. There is no going back now, not until I burn it all down.

After all, it turns out almost everything in my miserable life has been a lie. What is one more bad decision to add to my pile? I have no idea what’s going on in Evan’s mind, but my feelings for him are all tangled up in my lust-fueled need to feel nothing for just one night … and I’m not falling off this wagon.

“August, hold on …” Looks like Evan is going to attempt to push me off instead.

His hair is mussed up from my hands, and his lips are red from how hard we were kissing. Those sapphire eyes are dilated with need, and I can practically feel the beat of his pulse where my arms lie around his neck. Evan is the picture of a hot, horny man right now, and I’m desperate for him to take it out on me.

“No, I don’t want to hold on. I just found out that everyone in my life has basically been making decisions for me, and this one is mine. Are you saying yes, or are you saying no?” I’m so tired of our back and forth.

He blows out a breath; our bodies still pressed together. “For all the times I imagined this, and believe me, it’s been plenty; I never wanted it to be this way. Out of anger, or because you needed an outlet.”

After confessing to the high school crush, what’s one more admission? So I let one go. “It’s obvious I’m attracted to you, and that I’ve been into you for some time. We already admitted we have no room for a serious relationship in either of our lives and come on, we both knew it was ending here one way or another. I’m ready to go, and I need to forget all of the shitty problems in my life. Don’t think so hard, Evan. Be with me. Make me feel better. Please.”

I’m not above begging right now, even though I’m probably not making a lick of sense. I’m too keyed up to concentrate, and his dick is still pressing into my front.

“I don’t want you to regret this afterward.” His expression turns to one of concern.

“You walking away would hurt me more. You wanted to help? Take me upstairs, Evan. I’m asking you to.”

I don’t add this, but for once in my life, I want to be the girl he can’t resist. I want him to make some stupid, game-time decision simply because he can’t stand the fact of not having sex with me right now. I want him to want to erase all my problems, even if it’s for a few hours.

A beat passes, and I think he’s going to reject me, my heart teetering on the edge of shattering. But then he surprises me, those skilled chef hands reaching under my ass and hoisting me up until I’m straddling him in midair.

Our mouths collide again, electric jolts of lust and pleasure tingling all over my body. With every step he takes, our pelvises rub together, and I’m moaning so loud into his mouth the neighbors might hear us. It’s been too long since someone else has touched my body, and the anticipation that Evan is about to do so is heightening every sensation.

He turns for his bedroom at the top of the stairs, and in two seconds flat, we’re falling back onto his mattress.

“I’ve dreamed about tasting this mouth, and it’s so much better than any flavor I’ve had before.” For him to say that is a compliment of the highest order.

My hands slip past his T-shirt, trying to shove it over his head, so he sits back on his knees and uses one hand to accomplish the mission I started. Lean muscle and a smattering of golden hair trail over his stomach, and a flood of warmth fills my core at seeing him like this. He’s so beautiful in a completely masculine way, and I’ve waited so long to have this.

With eyes hooded and zoned in on me, Evan reaches for the button on my jeans. Blunt fingertips skate over my lower stomach and hips as he begins to shimmy them off me, and I feel the blaze start. Licking up the backs of my thighs, engulfing the hot button between my legs, pebbling my nipples. By the time he has the pants off me, I’m squirming with the need for more pressure or relief.

“You’re so goddamn pretty, August. These legs drive me insane. Half the time, I can’t concentrate when you walk into a room.” Callused palms run up my skin from toe to hip, and I fist the sheets with how good that alone feels. “You wet for me?”

That question out of his mouth has me growing impossibly wetter, the flood between my thighs almost embarrassing. I nod and bite my lip, not trusting myself to speak.

Evan hovers over me now, pushing my shirt up and over my bra until I pull it over my head. I’m left in nothing but my bra and panties, writhing on the bed for him.

“I don’t know how I deserve this, but if it helps you, I’m more than happy to take it.” He groans, bringing his fist to his mouth to bite down on it as he studies me beneath him.

My heart is thundering in my chest as I reach for the zipper on his pants, this whole thing going slower than I intended. I expected Evan to deliver a quick fuck, something we didn’t need to think about or regret as we were in the process of doing it. But ever since we reached his bed, he’s taken precise, careful motions to seduce me.

“I need you,” I tell him, trying to speed everything up.

“Patience, beautiful. I’m enjoying this masterpiece.” He bends to kiss me, his lips caressing mine, stoking my entire body to a new level of inferno.

I shouldn’t be surprised; Evan is nothing if not a high-handed perfectionist with the ability to make razor-thin cuts and present works of art with a sleight of hand. His attention to detail is his biggest asset in the kitchen, so of course, he wouldn’t rush through this. Part of me feels like it could be because he thinks I’m special, but I don’t dare let myself get carried away with that thought.

My hands find his zipper as we kiss, one of his palms working my nipples as his tongue dives into my mouth. I work him free, my fingertips connecting with the bulging head of his dick, and he hisses down my throat.

“August …” He nearly growls as my fist circles around him.

---