Page 97 of Forged By Sacrifice

“But he also said there wasn’t really anything that could, for sure, separate the waking state from the dream state. That’s what he meant by the whole, ‘How can you be certain that your whole life is not a dream?’ thing, right? So, I’m thinking that even if we’re wrong, even if we’re living some weird dream, does it matter?” I asked as I allowed myself to run a hand over her shoulder and slide it under the strap of her sundress. Gentle swirls.

“What happens when we wake?” she breathed out.

“There isn’t a certainty that we will, is there? Couldn’t we live our entire lives in this dream?”

“Morning always comes,” she said, looking at me with eyes full of uncertainty but also desire.

“We fit, Georgie.”

“I’d feel guilty if my life backfired on yours,” she said.

“You’re jumping like fifty-thousand steps ahead of where we’re at. Right now, what we have, what we feel…it isn’t anything I’ve ever felt. I want to explore it. I want to continue to explore you.” I ran my hand along her cheek, and she slanted her face into the caress, chocolate-lensed eyes closing. “I want to explore what makes you the proud, independent woman you are, but also why you hide your white streak and why you’re afraid to let anyone too close. I want to know what made you risk everything to follow a dream that you had when you could have just lived the comfortable life you had in New York. And yes, I want to explore more how you liked it when I kissed you right here.”

I chanced bending slightly to kiss the spot where her ear and jaw met, and she shivered but didn’t push me away.

“And I want to find more of those spots on your body.”

“I think you found them all,” she said, voice quivering.

I couldn’t help the grin that appeared on my face. “Do you want to make a bet?

She smiled, her real, wide, gorgeous smile that hit me hard in the chest. It was her first one of the night. “You’re saying that you can find an erogenous zone on my body that I don’t already know about?”

“I’m saying there’s a good chance I can find one, but that no matter what, it’ll be a lot of fun to find out.”

She considered me for a moment and then twisted her face to kiss the palm of my hand, bringing her own hands up and holding me there. Then, she kissed my wrist before moving my hand down to her waist. I gripped it firmly as she moved her body up tight against mine, our curves realigning again.

“What do I get if I win?” she asked.

“I think you should be hoping I win.” I smiled, and she laughed softly, arms going around my neck.

“Maybe we should make the bet about who can find a new spot on each other’s body first.”

I grinned at her. “I like this bet.”

“What do I get if I win?” she asked again.

“What do you want?” I asked huskily, her body distracting me from much thought other than putting my lips and tongue on every single part of her.

“Hmm. A favor. Granted without question.”

“What is this favor?”

“A future favor. One I don’t know yet.”

I let my hands journey from her waist up to the curve of her breasts, and her eyes fluttered closed and then opened.

“Why am I always having to agree to your terms before I can kiss you?” I asked and moved my hips slightly against hers, making her breath hitch.

“What do you want if you win?” she asked just as she put her lips at the corner of mine. The scent of her filled my nostrils, and my movements went from gentle caresses to demands fueled by aching need.

“A favor. Granted without question,” I told her back, because I had a feeling I’d never be able to deny her anything but that her walls were going to have me finding ways to climb across them repeatedly.

“Fair enough. Erogenous zones for favors. Should we shake on it?”

“No, we’ll kiss on it.” I turned my lips to capture hers, the ache I felt requiring to be appeased. I forced her lips open, tongue taking control, not with a fevered pace but one that still commanded attention.

She returned the kiss. Her pace and ferocity matching my own as we made our way down the hallway to my bedroom. The bedroom I hoped she’d stay inside for more than just a night. That we would have many nights tangled up in my sheets. And my heart enlarged at that thought. A thought I’d never had for another woman. I wanted to keep her.

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