Page 48 of Never Have I Ever

She moves around, closer again, but this time, I stay, wanting her near. Naked . . . oh fuck. Our knees bump, and she’s right there next to me. When I release a rush of air, the chill hits my wet skin, making me feel alive again.

I dare to look at her, not a glance or a glimpse, but straight, wanting to see her face and read the emotions and thoughts she parades in her eyes. There will never be a time I don’t find her breathtakingly stunning. I’m fucking hard for her, so hard that if she gets closer, my trunks won’t be able to hide my erection. “What are you doing, Poppy?”

“There are two things I can’t stop thinking about.”

Oh shit.

My heart starts beating as if it’s overcome the impossible and been revived in anticipation. And just to be showy, it races. That’s what she does to me. She brings me to life.

“What?” I dare to ask.

She touches my chest and says, “I’m so curious about this tattoo.”

Shit.

“What about it?” I know she can feel my damn heart thumping since her finger is still pressed to it.

She sits back, anchoring her elbow to the side and resting her head on her hand. “What does it mean? I have so many questions. Why did you get it? Where did you get it?”

“Most people are more interested in the guitars.” I rub my side over both, one a newer addition since she last saw me.

Dipping into the middle of the spa, she plants her hands on my legs, causing me to tilt my head back and pray she won’t move them any higher. Her fucking around down there will lead to her finding out how I really feel about her.

I scrub a hand over my mouth, thinking of anything to take this bad boy down. Catching a glimpse beneath the frugal froth that remains does not do the trick. Fuck. Fuck. “Fuck.”

Her hands fly free of my legs, her eyes wide and startled. “I’m sorry.”

“No. Don’t be.” I clock the rusting grill off to my right, but with her so close, nothing is doing the trick. I can’t fight this anymore. I can’t pretend I don’t care. I fucking can’t hide how turned on I am, so I don’t. “I liked it.”

“You liked . . .?” It dawns on her just as she speaks. A smile covers her pretty face, and she whispers, “I liked it, too.”

When she moves in this time, it’s not just her hands. It’s her whole body. She straddles me, wrapping her arms around my neck. More than two years of pain is pushed away in her arms, the answers I never had, the assumption she didn’t love me plaguing me. All of it is gone the moment she puts her arms around me again.

“If my grump of a bear boss finds out about this, he’ll fire me.”

The way she holds eye contact with such authority is such a fucking turn-on. I slide my hands around her, dragging them slowly from the curve of her waist and lower to her ass and hold her in place. “Then we won’t tell him.” I kiss her. I kiss her, sliding her right where I want her.

Freeing one hand, I caress her cheek and hold the edge of her jaw as water splashes around us. She rips her lips from mine and breathlessly whispers, “What are we doing?”

I search her eyes for what’s wrong but find nothing discernible. Running my fingers over her cheek, I have the opportunity to memorize every new freckle, the gentle creases formed at the corners of her eyes, and the way her lips swell when kissed. The honor to worship her again won’t be in vain. “What feels right.”

“It does feel right.” I barely catch sight of her smile before it crashes into mine, and she’s stealing my breath again. Her hands are desperate as they weave through my hair, tugging the roots and jabbing her elbows into my arms. Searching for a way to anchor herself, she holds me tight instead. This time, I lean back. “I’m not going anywhere.”

“Okay.” She nods. “I’ll calm down. It’s just been a long time.”

I cup her face, holding her so her eyes look straight into mine. “I don’t want you to calm down. I want you to feel everything as loud as you want, to take what you need, to live and laugh like you used to. Poppy, God, you’re so fucking fantastic.” I kiss her so wholly that my soul feels the embrace.

There’s no patience in the reunion. Our lips part, our tongues twisting together before I have a chance to come to my senses. We’re doing what feels good, what feels right. Is this my second chance?

While her nipples press to my chest, the tips rubbing over the tattoo we share—please let it still be there—I slide one hand around the small of her back and take command of one of her tits with the other. I squeeze the handful and rub the peak with my thumb before flicking it.

A moan escapes as she grinds on top of me, her head dipping back and her lips wide open. Lowering my hand, I get a good grip of her ass, though that mouth is always a delicious distraction. Encouraging every grind and slide over my length, I kiss her neck and shoulder, letting her fuck me through my shorts. “It’s been so long, babe,” I groan, pressing my mouth to her skin just to taste it. “For me too.”

“Touch me, Laird,” she murmurs against my ear and then nibbles my lobe. Leveraging my shoulders, she lifts and lowers, rubbing herself against my hard dick. “Please.”

I want to come so hard inside her, but if she keeps this up, I’m not making it out of the hot tub. Fuck. Shifting, I slide my hand around her hip, pushing my thoughts away from my own pleasure to focus on hers. I lean back to hook her attention onto me. “I’m going to make you feel so good, baby.”

Her panting breaths come steady, but her eyes are wild with the possibility. Her thighs are so smooth, the water making the tips of my fingers glide right where I want them. She made me hide my eyes while she slipped into the spa, so I didn’t get a good look at her thong. Cotton barely covers her, but I run my knuckle along the crease of her leg and over the wet softness of one of her lower lips.

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