Page 90 of Old Acquaintances

“I’m not.” I bit back another moan of pleasure.

“Yes, you are.” He dragged his lips along my collarbone. “You should be told that every fucking day.”

“Elijah,” I shivered. I hit my peak and Tucker covered my scream with his mouth, holding on to me as my knees buckled. He picked me up and tossed me on his bed.

I tried to block out a lot of that night, but I remembered two things very vividly: he was a little rough with me, something he’d never been. He was completely in control and had nothing to hold back. When I was rough with him, it was out of anger. He never retaliated. But that night, as I lay topless on his bed, my body coming down from a high, I shuddered back to reality when he pulled my underwear off and tugged me to the edge of the bed.

He alsoreallywanted me to enjoy it.

“What are you doing?” I asked breathlessly as he touched me with his tongue.

He looked up over my stomach. “If I only get one night, I’m going to make the best of it.”

My head rolled back, and my fingers pressed into my eyes, overcome with pleasure. When he’d brought me over the edgeagain, I heard the crinkle of foil.

His hands slid along my back, carrying me back to his headboard. He kissed me for a very long time, and I felt his hardness against my leg.

Finally, he said, “This might hurt a little.” He brushed my hair back, stared into my eyes, and it seemed difficult for him to say. “If you want me to stop, I will, but give it a minute. It’ll feel better, I promise. But if you don’t want to -”

I shut him up with a kiss.

This is what I came here for. I closed my eyes through the pain as he eased inside slowly and Tucker caressed my chest, kissing my neck, telling me to relax. As he moved, the pain subsided, like he said it would. His forearms rested beside my head, and he folded on top of me.

“God, Ella.” He paused, his eyes stroking me with affection the way his body had done. I arched my back, his eyes pinched shut. “Do that. More of that.”

As he pushed into me over and over again, I molded to his body. It was so strange, feeling vulnerable and protected at the same time, knowing that I’d never have this exact experience again. It was perfect, and I sighed, “I’m glad it was you.”

Tucker buried his head into my neck and muttered, “I love you.”

I didn’t want him to joke right then. I didn’t want to think of him tossing me bags of candy from across a classroom or as the snickering seventh-grade boy who watched me pull a carnation out of my locker. I wanted the version of him who kissed my knuckles on prom night.

My heart beat against his chest. “Eli!” I held him to me when my body exploded, again, and he stiffed and gasped against my mouth.

We panted together, his arms hugging me to him. He rubbed his cheek against mine, and I felt the strong, tensemuscles of his soft back. My bones felt liquid in his bed, overwhelmed by the tingling in my toes and the feeling of absolute relaxation. Tucker didn’t pull out when it was finished. Instead, he looked at my face with pain on his. He leaned back. I couldn’t usually read his emotions like he always could me, but I knew the expression printed on his woven eyebrows.

It was over.

That was it. Our one time. He popped my cherry.

I went there for him to deflower me, and he did it, now we had to go back to normal.

It wouldn’t happen again.

On the drive down, I had imagined just lying in the bed, mostly clothed, closing my eyes and pretending it wasn’t happening. Then, I figured I could get up, spend the night in Johnny’s dorm, and Tucker and I would never talk about it again. I figured it would be no more intimate than him palming my ass or accidentally touching my boob when we fought over the remote control.

I don’t know how I could have thought that. Until Elijah Tucker kissed me on that cruise, I never enjoyed a kiss. Before he put his hand on my bare back, I never felt tingly from someone’s touch. No one looked at me like he did.

We stayed snug together for a long time, neither of us wanting to move. He tried to take some weight off of me, pushing up on his elbows, while he ran his fingers down the sides of my face, the top of my lips, the bridge of my nose. Memorizing me with his hands like his eyes had already done.

He looked at the prickly skin on my shoulder. “You’re cold,” he noticed.

“I’m okay,” I said.

Tucker closed his eyes and took a deep breath. “Can I kiss you one last time?”

I nodded, wondering if it had to be the last time. I didn’twant it to be. He stayed inside of me while his mouth moved, and I thought I could die right then and be perfectly happy. Tucker kept trying to pull me closer, I was wrapped as tightly to him as possible, but his hands pressed further into my back, trying to absorb me. If it hurt, I didn’t notice.

I did notice him groan in pain when my arousal grew again.

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