Page 72 of Everlasting Love

“It’s on the outskirts of the city center. It’s a place for returned servicemen and women.” He takes a sip of his wine, and I do the same. I like this Shane. The one who shares parts of himself with me. “When I’m not doing something with Toby, I spend a lot of time there. We restore discarded bikes and gift them to underprivileged kids and groups that work with children in low socio-economic areas.” I’m not surprised that he does something that gives support to the community; he can’t help but help others. He twists the stem of his wine glass, his eyes dropping to watch the action. “That place and the people there have saved me from myself on several occasions.”

My heart splinters and without thinking I reach across the table to lay my hand on his for a quiet moment. “I’m glad you have a support system.”

His eyes rise to meet mine and he lifts his shoulder. “It’s only when I look back, I can see how far I’ve come from the man I was when I first came home, and it’s all thanks to Toby and the support I’ve had from the people atThe Bunker.” He twists his glass around in the other direction. “I do my best to give back now that I’m in a better place.” Even in the two years I’ve knownShane, I’ve seen a difference in him. It must be difficult to go to war and see and do awful things and then have to return to normal society. It’s admirable, really, and I wonder if he realizes how strong he is.

We spend the remainder of the meal talking about general stuff. I tell him that Mom’s decided to stay away for another week and brag that I got some Daisy snuggles this afternoon to which he responds that he got his snuggles this morning. I sometimes forget how entrenched he already is in our family.

As we clean up from dinner, the tension between us ratchets up with everyaccidentalbrush against each other. I’ve always been physically attracted to Shane, but over this past week, as he’s opened up a little to me, I’ve fallen harder for him. Not to mention watching him with Jasmine is enough to have me falling at his feet.

As I bend over to put the last dish away, Shane’s hands land on my hips sending heat racing through my body. “Why don’t you go into the living room and put your feet up? I’ll bring what’s left of the wine.”

“That sounds like a plan I can get behind.” I smile at him as I stand, then head into the living room to change the playlist and light the candles. Since I’ve already moved the coffee table to the side, we have room to dance. Ever since we danced together at Cass and Toby’s wedding, I’ve wanted to be back in his arms where I feel safe and protected. I sway to the soft song playing as I watch the sun sink below the rooftops, painting the sky in dusky pinks and oranges.

A glass of wine comes into my vision over my shoulder, and I turn to take it from Shane. We watch each other as we both take a sip, the sweetness of the wine coating my tongue. Shane dips forward and licks the seam of my lips, and I could die with relief right now that he’s made the first move, and I don’t have to wonder if he wants this as much as I do. I hold myselfstill, allowing him to take the lead and he doesn’t disappoint as he presses his mouth firmly against mine, coaxing me to reciprocate. The feel of his lips is like a bolt of lightning to my core that heats my blood on the way.

His free hand goes around my waist and he sways to the music with me as he teases my mouth with his until we open to each other. The sweet taste on his tongue as we move together sensually sends goosebumps racing across my skin. My panties are already soaked beyond anything the fabric can absorb and the wetness coats my thighs. My thumping heart matches the beat of the music, and I press against him, feeling his hardness against my stomach.

He disengages and takes the wine from my hand, placing both of our glasses on the table beneath the window. “I’ve been dying to taste your lips from the moment I knew we were alone, and there’d be no interruptions.” As if to punctuate his sentence, he presses his lips gently to the space beneath my ear, nuzzling into my neck and placing soft, lazy kisses against my skin, making his way slowly along my jawline to my mouth. His hand lands on my hip and he grips me almost painfully. “You torture me in the best possible way, Blue,” he murmurs against my mouth. His soft lips sweep over mine in a whisper of a touch, his breath warming the supple pillows, and a sigh slips past my lips. He presses more firmly and his tongue pushes inside my mouth. He’s not requesting permission to enter, he’s taking what he wants, and I couldn’t be happier to give it to him.

I rest my palms on his pecs while his big hands cup my face, his fingers weaving through my hair as his tongue seeks out mine with sensual strokes. My body melts into his when he angles my face to deepen the kiss, tasting and licking, dancing and stroking. I press closer, soaking up everything he’s giving me, and eagerly return his ministrations. A moan barrels out of me as lust bubbles in my veins. It’s embarrassing how wetI already am and we’ve barely started. I’ve been wanting this moment for such a long time; I almost can’t believe it’s finally happening.

His hands move from my face to my neck and down to my shoulders. They smooth their way along the edges of my breasts, tracing the dip of my waist until they land on my hips. He squeezes the extra softness there, then glides his hands over my ass, not once pausing our kiss. His exploration of my dips and curves is sensory overload and has my synapses firing all over the place. He grips my backside hard, almost to the point of pain, pressing his cock into my stomach and it’s impossible to miss how hard he is forme.For me.

With a panting breath, he pulls his lips away, traces his nose up the side of mine, and kisses my forehead. It’s such a different kiss from the ones we just shared that I open my eyes to study the man before me. His lips are puffy from our kisses, swollen to the point they almost look feminine and his pupils are dilated, nearly swallowing the warm brown that I love so much. I feel his heart pounding a heavy beat that matches mine beneath my touch and his heavy breaths are uneven as they blow across my lips. “As much as I loved this dress on you the first time you wore it and as much as I love it today, I’m gonna need you to take it off.” His words rumble across his lips, and he takes a small step back from me. I miss his heat immediately, and my instinct is to follow him and plaster myself to his body but I keep myself steady.

Heat rises through me, and my legs tremble beneath his heavy-lidded gaze. Slowly, without taking my eyes off his, I find my courage and bravely bend forward to grip the bottom of my sweater dress, pausing for a moment before I begin to slide it up my legs, past my knees, and higher still to the tops of my thighs. His gaze doesn’t stray from the edge of my dress and I can tell the moment the fabric breaches my panties by his sudden sharpinhale and the slight widening of his eyes. His throat bobs as I expose the emerald silk covering my pussy, and he licks his lips when the knitted material reaches my waist.

“Keep going.” His voice is barely a roughened whisper, but I feel it like a heated caress everywhere. My nipples pucker to the point of pain and an embarrassing amount of slickness from my pussy coats my thighs.

Can he see how wet I am for him?

I continue the slow torturous glide up my body, exposing the bottom of my matching silky bra, then slide it up and over my head, sending my hair cascading down my back. Catching the fabric in one hand, I toss it onto the single couch near the window and I stand before him in my underwear, acutely aware that all of my flaws are on display for the perfect man before me.

Shane’s hands twitch but he remains rooted to the spot as his heated gaze traces every curve and dip, crease and bulge. I suck in a shaky breath under his perusal, my heavy breasts rising and falling as I do. When I flick my eyes across his body, I can’t miss the huge bulge behind his zipper.

“Cup your breasts and push them together for me.”

I continue with my show, sliding my hands slowly up from my thighs, across my stomach which still has the evidence of my pregnancy stretch marks, and up to my boobs. Doing as he asks, I cup each one and push them up and together, creating cleavage while my nipples do their best to press through the fabric. A deep groan vibrates through Shane’s body and he roughly adjusts his cock in his jeans. I follow the action and unintentionally lick my lips. The memory of him in my mouth, his taste, how big he is … like the most decadent of treats I can’t wait to sample again and again.

Without hesitation, Shane steps closer and his hands land at the dip of my waist. His touch sends fire shooting through my veins like flames racing uphill and I rub my thighs togetherseeking some form of relief. He bends at the knees and dips his head, burying his face in the space I’ve just created and kissing the exposed skin. His roughened cheeks are a beautiful contrast to his soft lips against my sensitive flesh making my heavy breasts ache in the confines of my silky bra. At once the pressure releases and Shane gently slides the straps from my shoulders with his calloused fingers and tosses the bra aside to join my dress. The air in my lungs escapes with a gasp when his warm mouth surrounds one nipple, and he bites the peak.

God, how I want to touch him. To grip the strands of his hair, if only to keep myself grounded. “Mmm, that feels so good.” He rewards me with a moan and swaps to the other side, doling out the same attention. “Your mouth feels incredible.”

He pulls back and one side of his lips tip up in a sinfully sexy grin. “I plan to keep it on you until you beg me to stop.”Well, I can’t imagine that happening anytime soon. Picking up his glass of wine, he dips his fingers into the sweet beverage and then rubs his wet fingers around my nipple causing it to bead further. “Let’s see how they taste with a little Moscato.” The tip of his warm tongue is striking against the coolness of the wine and I gasp, swaying my body into his. He repeats the process and not for the first time, I wish I could touch him somehow.

Pulling away, he studies his handiwork, pinching each peak between his fingers and twisting them. The small amount of pain shoots straight to my core, and I swear to God, if I weren’t still wearing my panties, my arousal would be sliding down my thighs. Kissing and nipping, he makes his way back up to my mouth while his fingers skate over the softness of my stomach, straight to the soaked fabric covering my slit. We both moan at the same time and I eagerly widen my stance. I’m so freaking ready to get to the good stuff. I hope against hope that we’ll actually get to the good stuff tonight.

He chuckles against my lips, our eyes locked tight. “Don’t worry, Blue, I’ll take care of you.”

His words send a shiver through me and I have to tear my gaze away from his to hide what they do to me. The strength of his declaration. The certainty that he’ll take care of me—not just in this moment but I sense he means ineverymoment—is like an aphrodisiac. I’ve been taking care of everything for so long, it feels foreign to give up that control to someone else but I have every confidence in Shane to do as he promises.

He dips his fingers between the silk and my mound and tugs, giving me no choice but to follow as he leads me toward the couch. The candles flicker and the music plays softly in the background but the man in front of me steals all of my focus. Sliding his fingers around to my hips, his knuckles drag across my flesh and leave a wave of goosebumps in their wake. Hooking his fingers in either side, he slips my panties down my legs, then taps each foot in turn, to remove them, and tucks them in his pocket.

He takes my lips in another heated kiss. This time, it’s a little messy with lots of tongue and I move as close as I can to him, pressing my naked body against his fully clothed one, and whimper. Our tongues twist and delve, taste and stroke, tease and tempt. We haven’t kissed all that much but there’s a familiarity … a comfort I can’t describe.

After a long moment, he slows the kiss, finishing with small pecks, and drops his forehead to mine.

We pause like that.

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