Page 50 of Verses Of Us

“Come.” She took his hand and led him to her bedroom, answering the question he hadn’t asked.

Not bothering to switch the lights on, she pulled him toward the bed. A soft glow poured in from the window, giving them only enough light to see each other. Somewhere off in the distance, the shrill siren of a firetruck rang, but other than that, the world fell away.

Ciarán lifted the hem of her shirt, drawing it up to her belly, his knuckles grazing her sides. Shivers erupted across her skin as he pulled it off, the cold air prickling. Unaware where it landed, and not even remotely concerned, Alexis stepped closer, pushing him onto the bed.

She straddled him, and he grinned. The pressure of his thigh against her core amplified the ache that had been building.

Last night had been a preview of what they could have, and she was ready to find out how far they could go. But more than that; she wanted to make him feel just as good. Just as wanted. Without knowing it, she’d waited six years for this precise moment, and as impatient as she was to have him inside her, it was worth waiting one more minute. To take the time to enjoy him.Allof him.

Lowering herself to kiss him, she cupped his face, worshipping his lips. Confused by this newness between them, despite years apart, she was also unafraid. She blamed it on the familiarity they shared, even if they had never been intimate.

She pressed her chest to his, her sensitive nipples burning for his mouth. Her racing heartbeat matched his, pounding against her rib cage. Unleashed from what had once held them captive, their lips wandered and explored. Alexis clung to the belief that destiny was at work, but suspected this might be a fluke, a very pleasant coincidence.

As if sensing her trepidation, Ciarán pulled away. “Should we stop?”

Should they? Was something greater growing between them? Or was this a random affair that would soon fade, to be replaced with pain she couldn’t bear to live through again?

Wrapped within his embrace, his thumbs caressed her bare back. His eyes had softened, and begged for more, and she considered her next step.

The entire moment had ripped the air from her lungs. Mangled thoughts and confused forms trampled through her mind. But through it came a clarity saying this was their second chance. This had to be the reason. The one thing she’d longed for at eighteen, but hadn’t been ready to experience, was here and she was more than prepared. No longer tied down by the weighted fears that virginity carried with it, she let herself give in. They were two adults discovering the perfect moment to be together.

Incapable of finding words, she nodded.

RAGE

Ciarán

Backstage,whenAlexislethim indulge in his need for physical contact and intimacy, she had unlocked a door he willingly walked through. He’d fallen under her spell, even harder than the first time and had become more entranced than with any other woman he’d met before.

Filled out perfectly, with breasts that weren’t too big, curves that called out for his firm grip, and a smile that distracted him better than any bottle of booze, she’d become the stunning creature he never doubted she would turn into.

She stood in her bedroom, more comfortable with the lights off, and he became engulfed by nerves, by doubts in his skills and worries he’d be a disappointment. Ciarán couldn’t even remember the names of the women he’d been with, but Lex had burnt into his brain and into his heart in frightening ways.

Faced with the chance to know her body inside and out, the biggest step in their otherwise new relationship, he feared he’d lose her over something as simple as coming too soon. Because as his knuckles grazed the smooth and flawless skin of her stomach, as he remembered her taste from the night before, his mouth salivating for it, he doubted he’d last long. The urge to be inside her already strangled his length like a vise and he knew he’d be done for the minute he sank into her warmth.

And he refused to let his first time with Alexis Stanek last anything but all night.

So, he took a breath.

And then another.

And when she straddled him, her strong thighs boxing him in, he reminded himself of how long he’d waited for this. Of how many times he’d dreamt of seeing her again. And especially of how much he’d hoped she’d want to see him, too. And that she’d forgiven him.

He never meant to hurt her or drag out what they had. It had been a mistake. But if given a choice, he’d selfishly repeat it a million times over. He didn’t know where these maddening feelings came from, or why they stuck around. Alexis had come into his life like a song—the tune and the words, disjointed, but ultimately stitching together harmoniously.

Last time, he knew the reasons he had to leave her. And he’d never hated himself more. He needed to be the better man, but had no clue how shitty his life would become, how miserable Laurel would make him, nor how bright it would get the minute Alexis stepped back into it.

No other woman had that effect. They’d always been a means to an end; a quick fix for an itch that reared its ugly head. But with Lex, even the non-physical meant more. She filled him with such joy, but he feared he was unworthy and it would one day slip from his hands.

As if about to lose her, he reached out, taking her by the waist, his fingers digging in hard. He hadn’t intended it to be painful, but he knew she would vanish if he didn’t cling to her. The idea killed him inside worse than any binge.

Her green eyes turned dark like the woods back home, but she held his hands in place. Her smile, the one he’d fallen for so long ago, remained the same, making his heart grow so big it might explode. The air became supercharged when she brought her pretty mouth down to kiss him in a way that made him feel so adored, so wanted. Unable to understand what was happening, he blinked back tears. He wasn’t that kind of guy—he was strong, proud and didn’tfuckingcry—but it shouldn’t have surprised him she was the first to get such a reaction.

She pressed her chest against his, her nipples hard, her breasts giving. Through their breaths, he swore he heard his soul speak to hers and echoed her doubts. He asked her if they should stop; the question meant for him more than her. Was sleeping with her a huge mistake, a selfish indulgence that would satisfy him, but end up hurting them both?

He ran his thumb down her back, her spine curving underneath his touch like a guitar string, pliable but taut, and watched her mind wrestle with decisions.

Her eyes darted over his face, telling him she was as insecure as he was. Though his breath never deepened, and he was lightheaded, he kept touching her, the softness of her skin the one steady thing he could anchor himself to.

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