Page 18 of Forbidden Passions

“Callie.” My name was a whisper on his lips and my breath caught as his head lowered. Slowly as if giving me time to retreat. As if. I pushed up on my tip toes and met him more than halfway.

I was eager in my response if not experienced. I might be a little flirty on the outside, but that was to cover my nervousness when it came to dealing with men. And with men like Gabriel… I wasn’t even on their radar.

But now…

His hand cupped the back of my head, pulling me to him, into the kiss. It was not a lingeringlet’s get to know youkiss. It was hard and demanding from the moment our mouths met. His other hand splayed across my lower back. Everything said he wanted to claim me.

And maybe I wanted him to. Maybe I needed to be claimed by someone who kissed like the world might end tomorrow.

I groaned as he pressed our bodies together. There was no denying he wanted me. His body was hard and rigid against my stomach. His hold tightened and the kiss deepened. He swept his tongue inside my mouth, tasting, learning. I followed his lead as best I could, putting all of my stored up emotion into it.

He groaned into my mouth when I moved, trying to wiggle closer to his heat. His need.

“You taste so good,” he muttered as he trailed kisses down my neck, moving the top of my borrowed t-shirt away with his teeth.

I felt my panties grow wet. I dug my fingers into his biceps, trying to hold on as sensations swept through me. While I might never have had sex, I had participated in a few heavy petting sessions.

But this… this was beyond my experience. Not because of what we were doing, but because of the man doing them to me. With me.

He was intense, freaking off the Richter scale when it came to making my body want him.

“Max,” I whispered, moving my hands until they gripped the hair at the back of his neck. “Please.”

“Please what?” he whispered back, his mouth moving along the tops of my breasts, his tongue leaving a wet trail in its path.

“I, I,” I stammered. “I don’t know.”

He chuckled against my skin, then straightened. He looked down at me, tugging my hair and arching my neck. “Oh, you know what you want, Callie. Now tell me.”

His voice was a dare wrapped in smoke. And heaven help me, I wanted to say yes to whatever came next.

I searched his eyes, his gaze unblinking and heavy-lidded. I knew what I wanted, but I didn’t know if he was ready for that. If I was. Instead, I said, “Touch me please.”

He looked as if he were about to challenge me, but he didn’t. Instead, he moved, spreading his legs and pulling me between them. Then his hands were sliding up my sides, pushing my shirt up. “Lift,” he ordered.

I froze, because this was the time when everything usually fell apart. Or I got cold feet.

“What’s wrong?”

I quickly shook my head because for once, nothing was. I wanted this. I wanted to be with Gabriel.

He cupped my face with both hands and bent his knees so that his eyes were level with mine. “We won’t do anything you don’t want to do. And if you tell me to stop, I stop, Callie, understand?”

I nodded my head. “I do,” I answered, biting my lip.

One of his big thumbs broke it free from my teeth. “But?”

I sighed. This would be the make or break moment. “There’s something you need to know. Not because it’s a big deal, but I know some men. They would.” I stopped drawing in a deep breath.

“They would what? What do you need to tell me?” I could see his eyes cloud over with worry.

“I haven’t done this before. You know, gone all the way.”

I almost smiled at the expression that crossed his face. Disbelief. Shock almost. “You’re a virgin?”

“Yes. I’ve never had sex with a man before.”

He just stood there, my face still in his hands, his eyes still locked with mine.

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