Page 12 of Shifting Gears

I lifted my hips in a thrust. She lost her balance, and she fell forward onto my chest. I wrapped my arms around her and lifted her before laying her down on the futon next to us.

I watched as she slipped her arms out of the coat she was wearing, setting it off to the side of the bed. She was slender, but not in a way I’d be afraid to hurt her as we fucked. She didn’t have much in the way of tits, but that ass wasfine. She also had more than a few tattoos peeking out from her shirt, around her back and down her arms.

“Damn, baby girl. I knew you were sexy. Why don’t you let me help you out of the rest of those clothes?”

I reached for the edge of her shirt, and she slapped my hand away.

“Have some patience. It’s been a while since I’ve been with a man. I need some … time.”

She looked up at me, and I could see in her eyes that, as confident as she was trying to be around me, she was nervous.

“I got you. Why don’t you let me take off some of the stress?” I leaned upright and tugged my hoodie over my head, twisting, I tossed it behind me onto the table. I ran my hand through my hair, making sure to flex my back muscles before I turned to face her again.

“Well, I knew you were strong from earlier, but your physique is immaculate.”

Her eyes analyzed every inch of my muscles. It wasn’t in a way like most women did—with pure sexual tension. No, there was something about it that felt almost like an assessment.

I chuckled.

“Thanks. I’m just built different,” I said with a smirk.

“I can’t argue with that. When I walked to the bar tonight, I was looking for a small escape from my reality. The last thing I can say is that I expected the evening to turn out like it has. But I can’t say I’m unhappy right now.”

She reached up and tucked her hair behind her ear, and for a second, it wasn’t Raven sitting in front of me. It was Rosalie. Such a simple gesture triggered a flood of memories and emotions in an instant.

The way her eyes would pierce the deepest parts of me when our gazes met, how her cheeks would get a pink tint when I flirted with her. How her sweet moans would sound as we fucked. Then the last two emotions I hated to feel—remorse and sadness—as I remembered how she had looked at me when I said goodbye. But I would take that over the fear I had felt the night I thought I would lose her. Better for her to be single and safe from my life than with me and end up hurt again—or worse, dead.

I realized Raven must have said something I had missed while my brain took a damn stroll down memory lane for a minute because she reached up to me and stroked my cheek.

“My bad. What’d you say?” I said as I turned my attention back to her, pushing the last thoughts of Rosalie back to the farthest corner of my mind.

“I said, are you feeling all right? You had this look on your face as if you were upset.”

I shook my head. “Yeah, it’s nothin’ important. So, are you gonna take off something else, or should I take these off first?” I said as I slipped my hand down to my joggers and tugged it downward.

“Maybe I should take my shirt off first,” she rushed out as her eyes darted down and followed my hand.

I stopped moving my joggers lower, pausing just as the base of my dick was showing just above my underwear. I watched her hands grip the hem of her shirt, and she took a deep breath. Then, in one fluid motion, she quickly ripped it up and over her head, tossing it on top of her coat.

Fucking hell, she’s sexy.

She had dark tattooed feathers that ran over her shoulders from her back and cascaded down her arms. There was a flower of some sort blooming over her chest, petals trailing down onto her tits. She also had something written in Japanese on the left side of her rib cage.

“Damn, baby, here I thought I had a lot of tats. Can’t wait to see what other ones you got,” I said as I ran my hand up her side and traced one of the petals above her tit.

She shivered as I lazily trailed my fingertips over the next large petal.

“Once I got my first one, it became a form of self-expression. It was the one irresponsible thing I allowed myself. The wings are my newest additions.”

I slid my hand down and gripped her tit, massaging it in a soft circle. She let out a delicate moan, leaning into my touch. I ran my other hand up her thigh, gripping it as close as I could toher pussy. I leaned in, dragging my lips along her slender neck before kissing back down, teasing her as much as I could.

“Too much …” she panted out as she brought her hands up against me and pushed firmly.

“What’s too much, baby?” I murmured into her ear. I gently tugged on the edge of her earlobe with my teeth.

She squirmed against me. “We still have too many clothes on.”

I chuckled and leaned back. I stood up and shoved down my pants, leaving only my boxers on.

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