Page 72 of Fight for Me
She sees the man I can be instead of the man I am. To her, I’m not broken, a failure, or unworthy.
I would give anything for that to be true. “You have no idea how beautiful you are. How much I want you.”
She leans up, pressing her hand to my lips. “When we talk, we say things we can’t take back.”
I rub my thumb against her cheek. “Then let me show you all I want to say.”
I vow, right here, to love her with everything I am so that tomorrow maybe she’ll hate me a little less. Maybe she’ll feel all that I wish we could be.
“Declan, I should—”
It’s my turn to stop her from speaking, pressing my lips to hers. Once I feel the fight drain from her, I murmur against her lips. “No talking, Sydney. Just let me love you.”
A soft, sweet cry escapes her lips, and she nods. Her fingers trace lines down my cheeks, and I kiss her more reverently this time. It isn’t to silence her. It’s because I’ve gone so long without this, and I want to drown in her touch, rejoice in her love, and stay here where I don’t belong.
Her head falls back, and I trail wet kisses down the column of her neck. The last time we were together, it was frantic and hurried. I was out of my mind with desire, and we were like teenagers.
Tonight, I want to brand her into my soul.
Nothing about this time will be hurried.
I slowly pull the thin straps of her dress off her shoulders, moving my lips in the direction they fall.
“Declan.” She sighs my name and tangles her fingers in my hair. “I need you.”
“You have me,” I tell her and mean it. I’m hers. I won’t pull away, not until the sun comes back up and we no longer have the dark to conceal all that’s wrong and hopefully we can find a way back to the light.
I unzip the back of her dress and pull it down. She undoes each button on my shirt, watching me with her bottom lip between her teeth. Syd pushes the dress shirt away, a coy smile now playing on her lips.
She’s absolutely gorgeous. She’s wearing a lace bra that causes my throat to go dry.
Then she reaches up, removes a few pins from her blonde hair, and lets it fall around her, framing her face, and I freeze. I don’t know that I can breathe. Everything about this moment is too much. I know I’ve said I would let her go, but I don’t think I can.
Sydney is the answer to questions I seek and I’m not strong enough to ask anymore.
I’m done with keeping my distance.
I’ve fought against my better judgment, and yet, here we are again. My heart has always been hers, and if we can make it through tonight, after I tell her everything, then maybe I can stop fighting the wrong thing.
“I don’t ...” I try to speak. To tell her how fucking magnificent she is and what I want, but the words don’t come.
Sydney stares at me as a blush paints her cheeks.
“What?” I ask, not sure I want to know the answer.
“This is exactly like prom.”
Maybe, but I don’t want it to be like that. I want to give her pleasure, show her how much I fucking love her. I want the memory of this night to hold onto forever. Ellie may have been the center of everyone else’s attention today, but all I saw was Sydney.
I chuckle softly and run the pad of my finger down her chest. “But I’m not a boy now.”
“No, you’re not.”
“And I won’t fumble through what to do to you,” I assure her.
“I don’t doubt that. But we’re on a farm, were dressed up, and about to repeat what we did that night.”
Her body trembles slightly as I move my finger back up, this time grazing her nipple. I lean in, my tongue lavishing the scrap of silk, and her head falls back. “Did I do that on prom night?”
