Page 30 of What We Keep
“Elsa,” Haven rasped again.
I didn’t quite know what I wanted, but I absolutely didn’t want this to end. Not yet.
“Tell me what you want, sweetheart.”
His words rumbled over me, and I shocked myself by saying, “You.”
He took a small step back, lifting my hips onto the counter. He rested both hands beside my hips while my legs dangled down, his eyes boring into mine in the darkness.
When he pressed hot kisses down the side of my neck, I shivered against him, his name a ragged plea. I was burning up, heat rising so swiftly inside that it felt as if my skin couldn’t contain it. My nerve endings were sparking.
Haven stilled, resting his hands on either side of my hips. “Elsa.”
I could see the glimmer of blue in his eyes in the mostly dark room with nothing more than the ambient light cast from above the stove where a small light shined. “What do you want?” he whispered.
I placed a palm on his chest, savoring the warmth. He felt alive, his body humming with electricity. I could feel the rapid kick of his heart against my palm, and relief slipped through me to discover his heart was racing as fast as mine.
“Just kiss me,” I whispered in reply.
When his lips hitched slightly at one corner, my belly shimmied. In a fiery second, he fit his mouth over mine again, and I sighed with sheer relief, neediness, and more. There was a push and pull inside me. The relief at finally giving in to this softened me, while the desire raced at a breakneck pace, gathering force, hurtling forward.
His tongue glided against mine, his kiss alternately masterful and gentle. One of his hands slid into my hair, his palm dragging down. I felt his fingers press at the base of my neck and shivered all over at the feel of it. I couldn’t get close enough, and as the fiery seconds ticked by, I plastered myself to him. Through the thin cotton of my tank top, a nuisance between us, I could feel the heat of his skin.
My hand slid around his waist, savoring the flex of his muscles. The hot ridge of his arousal was like a brand nestled at my core. Once again, we had to break apart to breathe.
Even though I wanted him to be air for me, I did actually need oxygen. We stared at each other in that dark room, that glimmer of light just enough to see.
“Sweetheart,” he rasped. “Tell me what you want.”
All rational thought had gone up in smoke. I couldn’t even consider all the reasons this might not be a good idea or why it might be complicated. Might didn’t even come close. It was complicated. It was beyond reckless for me to do this.
But I just wanted Haven. I wanted this. I took a shaky breath and whispered, “More.”
I surprised myself when I reached between us and dragged my palm over his length. His eyes darkened, and his breath hissed through his teeth.
“Elsa,” he growled.
He dropped his hands away from the counter, lacing one in my hair as the other curled over my hip.
“Are you sure?” His question lilted up at the end.
With a sharp nod, I bit my lip and rocked my hips against his length, slipping my hand out of the way. He drew in a ragged breath, his eyes still locked to mine.
“I don’t know if this is a good idea,” he bit out.
“It probably isn’t, but I don’t care,” I whispered, rolling my hips again.
“Let’s make one thing clear.”
“Okay…”
“If you change your mind at any point, just say so.”
I nodded. “The same goes for you.”
His low chuckle shimmered over my nerves, already sparking with desire and need.
It was a good thing I was seated because I would have simply melted right to the floor from the heat simmering inside. In a hot second, his lips were on mine again. I let out a whimper when he drew away.
