Page 83 of Tripped By Love
Marco
TAKE YOUR BREATH AWAY
“Girl, I’m just warning you
Gonna take that halo off for awhile
Kiss that red right off your smile.”
Performed by Josh Melton
Written by Ebach / Kerr / Melton
The rain never let up onthe way from Marsha’s Muffins to the hotel. The car smelled of it, earthy and damp mixed with the sweet aroma that was always Cassidy. My heart thudded in my chest with a military-like cadence?hard, fast, and never letting up. The rips and tears from this morning, when I hadn’t been able to have her, were sealing back up. God, I wanted her. Wanted her enough to risk everything else in my life going to hell, including my job with Brady. I could find another security gig. But deep in my heart, I knew that all Brady wanted was the people around him to be happy. As long as I didn’t hurt her, he’d be okay with it, and I’d be damned if I did anything to wound Cassidy O’Neil.
I pulled the SUV under the overhang at the hotel’s entrance, and Cassidy looked at me, surprised.
“It’ll keep you dry.”
She laughed, looking down at herself. She’d taken off the sodden jacket, and her dress clung to every curve and valley. It accentuated everything I wanted to spend an entire evening worshipping.
“I think that train has already passed the station,” she teased.
“Go up to the room, Angel. I’ve got to run over to the drugstore.”
Her eyes widened a little as understanding registered. Her cheeks flushed, and then she leaned over the console and placed a kiss against my lips that made me want to drag her into my lap and lose myself in her right in front of the hotel.
“Hurry,” she said and let herself out with a smile and a wink.
Goddamn.
I drove down the street to where I’d seen a chain store and jogged in, dripping water all over the place. I grabbed a shaver and a box of condoms and headed for the register. At the last minute, remembering the hotel had no room service, I grabbed some drinks and snacks in case we didn’t leave the room as I hoped we wouldn’t. I intended to make the most of this night with her.
This first night…
My feet stalled, and my heart almost gave out at the idea of having more than this night. Of having an endless number of them to lose ourselves in each other’s skin. I shook myself into action, hurrying just like she’d demanded.
When I got back to the hotel, I realized I had no idea what room she was in because I hadn’t really looked at her envelope the night before. I swung by my room, tearing off the dripping clothes and pulling on a pair of sweats and a T-shirt.
A knock came from the adjoining door, and my hands stilled on the text I’d been about to send to her.
“Marco?” her voice came through the walls.
I unlocked the door to find her standing there in nothing but a towel, her skin damp and pink. I knew it was soft from the times I’d been able to touch her, even before our shared kisses over the last few weeks. Working out together for two years, there’d been plenty of moments when we’d touched, and the silkiness of her skin had usually tortured me for the remainder of the night.
She eyed my dry clothes and the plastic bags I had in my hand, a flash of uncertainty crossing her face. She backed up into her room, and I followed, setting the bags down on the floor.
“Let me just get dressed.” She turned, and I grabbed her around the waist, dragging her back to me.
“Don’t,” I said gruffly.
I bent my head to her neck, trailing hot kisses along the smooth expanse, and my body immediately jumped to attention, straining against the sweats I’d pulled on. I continued my downward path until my lips hit the top of the towel. I carefully tugged at where she had the edges tucked, and it tumbled to the ground, revealing every single part of her. My breath caught, and my hands stilled as I took her in. Lean, yet curved perfectly. A small trail of stretch marks near her belly button from having carried Chevelle inside her. Skin marked with the beauty of her life.
“God, Angel. You’re perfect. A damn masterpiece.” She rolled her eyes, and I yanked so that she stumbled completely into me. “You don’t believe me? Then, I’ll have to spend the rest of the night convincing you.”
I bent and took a breast, with the tip already pebbled, into my mouth, and she moaned. My hands traveled down her body, sliding over the smooth skin, curling into her soft recesses, and she gasped, hips thrusting into mine. I swung her into my arms and took her to the bed. I laid her down and hovered over her before returning my lips and fingers to her secret places.
She fisted my T-shirt, pulling at it. I paused long enough to haul it over my head and throw it aside before returning to my devotion of her body. Her hands gripped my shoulders, nails biting into me as my mouth found its way to her core. Her hips bucked again, and I smiled.
