Page 12 of King of Rhythm
Now it hits me that the difference does indeed matter in terms of more than just experience. He’s thirteen years older than I am and he’s saying that thirteen years ago he changed his life. That’s significant.
Where will I be in thirteen years?
Where will he be in another thirteen?
It hits me with all the force of a sledgehammer that I want him to be with me.
CHAPTER NINE
BRYCE
This is never an easy conversation to have with a woman, and the way Avery pulls away from me is like a knife to my heart. I can say I was young and dumb, that it was expected and just the lifestyle, and while true, they are all excuses. It’s my past and can’t be undone and, sadly, now it affects my future. A future I was starting to hope would be with Avery.
My heart pounds painfully in my chest as I watch her mentally wrestling with everything I just revealed to her. And then she makes a snarky comment and suddenly I’m laughing, relief loosening my tense muscles and hope soaring through me when she not only allows me to hold her but snuggles into my chest like she belongs there.
Because she does.
“I’m not that guy anymore,” I whisper to her. “I haven’t been for a long time. That’s a lifestyle that I turned my back on thirteen years ago.”
Angling my upper body back, I look at her, silently willing her to believe me and to give us a chance.
Her mouth lowers to mine as if in a dream. At the soft press of her lips, I shudder and wind my arms tighter around her. Boldly her tongue caresses my lips and eagerly I open to her, groaning in relief as the taste and feel of her is balm to my hurting heart.
When she pulls away, I reach for her, afraid it was all some cruel game. My hands fall to my sides as I watch her fingers go to the hem of her purple top and slowly lift it up her torso and over her head. She flings it to the floor and shakes her hair, the light blonde waves dancing around her shoulders and drawing my eyes to her soft, newly revealed skin.
The confident Avery of a moment ago fades away under my intense stare and uncertainty twists her features. She crosses her arms protectively over her body as her cheeks flush a vivid pink.
“Don’t hide yourself from me,” I say, stepping closer and tugging her arms down. “You’re so lovely. Never be ashamed.” Drifting my thumbs over her jaw, I angle her chin lower and claim her lips in a kiss. I pour my hunger, my want, and my sheer pleasure at being with her into it.
Slowly the stiffness in her body disappears and almost hesitantly her fingers slide along my arms, dipping along the edge of my ribs before moving up my back.
“That’s it, touch me,” I growl against her lips, running my fingers through the silky strands of her hair while I cup her breast with my other hand. The hard, insistent nub of her nipple pushes into my palm and is too tempting for me to resist.
Yanking my mouth away, I shove her bra down and suck my prize between my lips, loving her gasp of surprise and the faint sting of her nails digging into my back. “Beautiful,” I say, circling the puckered pink bud before drawing it deeper into my mouth.
I push down the other cup, my fingers plucking and lightly pinching her other nipple, learning what she likes by her gasps and tiny moans. Avery’s hands move up to my head, her fingers running through my hair as she clutches me to her.
Releasing her distended nipple, I trail heated kisses across to her other one, my fingers quickly switching sides to roll her wet swollen flesh gently. Her hips rock, the movements jerky andshallow, the tangy smell of her arousal perfuming the air around us.
Her smell fills my nose, making the iron bar of my cock strain and buck harder against my zipper, desperate for release.
Palming both her breasts, I kiss my way lower, her belly quivering as my lips skim along her skin.
Abruptly, I stand, her dazed eyes blinking rapidly as I do.
“You’re sure?” I ask, edging my fingertips into the waistband of her pants so there’s no mistaking what I’m asking.
Her tongue slides over her lips, clarity returning to her eyes as they stare deeply into mine, seeming to touch my very soul. Her fingers slide over the back of my hand and my body tightens as for one horrible moment, I fear she means to remove my hand and stop what’s unfolding between us.
She doesn’t.
The hand continues that slow slide, stopping when it reaches the snap at the top of her pants. A slight ping sounds and the material opens. A rasp of a zipper and then her pants are spreading wide. “I’m sure,” she says, her eyes not shying away from my stare.
Tunneling my hand lower, my breath hisses out from between clenched teeth at the first feel of crinkly pubic hair on my fingers. Delving lower into her pants, the satin of her panties slides along the back of my hand.
At the first brush along her clit, a low moan sounds. I don’t know if it came from me or Avery. Moving my fingers lower, wet heat greets me, hot and slick. Her tongue peeks out of her mouth, her eyelids dropping to half-mast as I continue exploring, dragging my fingers from her opening to her clit and smearing her honey all around.
Panting, Avery clings to me, grasping my arm and thrusting her mound into my hand.
