Page 107 of Love Me Steadfast
Her lips part in a breathless gasp, her eyes tense with desire, matching the desperation running hot inside me.
I thrust a little more, her body stretching so tight around me.
A whimper escapes her lips. I arch down and suck her nipple into my mouth, teasing, savoring the desperate edge to her breaths and the tremor vibrating up her body.
With one final thrust, I work deeper, trapped by her heat, until I’m all the way inside.
Charlotte gives a soft cry, her body so tight around me I can’t get a breath.
“Will,” she exhales like a whisper.
“I know,” I manage while sensations erupt from every nerve ending, blasting away my lingering fears and insecurities, consuming my core in a burst of heat that licks up my chest and ignites my skin. I kiss up to her neck as I move inside her, slow and firm, so she feels what I do.
We belong together.
We were made for each other.
This is how we were meant to be. Connected in mind, body, and heart. It’s how it was then and it’s how it should be now.
Forever.
Chapter Thirty-Three
CHARLOTTE (AGE 18)
“You guys are on in twenty,”the stage manager says, leaning into the green room, bringing with him the sharp vibrations of applause for Tenderhook, the band on before us, and a blast of the August heat.
Morgan jumps up and down, making her unicorn-snot hair gel sparkle in the low lighting.
Crosby is seated on the floor, his lanky legs crisscrossed and his eyes softly closed, noise-cancelling headphones clamped on his ears.
I should have eaten something. There’s enough food in here for several football teams.Don’t think about football right now!My phone pings from my purse, and I leap for it.
It’s William, like I’ve conjured him.
You guys are on soon right?
I blink in surprise. William’s hundreds of miles away at Oregon’s football camp. He wanted to be here, but he’s officially in the big leagues now, and leaving his new team was impossible. Next month, I’llbe leaving for Cornish in Seattle. Will’s going to meet me there and help me move into my dorm. We’ll have two whole days together before he has to head back to Eugene for their opening game against Texas.
I text Will back:
In 20
WILLIAM
How are you holding up?
I huff a giant breath and shake out my free hand. But the tingles running under my skin only buzz harder. I know I’m just anxious, but this is the biggest crowd Boxcar Doves has ever performed for. And yeah we’re one band out of a dozen in a weekend festival lineup, but it’s still fucking terrifying.
ME
What if I can’t do this?
WILLIAM
You already have. Dozens of times. Why would this be any different?
Okay, he has a point, yet…everything’s bigger at Creekside. The stage. The expansive grounds. The fancy lighting and sound systems. And of course, the audience.
