Page 41 of Waiting Forever
“You are trying my patience.”
My skin burns from where his hands touch my skin. My heart hammers and desire spreads through my body. “You seem to have no patience anymore. What happened to the easygoing, always-chipper Nathan I grew up with?”
“He got older.”
“Well, so did I.”
His gaze roams over my chest and stomach visible above the water. “That’s precisely the problem.”
His words hurt. I fight the urge to step back. “You’d prefer I had stayed a child.”
“Something like that.” His breathing grows faster, and his hands slide from my hips to my waist. He tugs me closer, seeming unaware of his actions.
I should pull away. I’m angry and hurt, but I’m also turned on. He’s never held me like this, or had such a possessive gleam in his eyes, like he’s a wild animal about to pounce.
“Why don’t you like me anymore?” I murmur, fighting the urge to cry.
His brows lower. “Don’tlike you? Try the opposite of that. You wanted to know why I disappeared from your life?”
I nod, maybe even move closer to him.
“From the moment I saw you at your party three years ago, all grown up and looking sexy as hell in that dress, I wanted you. Istillwant you. So fucking bad. But it’s wrong. We can’t be anything. Ever. Your dad—mine—they’d kill me for even thinking about you the way I do.”
It’s everything I’ve wanted to hear from him and so much more. I shift forward and hook my hands behind his neck.
He grabs my biceps, stopping me. “Kensi. You don’t want me.”
“Yes, I do. I always have.” I let out a sad laugh. A tear slips down my cheek. “I saved myself for you. I wanted you to be my first, my only. That’s what I wished for on my seventeenth birthday. And then you came, and you looked amazing and you looked at me like I looked amazing and I thought that wish would come true.”
Confusion, anguish, and heartbreak flash through his warm eyes, but his grip doesn’t loosen on my arms. “You saved yourself for me?” Before I can respond, he curses and shakes his head. “We can’t. I can’t—”
I press my lips against his. They’re soft, warm, and giving. I sigh and melt a little. For so long I’ve fantasized about doing this again. Nathan doesn’t move or join me in the kiss. His hands return to my hips. To push me away or pull me closer?
I tilt my head and brush my lips across his with a feather-light kiss. When he doesn’t respond, I whisper against his cheek. “I’m not going to stop until you tell me to or push me away. I’ve waited too long.” I repeat what I did a moment ago, caressing his mouth with a sweep of my lips, but in the other direction. Then I kiss him. I slide my hand to his cheek and kiss him over and over again until he joins me, his fingers digging into my skin.
“Jesus,” he mutters and drags me onto his lap as he deepens the kiss.
I go willingly, part in shock that this is happening and part in disbelief, like it’s not and I’m dreaming. He tastes likehimand beer. Even though I’m not a fan of the flavor, I’m in love with this.
I’d remembered our first kiss as perfect and thought I’d exaggerated the memory. I hadn’t. His method, rhythm, and skill are a perfect match for me. I’ve never fallen into sync with anyone like this before, only Nathan. I could marry him based on his kisses alone.
I want to tell him, but then I’d have to part from his delicious lips, and I can’t do that. I won’t.
I run my fingers down his strong arms, following the grooves of his muscles and trail them to his hard stomach where it meets the waistband of his swim shorts.
He breaks the kiss and leans away. “What are you doing?”
“Touching you. I didn’t think I needed to explain it.”
He takes my hands in his. “You can’t touch me like that.”
“Why not?”
“Because you’re you—the sweet little girl I grew up with.”
“No, Nathan. I haven’t been that girl in a long time. Now, come back and kiss me.” I slide forward on his lap, moving until I feel his erection between my legs, proof that he wants me, too.
He stiffens. Every muscle in his body tightens at once. “I can’t do this. Not to you. Not like this. It’s wrong.” Gently, he lifts me off him and sets me on my feet, then he climbs out of the Jacuzzi.
