Page 37 of A Cornish Love Story
‘Oh.’ I swallowed. ‘Good, I—’
‘We can stop at any time.’ He held my gaze, but I loved that his voice was fraying at the edges.
‘I don’t want to stop.’ I got to work on his shirt buttons, undoing them while he fumbled with the zip on my jeans.
As our clothes came off, I shed any doubts along with them. His body was lean and toned, pale skin decorated with freckles that traced the shape of his shoulders. He seemed so unselfconscious, so wholly focused on me and the layers I was stripping in front of him. When I was down to my underwear, he reached behind me and undid my bra clasp, slid it down my arms and dropped it on the floor. He brushed his fingers over my skin, staring down at me.
‘God.’ He swallowed. ‘George.’
He was only in his boxers, and I slid my hands inside the waistband, pushing them down. He groaned into my neck, and I felt a surge of elation.
‘Let’s get in bed,’ I said breathlessly.
I had imagined falling onto the duvet, wild with passion and lust, but this was real and we were both nervous and it was better, this slow exploration. I pulled back the covers and slid in, Ethan following me until we were lying, facing each other, the duvet tugged up to our waists.
‘You’re beautiful,’ Ethan said. ‘Georgie, I … I want to do this right.’
‘Me too,’ I murmured, even though I didn’t know exactly what that meant.
His hands explored me, smoothing over my skin, taking it slowly so my pleasure was a gentle build, and all I wanted was to get closer to him. He keptchecking in with me, asking if I was OK, if what he was doing was good. The low tone of his voice sent tremors shivering through me, and when he leaned into kiss me, the tremors turned to sparks and our touches got more frantic.
He reached over to grab the box of condoms from my bedside table, and took one out. I felt dizzy, almost like I was floating, like there was this beautiful part of me that had been hidden inside all this time, and Ethan had found it.
‘This OK?’ he asked again.
‘Yes, Ethan.’
He stroked my hair off my forehead, pressed his lips there. ‘Are you sure?’
‘I’m sure,’ I said. ‘Are you?’
‘Yeah.’ His eyebrows were dipped, and I knew he was trying to show me how important this was, how seriously he was taking it, but his eyes were glazed with lust and his lips were swollen from our kisses, and I couldn’t help the giggle that burst out of me. ‘George?’ His mouth tipped up in a smile.
‘I’m just … happy we’re doing this,’ I whispered. Whatever happened, whatever it felt like the first time, I knew I was safe with Ethan. I couldn’t imagine doing this with anyone else.
‘Me, too.’ He leaned over me, kissed me again. ‘Tell me if you want to stop. Any time, Georgie.’
‘OK.’
And then he was there, closer, and I gasped at the new sensations, the heat and tingling, his kissesdrugging me, his hands everywhere, stroking and soothing, him whispering my name against my forehead, my cheek, my ear. He was perfect, with his rumbling voice and his gentle touch, his body over mine, and I closed my eyes and gave into everything he was making me feel.
‘Georgie.’ His voice was rough, his eyes unfocused as he looked down at me. ‘Georgie, you are perfect.’ The words were exhales, dizzy and delirious, and I knew he was feeling everything I was, and it sent me closer, closer, until I was a flaring firework, limbs nothing but sensation, turning hot and sweet and satisfied.
Ethan stroked my hair, my cheeks, then kissed the places his fingers had been. I smiled at him, pressed up on a wobbling arm and kissed him, said his name into his mouth, and he followed me over the edge.
In that moment I knew that, no matter what happened in the future, I would always have this memory – me and Ethan, together like this – and nobody could take it away.
Chapter Sixteen
Now
‘Any change?’
Ethan jumped, then turned to glare at me. ‘Why are you silent?’
‘I’m not silent. I’ve taken my shoes off.’
‘Right.’ He turned back to the wall panel just inside the front door, the screen glowing a cheerful blue while he pressed buttons. It beeped happily, while continuing to offer no possibility of releasing us any time soon.
