Page 66 of Light Up The Night
"You think I cannot see that possibility with you?" she asks.
My heart twists and flips. "I mean, I’m, like, your polar opposite. You're inherently good—you're pure-hearted. Crazy smart. Elite education. Bright future ahead of you, saving lives and being a badass."
She rolls her head to look at me. "You are not the opposite of any of those things, except perhaps educated, and education is not an indicator of intelligence but rather of opportunity."
I sigh, roll a shoulder. “I suppose."
She turns into me again, pressing her soft, svelte body against mine. "Riley, what it comes down to is that I chooseyou. I know what I want. I am frightened but ready—although frightened may not be the right word. Nervous? Anxious? Anticipatory? A little afraid, too, it is true. I know even less what to expect from the things you spoke of than I did of kissing." She scratches her fingernails along my jawline from earlobe to chin, and then tugs at my lower lip with her thumb. "I crave you, Riley. Your touch. Your kisses. Your attention. I want to see your body. I want to show you mine. I want to know how to touch you. I want to be touched. I want to know why Krista, my roommate, screamed the way she did."
Arousal and desire rocket through me. "Cadence…fuck."
She presses on. "I trust you, Riley. That is rare for me. Truly, truly rare. I…have never in my life reacted to anyone the way I do to you. I do not know if I ever will again. I do not know what lies ahead for me, especially after my Sudanese mission. But I am here with you, now. I know I would consider it the greatest of errors if I did not allow myself to explore what my body is capable of feeling with the one man I can tolerate being touched by." She wriggles closer, and my cock stiffens at the soft crush of her tits against my chest and the way her thigh drapes over mineand her core snugs against my quad. "It can only be you, Riley. Please. Be with me."
I groan raggedly. "How can I say no? I've been tryin' like hell to be good with you. You deserve someone as good as you, babe, and that ain’t me. But…fuck, I want you. I want yousodamn bad, Cadence. Makes me crazy how attracted to you I am." I make sure she's looking at me. "Toyou—to the woman you are, Cadence. To your personality—to your mind as much as your body."
Her eyes go misty. "You truly mean that?"
"God, yes. You're the most amazing woman I've ever met."
"I…" she blinks hard, and then nuzzles her nose against my throat. "I want to kiss you, Riley. I want to kiss you, and this time, I don't want to stop. I don't wantyouto stop. I want you to teach me what my body can do. How it can feel."
"How the fuck are you even real?" I breathe, not intending to say it out loud.
"I do not understand the question," she murmurs.
"I mean you're too good to be true." I brush my thumb over her lips. "I'll go slow, okay? Stop me at any time, for any reason. Ask me anything."
She huffs a laugh. "I have spoken more about myself to you than I have in the rest of my life combined. I do not like speaking of myself. I do not like explaining myself to people. Most do not care to actually understand. You do." She licks her lips, and starshine glitters in her eyes, stains her skin silver. "I am tired of talking, Riley. I would like tofeel.” A quick pause. "Good things, if you please."
This makes me laugh. "Only good things, I promise."
Her eyes are wide. "You must also teach me what to do for you, Riley. All relationships, even physical ones, rely on an equitable cycle of give and take."
I grin at her. "Oh, that won't be a problem."
"You…you want me to touch you?"
"Do bears shit in the woods?" It comes out before I can stop it. "That's rhetorical. It means obviously."
She smiles. "I believe I grasped your meaning."
"Hard to tell with you, sometimes."
"That is fair. You would not be mistaken if you assume I do not understand colloquialisms and such. Most of the time I do not, but every once in a while—"
I cut her off with a kiss. “Cadence?"
"Yes, Riley?" Breathy, eager.
"I can't kiss you if you're babbling."
"I babble when I am nervous."
"Gettin' that." I kiss her again, soft, quick. "Remember one thing for me, okay?Youare in control. You can test me. Ask me to stop or slow down or wait."
"Just…be gentle?"
"How could I be anything less with someone so precious?”
