Page 22 of My Trainer Neighbor
"What are you grateful for?"
She was quiet for a moment, considering the question seriously.
"This," she said."Tonight.Feeling like a person instead of just a job title."She met my eyes."You."
The simple word hit me right in the chest.When was the last time anyone had been grateful for me?Not for what I could do for them or how I could make their body look, but just for existing?
"Nicole."I stood up, moving around the table toward her."Come here."
She stood too, and I pulled her into my arms.This time, when I kissed her, there was nothing gentle about it.It was hungry and demanding and full of all the need I'd been trying to keep locked down.
She responded immediately, her hands fisting in my shirt, her mouth opening under mine.She tasted like wine and cranberry sauce and something that was uniquely her.
"I want you," I said against her lips, the words torn from somewhere deep in my chest.
"I want you too."Her admission was breathless, desperate."But I don't know how to do this."
"Do what?"
"Be with someone.Be vulnerable.I don't know how to be what you need."
I pulled back to look at her, seeing the fear in her eyes.The same fear that had sent her running three days ago.
"You don't have to be anything but yourself," I told her."Just let me take care of you."
"I don't know how to let someone take care of me."
"Then let me teach you."I framed her face with my hands, holding her gaze."Trust me, Nicole.Just for tonight, trust me to make you feel good."
She searched my face for a long moment, and I could see the exact second she made her decision.
"Okay," she breathed."Show me."
I lifted her onto the dining table, pushing aside plates and glasses with one arm while pulling her mouth back to mine with the other.She gasped at the sudden movement but didn't protest, her legs wrapping around my waist as I settled between them.
"Is this okay?"I asked, my hands sliding up her thighs.
"Yes."The word came out as a moan when I hit a particularly sensitive spot behind her knee."God, yes."
I kissed my way down her throat, tasting the salt of her skin, breathing in her scent.She was trembling, but not from fear.From anticipation.
"You're beautiful," I murmured against her collarbone."So fucking beautiful."
My hands found the zipper at the back of her dress, and I paused.
"Tell me to stop if you want me to stop," I said.
She looked at me with eyes that were nearly black with need."Don't stop.Please don't stop."
I pulled the zipper down slowly, watching her face as I peeled the dress away from her body.She was wearing black lace underneath, and the sight of her in nothing but lingerie on my dining table nearly undid me.
"Jesus, Nicole."
She started to cover herself, but I caught her hands.
"Don't hide from me," I said."You're stunning."
And she was.Every soft curve, every inch of skin I'd imagined touching.
