Page 70 of Before I Tell You

“Hey,” he says quietly. I look up at him as he tucks a piece of hair behind my ear. “Are you ok?”

“Am I ok?” I smile. “I have never felt better.”

He looks pleased. “Oh, good. I know since you had never … done this before, well, I just wanted to make it as enjoyable as possible for you.”

I’m pretty sure Nathan just blushed. And it was the cutest thing I think I’ve ever seen.

“Was I … ok?” I ask.

He starts laughing but quickly covers his mouth to stop himself when he sees me look nervously down at his chest. “Baby, I feel like the luckiest guy on the planet right now.”

I’m instantly relieved. “I like it when you call me baby.”

“You do? Well, I’ll be sure to do that more often then,” he replies into my ear before resting his head on the pillow.

Happy butterflies fill my stomach.

“How did you know to do that thing with your … wait. I’m sorry. Don’t answer that.” I can’t believe I just said that. Nathan shifts uncomfortably, and I know I just ruined the moment between us.

Good job, Natalie.

“Don’t be sorry, Natalie.” He stares at the ceiling, and the silence slowly starts to kill me. Then, finally, he lets out a sigh. “It’s probably no secret that I have … experience.” His hand rubs his temple before he continues. “But you should know, tonight was a first for me too. I’ve never had sex with someone who I truly care about. I’ve never felt this close to someone before. You … you mean everything to me.” He lowers his brown eyes to mine. “Do you know that?”

Do I know that?

I think about his question, but it only takes a second for me to come up with my answer.

“Yes.” I shift so I am lying on top of him, looking down into his dark eyes. As I bring my lips to his, a feeling of complete happiness fills me. “I really do.”

His hand runs up and down my back in a smooth motion, making me feel sleepy, so I rest my head on his chest, which starts rumbling with laughter.

“What’s so funny?”

“Nothing,” he says, but then continues. “Well, actually, when I came here tonight, I told myself we weren’t having sex. I wanted to make sure we waited until you were ready.” I look up at him, knowing with every ounce of my heart that we had waited long enough. Any longer, and I probably would have exploded into a thousand very horny pieces. “Looks like I didn’t have to wait too long.” He chuckles.

“I’d say we waited long enough. Feels like forever if you ask me,” I reply, hinting at how long I truly have been waiting for him. My hand starts tracing a small circle over his firm stomach.

“You’re right. I should never have made you wait so long.” He lifts his head just slightly so that his lips touch my forehead.

“So, speaking of waiting, how much longer are you going to make me wait for round two?” My finger slides down Nathan’s torso, and I watch his eyes widen in surprise when I wrap my hand around the length ofhim. Hard and ready for me.

Ding! Ding! Ding!

Round two is about to begin.

Twenty-Two

NATHAN

TWELVE DAYS.

It has been twelve goddamn incredible days of nonstop sex with Natalie.

There was the before-bed sex. The morning sex. The shower sex. The between-classes sex. God, there was even that night in the car when we couldn’t get to her apartment fast enough after our dinner date.

The girl could not get enough of me.

Not that I’m complaining.

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