Page 43 of Moving Forward

His bottom lip quirks. “That’s what I said. And I think it pissed him off.”

There’s not a whole lot that doesn’t get Grandpa riled up—he likes people, but he likes it when they abide by his rules.

“And you’re overthinking what he said,” I say.

“Maybe a little,” he admits “I can’t be Ethan, Max. If that’s what you need . . . I can’t give that to you. I don’t even know if I can be happy, let alone make you happy.”

“I’m not asking you to make me happy. But you already do—I’m happier with you than I’ve been in ages. I don’t care that you’re not Ethan. I care that you’re you and I really, really like you for you.”

A full-on grin, teeth and everything, breaks out on his face. He looks just the way I imagine he would look if he'd had an easier life. God, he’s handsome.

Before I can say anything else, he flips me onto my back so that he’s hovering over me, his weight centered on his forearms. With one hand, he pushes my hair away from my eyes before he leans down to brush his lips across mine softly. Just that small contact is enough to set all my nerve endings on fire, threatening to consume us both. The momentum of that simple, barely-there kiss has my heart pounding in my chest, on the verge of bursting like a firecracker. With Ethan, it was more of that goofy, kissy-face, gross-everyone-out-with-our-insane-PDA kind of love. But with Cain, it’s completely different. I don’t feel what I felt for Ethan when I’m with Cain. No, I feel consumed, broken, fixed, aching, whole, empty, satisfied, and alive when I’m with him.

“You’re thinking,” he murmurs, tracing my lips with his index finger.

“You stopped,” I point out glumly. If our lips had to be glued together for the rest of my life, I might be okay with that. I would probably do the gluing myself.

“You’re pouting,” he chuckles, almost smugly. My cheeks heat up, which makes him chuckle even harder. “I’m afraid that what you just said might have undone me completely. And I want to show you just how much it undid me, but here’s not the right place for that. Not where you slept as a kid with your stuffed animals and had bedtime stories read to you. I definitely won’t chance anything with your parents downstairs.”

Show me? My eyes widen. This is the first time since Ethan that I’ve been able to think about another guy, let alone about sex. I didn’t even think about sex with Ethan. Well, that’s a lie. I did. A lot. But whenever we’d come close, the dread that he’d cheat on me again would overtake me. When I finally gave in, it was perfect and painful, but we’d only ever done it once.

Once and then I lost him forever. I’ve worked so hard not to disrespect Ethan’s memory, and this would. I can’t do anything with a man I’ve just met when I forced Ethan to wait that long.

Cain shakes his head, his own eyes going wide. “Peaches, I don’t mean it that way. I just want to kiss you in a way I can’t when I know your grandfather is a proud supporter of the Second Amendment. I know you’re not ready for sex yet, especially after a relationship that’s only a few hours old. And I would never, ever push you for that. Understand?”

“Thank you,” I say softly. As relieved as I am, I still feel a small wave of disappointment.

His expression quickly surges from apologetic to amused. His nose twitches as his lip quirks, drawing attention to Ethan’s handiwork. God, I’d never thought I’d be so attracted to a dent in a nose.

“You’re disappointed?” he asks wryly.

I’m mortified.

“You’re terrible at hiding your emotions,” he breathes into my ear as he draws the lobe between his teeth. “And a terrible, terrible liar. Friends, Peaches?”

I focus on my breathing to slow it down so I can get words out. “And what about you? You think you can distract me with kisses?”

“Distract you from what?” His mouth moves away from my ear and over my jaw, his tongue toying and his teeth nipping. The movement elicits an embarrassing moan I instantly regret. It only spurs him on. “What was that, Peaches?”

I swallow, clenching my hands at my sides. “Who are you right now?”

His chuckle comes out muffled against my skin. “Whoever the hell I am, I feel free.”

“Free enough to do exactly what you told me you weren’t going to do in my childhood bedroom?”

“Let’s call it a preview,” he tells me.

This time when his lips find mine, they’re charged with a ferocity that was hidden before. He means to devour me, not give me a preview. He runs hot and cold, intense and sweet.

When I open my lips to let him enter, he ravages my mouth, making me shudder beneath him at how well he already knows me. With every sweep of his lips, he becomes even more of an expert at eliciting reactions from me.

He lifts his head and my hands thread into his hair, urging him back down, but he resists. He stares down at me with dark, desire-filled eyes—threatening to split me wide open and sew me back up all at the same time. Everyone should feel the power of this look, and the drunkenness that goes along with it. Like our chemistry and our attachment to one another is the single most important thing in the universe. Like we’re the only people to ever exist.

He dips back down, his lips traveling down my neck to my bare collarbone. He drops flush against me, allowing me to feel just how much control he’s been maintaining, even though he’s clearly on the brink of losing it. I can feel him stiffen through his jeans, just as wrapped up in me as I am in him.

“Cain,” I say breathlessly, at a loss for any other word.

As he continues licking and nipping, his hand travels up my stomach slowly, his fingers splayed. I move into his touch, knowing exactly where he’s going. Wanting him to go there more than I’ve ever wanted anything. The tips of his fingers meet the underside of my breast and I let out a pleasured sigh, urging him to continue. I might combust if he doesn’t. His hand finally fully cups my breast, kneading it in rhythm with his tongue as it dances with mine. Pressure builds inside of me, coiling like a snake.

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