Page 128 of A Better Place

CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

Carly

There’s no other way to put this. It’s been several years since I had sex. Before I left Vince, we hadn’t been together in a while. Between him getting it on the side and me just not being interested in any sort of intimacy with him, neither of us made any effort. And that was fine with me.

And maybe a part of me should feel a little nervous now, considering that it’s been so long, but I’m not. And I have no question that it’s because of James. He’s calm, patient, funny, loving, kind… he’s everything I want for Jack to be in a man. He’s everything I want for me. I’ve delayed. I’ve waited. I made him wait, and I’ve tried to hold back, but there’s no way I cannot be with him, forever, tonight.

If I’m being completely honest, foreplay started when I fell head over heels into him, literally. He’s carrying me into his bedroom, and I nuzzle my face into his neck, inhaling the intoxicating and overwhelmingly delicious scent of him. As long as I live, I will never get tired of his smell. It’s woodsy, and fresh, and everything a man should smell like. Does he have some sort of added pheromones in whatever he sprays on himself? Even as he’s carrying me, I feel like I need to be closer.

“Carly?”

“Yeah?”

“I kinda need to put you down.” He chuckles. “I mean, just for a second.”

I realize he’s standing beside his bed and has released his hold on me, but I’m still wrapped around him. I flush, embarrassed, unwind my legs, and set my feet to the floor.

Before he can say anything, or I lose my nerve, I reach down and pull my sweater off, exposing myself to him. I have to admit, I kind of knew what I was planning when I came over here tonight. Jack decided to stay at his friend Blake’s house, so it’s not like I will have to worry about doing a weird leave-in-the-middle-of-the-night thing, or walk in the door early in the morning.

“Holy shit.” James breathes out as he takes me in, my black lace bra and arrow necklace he gave me on our first date the only thing covering my upper body. “Carly, I knew you were beautiful…” He shakes his head and bites his lip as his eyes travel up and down my body. “You’re sure? I don’t want there to be any confusion here. You’re already mine, but once we cross this line, you’re forever mine. You got me?”

I nod my head and whisper, “I’m yours, James. I think I’ve always been yours, even before we knew each other. And I’ll be yours forever.”

“Yeah?” He confirms with a grin so beautiful it takes my breath away. Before I can respond to him, he’s on me. His strong arms wrap around me and pull me close to him, his arousal pressing up against me, and if I wasn’t already so damn turned on, I would be now.

Our mouths come together in a bruising kiss, and I have the brief thought that I actually wouldn’t mind being bruised, marked by him. Everything about him turns me on. From the way he is with Jack, the fact that he raised his daughter on his own, pursued his dream after focusing so much of his life on her, his giving and sweet nature, the way he is with me… I am overwhelmingly blown away by him, and even more so by the fact that he’s mine. He loves me. Me.

His hands drift down my back, leaving a scorching trail that sizzles through my core. His tongue slides between my lips, battling for dominance with my own. I gladly give it to him, ready to offer up every part of me. He turns his head slightly to the side then shifts, moving his mouth over my jawline down to my neck, my collarbone, my shoulder. His tongue slips out, tasting every part of me. My breaths are coming in short spurts, and I tremble at the feel of him against me. My hands reach out, hooking my fingers in the belt loops of his jeans, pulling him back to me. The feel of him against me causes a deep moan to burst from my chest, and we both become frantic. Gone are the moments of patience. Gone is the calm. We’ve walked right into the fray, too many days spent around each other holding back, waiting, waiting, waiting.

But no more.

No more. I don’t want James to be gentle. I need him. It’s as simple as that.

“No more holding back.” My voice is husky, as desperate as I feel for him.

“Carly…”

“No, James. You’ve been patient. Hell, I’ve been patient. You’ve had my heart for a long time, and you’ve been gentle, and so achingly tender with me. But right now? Right now I need you. That’s it. Please,” I beg.

His chest heaves up and down and his eyes blaze. “No problem.”

The second the words are out of his mouth, my fingers move to the bottom hem of his shirt and tug on it while trying to pull it off. He helps, only removing his mouth from mine in the time it takes to get it over his head.

The second it’s off, I take my turn kissing his neck, shoulder, chest. My mouth drifts over every part of him I can manage to get my lips on. His skin is warm under my lips, his chest rising and falling rapidly. My tongue makes a trail upward, and when I get to his neck, I can feel the heavy pulse of his heart causing my stomach to flutter with anticipation, knowing he’s as ready for this as I am.

“Oh damn that feels so good,” he groans.

Desperately, I try to not think of the last time, the last person, I was intimate with. I push the memories aside, not wanting to miss a single moment.

As if reading my thoughts, James takes a deep breath and says my name, his voice coming out like a croak. “Carly.”

“Mmm,” I mumble, my lips still on his skin.

“Baby, listen to me.”

I lift my eyes to his, seeing his soften under my gaze.

“This is just us. You get that, right? This, right here…” He motions between us. “…is what we get, just the two of us. Something we didn’t get from anyone else. Something we can’t get from anyone else. I love you. I love you so damn much I sometimes have a hard time seeing anything beyond us. But that’s okay with me because right now? I see nothing but you.”

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