Page 53 of Between Now and Forever

That determined glint in her eyes to see whatever truth is coming, no matter how much it hurts, hits me straight in the gut.

I push off my perch against the door, close, and lock it behind me. I cross the room and only stop when the front of my body is a hairsbreadth away from the back of hers.

Her eyes never leave mine, but the bravery is replaced by wonder that makes me fucking weak.

I brush my nose against the soft spot at the nape of her neck and inhale.

My pulse ratchets up at the heady combination of her sweat mingling with my green tea scented soap.

She grasps the edge of the sink and arches her back, sending her hips and ass back toward my already very hard dick. I draw back a little. She may not be ready for that. That wonder is peppered with unmistakable innocence.

“What are you doing?” Her voice is a quivering sigh and her head droops a little and her eyes flutter wildly before they close.

“Smelling you.”

I grasp her chin and turn her head so that the cheek that offends her so much is facing me.

Then, I lick it.

“Tasting you and hoping some of you rubs off on me.”

She bites her bottom lip, but doesn’t open her eyes.

I don’t understand how she can think that she’s not beautiful. The spot is smooth; there’s no change in the texture of the skin it covers. And as I look closely at it, I see it’s a familiar shape.

“It’s a four-leaf clover…and these freckles, they're like the stem,” I say.

Her eyes pop open,and all of the doubt and worry has been replaced by keen skepticism.

There she is.

“Clovers have three leaves. I have one of those on my…on my body.” She blushes and I don’t tell her that I saw it when she was changing.

“Regular clovers have three leaves, but lucky ones have four. Like this.” I trace it with my fingertip.

“Really?” She gasps when I touch her.

“Yeah. This…it’s good luck.You’regood luck.”

Her eyes soften and the pink tip of her tongue darts out to stroke that crease in her lip that I know I’ll see in every dream I have for a long while.

“You don’t have to be nice,” she says, and I decide to stop trying to convince her of something that is contrary to what she holds as a core belief.

Words are meaningless, anyway. Anyone can say anything.

I can show her how much I mean it in a way she’ll never forget.

I press my erection into the sweet offering of her lush ass.

"Does that feel like I'm being nice?”

Her breath hitches and starts to come harder.

“Can I kiss you again?” I ask, my voice roughened by need.

She shivers, her lips part, but she shakes her head.

“You don’t have to, now that—”

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