Page 23 of Cherish

“Hells yeah!” Ananda says, hugging Sandy. “I’ve never been to Martha’s Vineyard. You can share my room, Mellie.”

“And where am I supposed to sleep?” I ask, offended that she would leave me out.

A hand grabs my wrist and pulls me away. “Let’s dance,” he says in my ear.

He takes me into his arms, and despite the fast tempo music playing, he just holds me against his body as we sway.

He has one arm around my waist, and the other is trying to push a crazy piece of hair off my face. He gives up when the hair refuses to cooperate. I look up at his face, waiting to see what he does next.

I don’t have long to wait.

Right there in the middle of the party, he kisses me.

Despite the crowd, the kiss is anything but chaste.

CHAPTER 12

ALEX

“Are you fucking kidding me?” I say, looking at the text Ananda just sent. I knew they were up to something when they ran out of here, claiming to be taking the trash to the dump in the dark of night. Now, they text saying that Mellie is spending the night at Ananda’s and they are already at her place.

“Everything okay?” Jason asks. It’s just us left at his house. The party ended, and he’s now wiping the counter clean. I shove the phone in his face, and he smiles.

“They’re not exactly subtle, are they?” Irritated by their tactics, I stomp out of the kitchen. I yank his coat closet open to find my purse. I throw the strap over my shoulder and start stomping to the front door, only to have Jason block my path.

“Whoa, there. It’s almost midnight and there is definitely a thunderstorm brewing. Where do you think you’re going?” he asks.

“Home. I hate being manipulated, and your sister and Ananda are the worst. They tricked me into coming here under the guise of just hanging out. Neither one of them mentioned a party. In fact, they both lied right to my face when they told me you’d be working today. I’m through with them.” By the time I finish talking, I know my face has gone red. I try to walk around him, but he casually leans against the door. There’s only one thing left for me to do. With all the strength I could muster, I try to push him. Instead of moving, he does an exaggerated yawn.

“I’ll order an Uber and wait outside.”

He tilts his head as he contemplates my words. Just as he opens his mouth to form a response, a loud clap of thunder reverberates through the house. Caught off guard, I let out a loud scream. Unable to control myself, I hug Jason. Without missing a beat, he engulfs my body into his much larger frame. When we hear another round of thunder, I whimper and he holds me closer, tighter. He tenderly kisses my forehead as he walks me to the back of the house.

The thunder doesn’t stop, and soon, the heavy rain starts. I don’t notice when he walks me into his bedroom. I don’t even notice when we both sit on his giant bed. But I do notice when he takes me back in his arms, pulling me deeper into the bed. He holds me close, both of us now lying down. Between kisses on my forehead and soothing words, I slowly calm down only to lose it again at the sound of more thunder.

“It’s okay, angel. I won’t let anything happen to you. It’s just noise, darlin’, caused by lightning.When a lightning bolt travels from the cloud to the ground it opens up a little hole in the air, called a channel. When the light is gone, the air collapses back in and creates a sound wave that we hear asthunder. That’s all it is. It can’t hurt you. I would never let anything happen to you.”

I try to absorb his words. I wasn’t always scared of thunderstorms. Not until a few years ago. When another round of thunder hits, I hold on to him tighter.

“Breathe, angel. Just breathe.” He presses his soft lips to my forehead again. “It’s okay. I’ve got you.”

We hold on to each other as the storm rages outside. The harder it rains, the closer he holds me to his body, his words like a balm to the fire raging inside of me. His lips leave my forehead and make their way to my cheeks. As the storm passes, his grip on me loosens.

We look at each other intently. He appears calm, but I can see his eyes have darkened. His chest is moving more rapidly than normal. With his gaze still on my face, I reach up and stroke his cheek. I lean forward, pressing my lips to his. He doesn’t move at first. He lies there, stiff, as I continue to press my lips to his.

I reach down and lift the hem of his T-shirt and glide my fingers across his torso. A sharp inhale of breath is his only reaction before he reaches for me, placing me on top of his body.

In a flash, his mouth opens underneath mine. Suddenly, we’re a tangle of tongues and intertwined limbs. I break away from him only to peel the shirt off his body. He returns the favor by taking mine off and tossing it across the room.

Like two magnets unable to resist the pull, our lips are once again fused. I don’t even realize when I undo his belt and pull down his shorts and boxers in one swoop.

He’s so preoccupied with my breasts once he frees them from my bra that I take off my own shorts and panties. I arch my neck back and moan his name as he roughly sucks on a nipple while he massages my other breast with his huge hand.

I can feel him pressed against my thigh. It’s his turn to moan when I grab his thick cock, giving it a rough squeeze. I push at his chest, ready to climb on top of him and explore his body. My push is like a shout in the middle of a loud thunderstorm. It’s as if he didn’t even notice.

“I want you,” he says against my mouth.

“I want you more,” I challenge. I try to push him again. While my hands are pressed against his chest, he takes hold of my wrists.

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