Page 32 of Betrayal & New Beginnings

“Damn,Ellie,” he said, as his rapid breathing began to subside. “I’llbe right back.Don’tmove.”

That wouldn’t be a problem.Iwas pretty sure none of my limbs were functioning anyway.

AsIslowly came back to the real world,Wadewalked into the room, completely unabashed by the fact that he was naked.Hehad a washcloth in his hands, and he knelt down in front of me and started to wipe the area between my legs with the warm, wet cloth.

“Are you okay,”Wadeasked, concern written on his face. “Ididn’t mean for that to be so fast.I’msorry.”

“I enjoyed it,”Itold him, andIhad.

I liked thatI’dmade him lose control.Thathe was so into me, so caught up in the moment, that he lost focus of everything else.

He leaned forward into the crux of my legs and kissed me on my lips.Itwas light and soft at first, but then he slid his tongue in, and it started to get intense.Hebroke away and put his forehead to mine.

“Jesus, one kiss, andI’mready to have you all over again,” he said in a whisper, as though he didn’t mean for me to actually hear his thoughts.

I looked down, and sure enough he was hard again.Ididn’t even know a guy could be ready that fast again.Didn’tguys need like an hour recovery time or something?

“Maybe we should try a bed this time,”Iteased him. “There’sone just down the hallway.”

I smiled up at him, and something flashed in his eyes.Thenhe closed them.Helooked briefly in pain.

“Babe,Ican’t be naked with you in a bed right now and not have sex with you again,” he said to me, almost distressed. “AndIcan’t do that inJack’sbed.There’ssomething sacrilegious about that, andIalready feel guilty enough.”

“Oh,”Isaid in a low voice, frowning.Thatmade me a little sad becauseIwas starting to get excited about the idea of doing that again. “Whatabout your bed?”

I realized as soon asIsaid it whatIwas implying.He’djust finished telling me women in his bed scared him because he was afraid of falling asleep.Andhe’d just had a nightmare already tonight.Ishouldn’t have suggested that.Heclearly wasn’t ready.

“I’m sorry.I…”Istarted to tell him, but he cut me off.

“Let’s go,” he said excitedly.

He picked me up then picked my nightgown up off the floor and handed it to me before setting me on my feet.Thenhe grabbed his clothes and threw his pants on but was carrying his shirt.Assoon asIgot dressed, he grabbed my hand and pulled me to the door, handing me my phone and keys as we walked out.

My mind was racing.Notonly because of what we were about to do –again– but also the hurried nature of it had me feeling likeIwas forgetting something.Myhands were shaking so bad asItried to lock my apartment door.Wadesuddenly came up behind me, took the keys, and did it for me.Onceit was locked,Iturned around to go to his place, but he hadn’t moved, and the front of his body was only inches from the front of mine.Hetook a small step forward and pushed me up against my door.

“Calm down,Ellie.Takea breath,”Wadesaid to me softly against my lips as he kissed me, slipping his tongue inside.

“I can’t calm down if you’re going to kiss me senseless,”Itold him when he pulled back.Icouldn’t believeI’dsaid that out loud.

His smirk returned to his face, and he grabbed my hand and walked me to his door.Itwas already unlocked.Irealized he’d likely done that whileIwas struggling to lock my own.

We walked into his apartment, andIlooked around his dark space and realized it was a mirror image of my brother’s apartment.Iheard him lock the door and set his keys down.Iturned to face him, and he came up to me, put his hands on my hips, and stared at me.Ilooked down at him, still shirtless, getting a close-up look at his tattoos.I’dseen hints of them before, but he had several more on his chest thatIcould see now were very intricate.Withoutthinking,Istarted to run my fingers over the ink.Hehad a tribal pattern that started on his chest and meandered onto his shoulders and the upper portion of his arms.Inthe middle of his chest was theArmylogo with several small dog tags, each with a letter on them.

“What are these?”Iwhispered, pressing my fingers to the dog tags.

“Tags of the guysIlost overseas,” he said very matter-of-factly.

My heart ached for him because there were several tags on his chest.Iached for those soldiers too, who would never get to go home.Ileaned forward and placed my lips on the logo, kissing him softly.Ifelt his hands at my hips squeeze a little tighter.Ileaned back and looked up at him.Hischocolate eyes were sparkling, even in the low light.

“What are you thinking about?”Iasked him.

He didn’t answer me.Hesimply leaned forward and kissed me.Itwas hard, heated, intense.Ifelt that heat move through my body.Hishands, which were at my hips, started moving lower.Downmy back and to the backs of my thighs.Thenext thingIknew he was lifting me up and moving my legs to wrap around his hips.Myarms automatically wrapped around his neck.Thenwe were moving.Hislips never broke from mine untilIwas on my back on a soft mattress.

Despite having just had sex less than ten minutes ago,Icould already feel a budding orgasm taking shape.Wademust have been feeling the same, because the fire in his eyes and the urgency of his hands and mouth on my body showed he needed this as much asIdid.However, unlike before, he took his time.Helingered, unhurried, and deliberate.Asthough he was discovering the nuances of my body that he had skimmed over the first go round.

Later,Ilay there, completely sated, half asleep, and wrapped up inWade’sarms.Ithought back to how crazy the last twenty-four hours had been, but knowing this was how it would end,Iwouldn’t change a thing.

13

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