Page 59 of Long Road Home

“Good.”

He grinned.

I blushed.

We were ridiculous.

“So what happens now?” I asked.

He gestured to my almost empty wineglass. “Would you like another?”

“No. It’ll probably put me to sleep.”

He took his to the sink and dumped it. I drank the last two sips while he rinsed out the glass, cleaned up the small mess we’d made and resettled the wine in the fridge.

“You didn’t answer my question,” I said once he turned and headed in my direction.

“Now,” he said, and he shot me that smoldering look of his. Furrowed brows, head dipped, heat in his eyes I remembered oh so well, and continued, “We’re going to make out on your grandma’s couch like we used to. We kiss until we can’t breathe. Maybe, if I’m lucky, you let me feel you up a bit, and then I go home with a hard-on like I used to, and tomorrow, we try to do better than we did tonight.”

His hands hit my hips. His head dipped. A furious heat swam on my cheeks and spread, warming other parts of me with precision like my libido was directly connected to his voice.

And as his lips brushed my cheek, went to my neck, his hands slid up to my waist and I fell into him, the feel of him, his touch, and the way he moved so slowly and seductively, there was really only one word I could give him.

“Okay.”

Twenty

Jordan

Destiny was a handful.I didn’t always understand why she was so hard on herself, but as she whispered her consent into my ear, I determined I’d figure it out, and soon.

I could have paused to ask her if she was sure, gave her more time like I used to, but we were kids then. She was still lacking the self-confidence I never understood, but she was also a woman who knew her body and what she wanted.

And in my hands, hers pressed at my sides, her breath skating across my throat, I did the only thing a decent red-blooded man would do with Destiny in their grips.

I brushed my lips over her cheek, down to her jaw, and back up before sealing my lips to hers.

She was stiff at first, a futile attempt to fight the attraction buzzing between us. I slid my hands up and down her arms until she loosened, became more pliable. As she surrendered to the feel of my mouth against hers, a riot of emotions in thunderstorm proportions exploded beneath my skin.

She drove me crazy. Her body, her hair, the sweet airy scent she wore. It was new. Different. Better than the cheap shit she wore back in high school because she couldn’t afford much else.

“Destiny,” I whispered against her mouth. “Let yourself go.”

A shiver rolled down her spine, vibrating against my body. “I’m afraid if I do, I won’t ever want to get back up.”

“I’ll help you. I promise.”

Shit would continue to hit us from all sides. We’d dodge the mines when we saw one, but I wouldn’t live my life hesitant to take the next step forward.

I could have hated her. Should have, maybe. But this was Destiny.My Destiny.The girl who’d taken my heart and kept most of it with her until two weeks ago.

I grinned against her mouth and nipped at her bottom lip, slid my hands to her neck and cupped her jaw.

“Kiss me,” I dared her, my voice a taunt, something I knew she hated because she could never say no. “Show me what you like now.”

Her eyes went wide, crinkled at the edges, and against my mouth, she whispered, “You’re on.”

Her lips brushed mine slowly. It was her turn to control the kiss and maybe that’s what she needed. A little bit of control when she always felt like she had none. And fuck yeah, I’d give her control once in a while. Her fingers curled into my shirt, yanked it above my waistband and then her hands were on my skin, chilled palms pressing to my burning flesh, brushing over my abdomen.

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