Page 9 of Warrior

Colt pulls away, a smug as shit grin on his face, and if I hadn’t just experienced an earth-shattering climax, I’d probably want to slap him. He crawls back up to me, taking my mouth with his. It should be weird, but it isn’t. I’ve already given him that first.

“I want you,” I tell him, finally able to speak. Our eyes lock. He smiles while adoration, love and a hint of nervousness pass through his features. For a moment, I almost forget this is a first for him as well.

“Are you sure?” he asks, nipping at my bottom lip lightly. I nod, completely speechless. I may have worked up the gumption to say I wanted him, but now I feel like the inexperienced virgin I am. My cheeks heat slightly and I’m instantly thankful it’s mostly dark in here, except for the glow from his desk light.

Colt raises himself above me and reaches his hand into the nightstand to grab a condom. Even though I’m on birth control, we’ve already talked about being extra safe. The fact that his brother had a kid young, a nephew he never sees, has made Colt extra cautious about preventing pregnancy, and I’m on board with that. In no time at all, he shifts his hips, lining himself up with my entrance and slowly pushing in.

My mouth opens in surprise at the uncomfortable stretch and twinge of pain. I knew this would happen. My hands clutch any part of Colt’s skin I can find, while I pull him to me. His kiss distracts me from the fullness and slight burn of having him completely inside me. As if sensing my body needs a moment to adjust, Colt kisses me slowly, each drag of his lips against mine is intoxicating until I start to relax around him. I feel his body start to move away, and on instinct, I pull him back in. This time, he glides in smoothly and the pain has dwindled to barely anything. We move together, in sync, both our heartbeats and our breaths. Every rock of his hips is met with a thrust back. Each stroke becomes harder, building and building. I hold on to his back, his shoulders, anything I can, and he doesn’t stop.

Colt shifts to brace himself on one arm while his other hand slides between us. The second he touches my clit, I’m gone again. I swear my eyes see stars, while my whole body warms. My eyes struggle to regain focus and when they do, Colt’s gaze locks with mine. He’s watching me, like I’m his reason for being, his lips partly open, a flush deepening across his cheeks. “Babe,” he grunts, before his hips stop thrusting, grinding into me three more times, before he stops and his head drops to my shoulder.

I have no idea how long we lie like that, my legs twisted around his hips, our chests stuck together with sweat. I can feel every beat of his heart against mine. The only thing my mind can focus on is just how perfect everything is, how deliciously sore my body feels.

“My heart’s racing,” Colt says after a while.

I chuckle softly. “Mine too.”

Eventually, Colt slides to my side, pulling me close and holding me. He plays with my hair, while the time I have until I have to get home ticks down. I breathe him in and push in closer. A sense of wonder and disbelief hangs in the air around us. Another piece of my heart leaves my chest and embeds itself in his, molding them together. In this moment, everything is perfect.

Chapter 4

Colt, age 18

“I’m telling you...” Zane leans closer, his eyes animated. “We show up buck naked under our gowns, and instead of throwing our tassels, we moon the entire class. No one will forget the class of 2012.” He laughs the loudest of everyone at his own idea. After almost half a bottle of whiskey, I’m not surprised.

I smirk at my best friend while he sits across from me. It’s spring here, which means warmer weather during the day and slightly colder weather still in the evening. Like every Friday night, we met at the lake and made a bonfire, to celebrate from now until we leave for college at the end of the summer.

“Nah, dude.” Mason, one of our friends, shakes his head. “It isn’t Principal Harvey I’m scared of either. If my mom sees that, I’ll be in a shit-ton of trouble. She won’t care that I’m going to college shortly after that.”

“Next idea,” Lyric calls from where she’s sitting between my legs. My chin rests on top of her chestnut hair, while my fingers run up and down her arms. I can never keep my hands off my girl when she’s around. Since the minute she said yes to dating me two years ago, she’s been my obsession. If she’s there, I’mtouching her; if she’s away from me, I get jumpy. My eyes pick her out in any crowd and track her movements until we’re together again. I can’t shake it and the longer we’re together, the stronger this connection grows. It’s partly why I asked her to go with me to Alabama this fall and why we’ve spent the last year making sure we each hit the prerequisites that the college requires while also studying our asses off. When Lyric got her acceptance letter, I felt such relief. There was no way I was leaving town without her.

“Can’t we just do the tire burnout when we all leave?” Camryn, Lyric’s best friend, asks from next to me. Her boyfriend, Tim, is sprawled out next to her on a blanket, eyes darting from Zane to Camryn.

“It’s been done,” Zane whines and complains.

My mind spins for something new and original. A prank for everyone to remember our class by. Right now, we’re two months from graduation. This weekend starts seven days of spring break. Zane and I are heading to Tuscaloosa tomorrow for me to check out their football team and meet the coach again and see if the team is a good fit. I’d been scouted and offered a scholarship pretty early on in the year. Despite my father’s constant reminders I would never make it. When I put that acceptance letter on the fridge, he quit coming home for almost a whole month. Needless to say, I never found the time to visit the campus or meet any potential teammates. The coach finally convinced me this would be a good weekend and helped out with accommodations.

“What’s something that’s easy to conceal but a pain to get rid of?” Zane asks, tipping the bottle of whiskey back again when it's handed to him.

“Glitter,” Lyric answers, shoulders shrugging.

Zane’s head whips to her. “Now you’re talking, Taylor! You guys, what if instead of our hats, we toss up glitter. They’ll stillbe cleaning that off the gym floor five years from now. Colt, your girl is an evil genius.”

I feel Lyric’s body shake with laughter. My arm wraps around her, pulling her body back into mine. “Her mind is a dark and dangerous place.”

Mason rolls his eyes and pretends to scoff. They’re used to being around Lyric and me by this point. They know I go where she does. It hasn’t stopped us guys from hanging out, but they all know if Lyric can be there or if I haven’t seen her because of our busy schedules, then I make the time for her. It helps that she’s laid back, so they all love her, and she is truly one of their friends too.

I lose track of time while we chat about our futures and plans for break. I hate leaving Lyric for the week, but I know she has plans with the girls and is picking up extra shifts at work. Unlike me, Lyric only has a partial scholarship, which means she has to pay for the rest of her tuition expenses. Her parents are giving her some money, but they also have two other kids to pay for in a few more years. They made the decision to give them each a certain sum to keep it fair.

“It’s one,” Lyric says, her head tilting back, those blue eyes connecting with mine.

I smirk. “Better get you home before you turn into a pumpkin.” It’s an ongoing joke between us. Even though Lyric is eighteen and a senior, her dad has kept her on a curfew. Her mom lengthens it for us, though. Tonight I was told to have her home by one thirty. She snorts and stands, hands running over her jeans and wiping off the dirt and grass.

“Heading out?” Tim asks, and we nod.

“Curfew.” Lyric rolls her eyes and smiles.

I grab her hand and take the now folded blanket from her. “See you tomorrow?” I look in Zane’s direction, and he nods.

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