Page 129 of Cinderella Is Faking It

“I did then, and I still do. I trust you. I know that you’re not Prince Charming, or a white knight in shining armor, or even Mr. Knightley, but I don’t think you would ever intentionally hurt me. I trust you with my life and with my body, Beck, but if I’m going to trust you with my love, I need to know when this stopped being about Cordelia.”

With her love.

My breath stilled in my lungs as I watched her, waited for her to pull back again, braced myself for the other shoe to drop - but it didn’t come. She was offering me more than two monthly conversations about books. Tongue dry, and my heart hammering hard enough to break straight from my ribcage, I took a tentative step towards her. She didn’t flinch. “It started being about you when you put your hands down your shorts to get a rise out of me. That was clearly not Cordelia-you.Youplayed me at my own game. I’m not easily intrigued but that got me.” I took another step, close enough to force her to tilt her head back to keep her eyes on me. “It stopped being about Cordelia on July 24th when you almost died on my kitchen floor and put on a bunch of sappy romance movies for comfort afterwards, while simultaneously asking about spreader bars. I mean, who looks at ball gowns and ringlet curls, and thinks ‘I should learn more about BDSM from the guy whose blankets I’m hogging even though he isn’t my boyfriend’? Your inquisitive nature and your honest curiosity are intoxicating.” I took one last step, allowing me to brush the wet hair from her face and tuck it behind her ears. Her cheeks fit perfectly into the curve of my palms. “And by the time I took you to Casa de Camila, I was already looking forward to spending the rest of my life withyou, because I love you, Delilah Edwards.”

“That was a good answer,” she breathed.

“Thank you.”

“Beck?”

“Yes, Delilah?”

She tilted her head, eyes falling shut as she nestled into my palms. “Can you kiss me please?”

“Isn’t kissing frowned upon by library staff?” I smiled, barely holding myself back. She may not have said those three little words back, but she’d promised to trust me with her love, and whether that was today, tomorrow, or six years from now, I’d take it.

“Shut up and kiss me.”

She didn’t have to tell me twice. I pulled her to me and leaned down simultaneously, closing the gap between us. Her lips were still cold, and I mentally set myself the goal to kiss her until they were hot and swollen. Del’s plans seemed to align with that, because the second our mouths connected, her hands were on me. They roamed my hair, pulled at my shirt, grasping for a hold, and pulling me closer. Each feverish touch tightening the pressure in my hips. Fuck, I’d missed her. Her taste, her hands, her everything. When her teeth joined in on the kiss, pulling at my lower lip, I growled against her. “You’re testing my restraint, Blondie.”

“What if I told you to shut up and fuck me sensele-” I stifled her words with my tongue against hers.

Her spine collided with the shelves behind her, and I made quick work of the belt around her waist while she fumbled with the buttons of my shirt. Nothing compared to Del’s velvet skin under my fingertips, or to her strangled gasp when my hands dug into her ass, or to her breath hitching against my mouth when I pulled her bra down and ran my thumb over her hardened nipple.

She pulled out of the kiss, arching her back into my touch. “Can I keep the robe on?”

“Really?”

“I still can’t feel my toes,” she half-gasped, half-laughed, “just until I’m warmed up.”

“Your wish is my command,” I laughed and helped her peel out of her bra without dropping the robe. “Actually, this is kind of hot.”

“Me in a huge bathrobe?”

“You, naked, inmybathrobe. You think I’ll be able to think about anything else whenever I wear it from now on?”

“I’m not naked yet.”

“Easy fix,” I grinned and leaned down to close into another kiss, but Del titled her chin up, making my lips collide with her jawbone.

“Wait. I forgot. What about Brody?”

“Staying with her girlfriend,” I replied, wiping my thumb over the accidental wet kiss I’d left on her chin.

“Oh, thank god.” She laughed at my incredulous expression. “What? I want you to make me come at least three times. Do you really think I’d even manage once if I was worried about being overheard?”

“At leastthree times?”

“Minimum,” she laughed, and shimmied her own panties down her legs, “unless you’re not up for the challenge.”

“Oh, you’re going to regret those words.” I plucked her hands from my shirt and placed them on the shelf behind her. “You don’t get to touch me until I’ve made you comeat leastthree times.”

“That’s not fair,” she laughed but kept her hands in place.

“I don’t play fair. I play to win.” I nipped at her bottom lip, causing a shudder to ripple down her spine. Any answer she had for me was cut short by a high-pitched yelp when my teeth dug into her neck next. I was careful to keep my tongue back, leaving nothing but dry indents behind. Her delicate skin turned bright red in my wake, as I cut my path down her shoulder, to her chest. With every bite, her breaths came faster. My hands smoothed over every patch of skin after my mouth, just to make sure I didn’t leave any unwanted traces.

“Oh god,” she gasped and arched into me when I bit down on her nipple. It snapped out of my teeth. My fingers quickly replaced my mouth, digging into her soft flesh.

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