Page 36 of Bartholomew
“You want me to straddle you?!” I almost shrieked, and he cackled aloud.
“I want you to do a hell of a lot more than straddle me, gorgeous girl, but that will come in time.” I did not miss his promise of desires yet to come.
With substantial awkwardness, I straddled him as he had shown. His hands immediately went to my hips, curling around that exact curve he had spoken of. Had he really been thinking about that curve? Or was it all part of the fantasy he had concocted?
“There you go. Now kiss me. Take it slow. Explore. Nothing you do here, when we are like this, is wrong, Delilah. I want you to know that. I will not laugh at you or mock you or become angry with you. You are safe here.” His reassurance spoke volumes and bolstered that shred of real confidence inside of me. “But here. This will help.”
He guided my hands to his shoulders, giving me a way to stay hovered above him more easily.
I leaned in to kiss him slowly. Even this small brush of my lips against his felt like a spark of electricity awoke my body, unlike anything I had ever felt.
“Don’t be afraid to touch me, Delilah. You have my consent.” His words floored me. Consent. I had his consent. That was what was different about this man. He cared about how I felt. He wanted my consent.
With more confidence flowing through me, my hands found the back of his neck and I kissed him again. Slower this time. My lips tugged at his lower lip, and I felt him smile against me.
Those hands stayed locked on my hips as I explored. The kiss continued, both of us releasing sighs of pleasure. His lips opened and I couldn’t help myself. My tongue came forward for just a moment to flick at his.
His fingers grasped my hips tighter, pulled me down to him. I relaxed into his guidance, sitting in his lap as we kissed. His hands moved to my back, sending a shiver up my spine and forcing my hips to shift. Right into his hardness.
My eyes popped open, and I pulled back from his face abruptly. His eyes were heavy-lidded with lust. His lips swollen from our kisses. His breath came in pants that matched my own.
“That was incredible, Delilah,” he sighed, his lips twitching up into that signature smirk of his. “Do you want to continue?”
“Um, I don’t know,” I admitted.
“Can you talk that through?” he suggested. His hands still moved over my hips and thighs, but what had just been touches of desire had shifted to touches of comfort and understanding. It was as though his intention seeped into every touch he gave.
“I want more. But it’s overwhelming,” I admitted, blushing sheepishly. My blush intensified as my stomach emitted a loud growl.
“That’s perfectly okay, because option two is equally good!” he said with a chuckle, his eyes lighting up.
“Option two?” I questioned.
“Dinner!” he exclaimed with a grin.
“We already had dinner,” I reminded him, shifting off of his lap to sit beside him once more.
“Yes, but what about second breakfast?” he spouted off with a smirk and a horrific Irish accent.
“Am I supposed to understand what just happened there? We’re talking about dinner,” I wondered aloud, confused.
“It’s from a movie. A great movie. But seriously, I’m starving. Come cook with me,” he urged, standing from the couch, and holding a hand out to me.
“Why don’t I cook something for you,” I offered, taking his hand and letting him pull me up. He yanked just a touch too hard, pulling me straight into his body. My breath caught as my other hand came up to catch me against his chest. He was more muscular than I had expected before our wedding.
I looked up at him through my eyelashes, surprised to find his eyes already fixated on me.
“I want to kiss you again, Delilah,” he murmured, already leaning towards me. I nodded in just enough time to take a breath as his lips met mine.
This kiss wasn’t the slow kiss from before. Hot and needy. It had me whimpering into his lips as I let the feelings of the moment wash over me. I let them carry me away.
My hands touched his chest, moving up to his strong shoulders and back down again. The way his muscles rippled under my fingers while his hands stayed so softly at my waist made that ache within me turn to a burn. He was strong, incredibly strong, and yet he chose to touch me with gentleness.
His teeth caught my lower lip, tugging before his kiss deepened. I could not hold back the groan that resonated deep within my chest.
“Christ, Delilah. Do you have any idea how good you sound when you make those little noises?” He groaned. I shook my head, our foreheads touching as the kiss ended, but neither of us wanted to pull apart. “It’s true. You drive me wild with those little sounds.”
His words only intensified the need that began pooling low in my core. It made me nervous. It made me excited. It made me confused.
