Page 81 of Silver Linings
I launch myself at him, arms wrapping like a vise around his neck.
“Thank you,” I breathe into his neck as his arms wrap around my waist, gripping me to his broad chest.
My heart is pounding out of my chest at the feeling consuming every cell in my body. He knows what this necklace means to me, and to have it repaired for me—to ensure the broken links were switched out and it stayed the same chain my father gifted to me—it makes the muscle in my chest constrict and swell with gratitude as I grip him tighter.
“You’re welcome, Sunshine,” he huffs into my hair.
We stay like that for a minute, an hour, a year. I don’t know how long it’s been; I don’t ever want it to end. But as his hands start to rub up and down my back in a comforting gesture, my body starts to warm all over, an ache starting to build in my core.
“Hendrix…” I say.
“Hmmm?” Slow, languid movements tease up and down my spine.
I pull back ever so slightly so I’m aligned with his ear. “Take me home. Now.”
twenty-three
. . .
I don’t knowwhat sort of cosmic fate I’ve pleased in a past life for the stroke of good luck, but as it turns out, Hendrix’s place is not very far from the park we’re in. But the fifteen minute walk is going to feel like an eternity with the way I’m feeling right now. Thank God Hendrix had the wherewithal to secure my pendant around my neck before we took off, because I am not thinking clearly.
I need to get my hands on him, my mouth on him. I need to feel his skin against mine, sweat soaked and warm. I just need…him. With me, around me, inside me. I’ll burn up from this wanting if I don’t get it soon. We’ve been dancing around each other for months now, and this craving inside me is like a dam ready to burst open. Water has already been slipping through my seams for weeks, making my once-sturdy foundation start to crumble at my feet. All because of him.
“Are we there yet?” I whine, impatience lacing my tone as we wait for the light to change.
I can feel the rumble of a laugh in Hendrix’s chest, pressed against my back as the arm wrapped around my waist pulls me closer into him. I can feel it echo throughout my entire body,charting a course from the top of my head all the way down to my toes, curling within my shoes, making me ache.
“Impatience is sexy on you,” he rumbles into my ear, giving it a light nip that shoots straight to my core and has me dancing on the balls of my feet to keep going. Judging by the groan he lets out and the semi I can feel against my backside, I’d say he’s starting to feel a little restless too. I press further back into him, and he hisses, “Cruel woman.”
The signal finally changes, and I’m off like a light. I don’t even know where I’m going. I’m just trusting my Spidey-senses will guide me in the direction of his apartment.
“You’re the one who’s been edging us for the last week,” I huff.
“Slow down, sweetheart,” he laughs, catching up to me and hauling me back into his chest, nuzzling his bearded face into the crook of my neck. Tingles crop up all over my skin from the friction of his stubble. “We’ll be there soon, and once we get there, I’m not letting you out of my bed forhours. I want to smell you on my sheets for weeks.”
I twist around in his grip, bringing his lips to mine and coaxing his lips open with my tongue. He grants me entry instantly, and I devour him, or he devours me—it’s hard to tell with my lust clouding my senses.
Groaning, he pulls away an inch, his breaths panting. “We need to stop, or I’m going to take you right here.”
I nip at his lower lip. “Seems as good a place as any.”
He growls, “The first time I have you isn’t going to be up against a dirty wall in The Village with college kids mulling about. They don’t get the privilege of seeing you when you’re being fucked the way you deserve for the first time in your life. They don’t get to see these pretty eyes blown wide, skin flushed, or hear the sounds you make when you’re coming on my cock. That’s for me. Only me.”
I have to admit, the territorial bullshit does wonders for me.
“That isn’t helping matters.” I shift on unsteady legs, breath fanning against his mouth.
“Say it.”
I know what he’s asking of me, what he wants me to confirm so he knows I’m aware of the magnitude of these feelings, what they could mean. This won’t be a one night thing, it won’t be something I can forget and move on from.
“Only for you.” My words are whisper soft as I gaze into his golden green eyes.
He releases a small breath of relief, barely perceptible. “Thank you.” I don’t know if he’s thanking me or some higher power, but it doesn’t matter much to me at the moment.
“We are close, though, right?” There’s a neediness to my voice I’m only vaguely embarrassed by.
“Oh, I’d say we’re both definitely close.”
