Page 42 of Chasing the Wild
I stripped her slowly, worshiping every inch of skin as I revealed it. She was thinner than she'd been, stress written in the sharp angles of her collarbones, the hollow of her stomach.
"You haven't been taking care of yourself," I said, pressing kisses to her ribs.
"Neither have you," she countered, her fingers tracing the new lines in my face.
"Then we'll take care of each other." I pulled her shirt off, then her bra, and finally had her bare before me. "Starting now."
I took my time exploring her body, relearning every curve, every sensitive spot, every sound she made when I touched her just right. This wasn't the desperate claiming of the tent or the intense reunion of my shower. This was worship.
This was love.
"Sam," she gasped as my mouth closed over her nipple. "Please—"
"Please what? Tell me what you need, baby."
"You. Inside me. Making me yours again."
"You never stopped being mine." I moved to her other breast, lavishing it with the same attention. "But I'm going to remind you anyway. Going to make you come so many times you forget you were ever anywhere but here."
I worked my way down her body with my mouth, kissing and licking and learning her all over again. When I reached the waistband of her jeans, I looked up to meet her eyes.
"I love you," I said. "I need you to hear that. Before we go any further. I love you, Jess. Not just your body. Not just what we have in bed. You. All of you. Everything you are."
"I love you too," she said, her voice breaking. "So much it hurts."
"Then let me make it stop hurting." I stripped off her jeans and underwear, leaving her completely bare. "Let me show you what love is supposed to feel like."
I settled between her thighs, and her hands immediately went to my hair, trying to pull me where she wanted me.
"Impatient," I teased.
"It's been three weeks. I'm allowed to be impatient."
"Fair enough." I pressed a kiss to her inner thigh, then licked a slow stripe up her center that made her cry out. "But I'm still taking my time."
I worked her with my tongue and fingers, learning her pleasure all over again, finding the rhythm that made her arch and moan and fist her hands in my hair. But this time, every touch was accompanied by words.
"I love you."
"You're so beautiful."
"You're mine, and I'm never letting you go."
"I love the sounds you make."
"I love how you taste."
"I love everything about you."
When she finally came, crying out my name, I stayed with her through every aftershock, extending her pleasure until she was boneless and gasping.
"That was—" She couldn't finish the sentence.
"Just the beginning." I crawled up her body, settling between her thighs. "Now I'm going to make love to you. Slow and deep and real. Going to show you what forever feels like."
I stripped off my own clothes with efficient movements, then settled back over her. My cock rested against her entrance.
"Look at me," I commanded softly. "I want to see your eyes."
