Page 71 of Into The Light
Her nimble fingers unknot the laces and tug them loose, working downward from the tongue to the toe. I balance, lifting my foot, and allow her to remove my boots one at a time.
"Oof," she says, snorting. "Wow."
"Yeah. Not letting you touch my socks. Smell like a science experiment gone wrong."
"No arguing with you on that one," she says, straightening to her feet.
I rip off my socks and toss them near the door, away from us, along with my boots. "Sorry," I mutter. "Feet tend to get a little ripe."
She brings her soft small body back up against mine, a tender, bright smile playing on her lips. "Nothing to apologize for. You work hard." She licks her lips, eyes moving, searching. "You know, watching you work…it was…" she swallows, giggles nervously. "Kinda hot. Or…or alothot."
I can't help but smile a little, shaking my head. "It was, huh?"
She nods. "Yeah." Her hands go to my arms, trying vainly to wrap them around my biceps, rubbing up and down. "Mainly just because it was you."
"You're weird," I mutter, letting my smirk stay on my lips; she seems to like it when I smile.
She makes me smile. No one else ever has, not the way she does.
She's pure joy.
Light.
Goodness.
Her light burns away the darkness in my soul. Pushes the shadows away. Keeps the demons at bay.
"Bear?" Her voice is that tiny whisper again, delicate as lace, ephemeral as dew drops.
"Hmmm?"
"Can I see more of you?" Her deep, expressive green eyes convey her thoughts clearly, now. Her emotions.
Need. Desire. Fear—or nerves, at the very least.
"Whatever you want, Noelle. Here for whatever you want.”
She drags her fingernails down my chest, ghostly and tickling, sending shivers of effervescence down my spine and into my balls. "I'm here for you, too, Bear. Okay? Hear what I’m saying to you?"
I gotta give her the truth. "I hear you. Scared, though. Hard to…hard to believe. Hard to trust this. Not you—I trustyou. Just…" I growl, frustrated with my inability to say what I mean in moments like this. "Doesn't feel real. Dunno how to put it."
She takes my hands and places hers palm to palm against mine. "Bear, listen to me." She lifts on her toes and touches a tiny, delicate kiss to the tip of my chin. "This is me telling you, and hopefully showing you, that I…I want more with you. I'm scared, too. Nervous. Unsure."
"Don't wanna do the wrong thing. Say the wrong thing." I let my hands find her waist again.
The soft flesh there is so warm, so silky. My heart lurches and my gut tumbles at the privilege of having this woman's body in my hands.
Her trust.
He affection.
"You won't, Bear. You can't." She's breathing fast, breasts swelling and rising with each swift inhale, pressing against me. "You won't ever hurt me. And if there's a misunderstanding, we'll talk about it. We're honest with each other. Open. Brave. Right?"
"Tryin' like hell," I say.
Her tongue slides along her lower lip again, sticking at the corner for a moment. I'd give anything to kiss that spot.
So, I do.
