Page 41 of After the Fire
His hands rested at my waist, one of his thumbs sneaking inside my shirt, and both my hands were on his forearms, holding me steady. The butterflies in my stomach were ready to take flight, waiting for the signal. I pushed myself closer, forcing everything of mine against everything of his, until our bodies were flush with each other and the only thing I could feel was our hearts beating against one another.
I could hear his breath in my ear, erratic and out of control. His tongue darted out and he licked my neck, a hum making my whole body vibrate. I tilted my head to give him better access, and I felt a smile forming on his lips.
“Vee?” he rasped, his voice gravelly with want.
“Yeah.” It was not a question, but an affirmation. An affirmation of what could happen if I were to allow it. We were both silent. The only thing I could hear was our panting. “Si.”
And then his mouth met mine. I let him kiss me because in that moment, there wasn’t a better feeling than that of melting away. As soon as his lips touched mine, everything inside me caught fire. I deepened our kiss, getting even closer to him. My hands wrapped around his neck at the same time as his arms tightened around my back, pushing us impossibly closer. There was virtually no space between our bodies, both of us holding on to the other and moving in tandem as if we’d done this hundreds of times before. The familiarity was exhilarating.
His tongue searched mine hungrily, desperately, like the time we had was not enough and we needed to use up every single second. I bit his lower lip and heard him grunt in approval. I smiled against his mouth. His hands lowered to my ass and held me there, rocking me into his hard body. He stood slowly, taking me with him. My legs wrapped around his waist, holding on to his strong body, closer.
“What are you doing? Where are we going?” I squeaked, stunned by the sudden movement, and he chuckled in response. His lips met mine, and he kept kissing me, our lips moving in an elegant choreography. He took two, three, four long steps and then set me on the kitchen counter, standing in front of me and searching my face.
His features were somehow highlighted in the shadows, his strong jaw sharp and blunt in the soft light of the fire glowing in the next room. He lowered his head and peppered kisses down my throat and stopped at the crook of my neck. I shifted my body to get closer to him, closer to the edge. My hands searched for his hair, and my nails gently scraped his scalp, eliciting a satisfied sound that I felt against my chest.
One of his large hands drifted up my side, from my waist to my ribs to right next to my breast, where he stopped, either in hesitation or as if he was asking for silent permission. This was, most definitely, the best kiss I’d ever had in my life, soft and needy, calm and greedy, a slow fire burning through me and straight to my core.
“Yes,” I whispered.
He dragged his hand to my breast, my nipple hardening under his thumb and finger. Goosebumps sprinkled across my body, making me aware of the sudden chill in the air.
“Fuck,” he said. He took half a step back, his hands dropping to his side. “Sorry,” he rasped, running fingers through his hair, trying to tame his wild locks.
“For what?” I cocked my head, a silent question in my eyes.Do you regret this?
“I got carried away,” he said with an exhale.
“Okay,” I replied, nodding my head. “Should I leave?”
He rested his forehead on mine, and a deep sound sighed from his lips. I could smell his scent, all clean and crisp and very much his.
“Okay,” he said, his eyes closed. But neither of us moved an inch. A smile formed on my lips, and my arms wrapped around his neck again.
“Okay, I’ll leave.”
“Okay.” He moved closer to me and kissed my shoulder, both of his hands slowly moving up my arms. Once his hands reached my shoulders, he moved them back down my side, placing them on my waist and squeezing. He kissed my temple, my cheek, the corner of my mouth, my lips.
“Okay.” I smiled against his lips. “Okay.”
Best kiss ever.
* * *
The smell of coffee and freshly bakedfacturaspermeated the air. I was either very vividly dreaming of delicious pastries or my powers of manifestation suddenly had become increasingly strong. I slowly blinked the sleep away from my eyes. My whole body hurt, and my neck and back were stiff as I flipped on to my back.
“Hey,” I said to a very relaxed Santiago. He was looking out the window, still wearing last night’s outfit. I sat up, admiring his striking face. The morning light highlighted his day-old stubble, and his hair was mussed, like he’d been running his fingers through it. “You got us food?”
The night before was intense. After that kiss, and me asking him if I should leave, we had more wine and more food and sat chatting by the fire until it went out. By then, it was so late that we decided it was better if we slept on the floor like teenagers.I was making out with my college rival on the floor like a teenager.
“Yeah.” He smiled and turned to look at me. “I went over to thepanaderíaby the hotel and got one of everything.”
He stared at me, a sweet smile on his face.
“What? What’s wrong?” I said quickly, trying to fix my hair and rubbing my fingers under my eyes. “Oh my god.”
He laughed and walked over to me, still smiling. “Hi.” He bent down and kissed my jaw, somehow making that movement hotter than if it had actually been my lips. “How are you feeling?”
I couldn’t help but smile at this delightful man. “Sore. I don’t think I’ve ever slept on the floor before.”
