One to Love (One to Hold 4)

“My only clean ones are white.”

Stepping to him, I fluttered my fingers over his stomach, catching the edge of the shirt he wore. “That’s okay.”

“I’d better put our last steak in the microwave.”

* * *

The moon shone round and full over the water, touching the tips of the breakers in silver light. It was a gorgeous night, and the disappearance of the sun hadn’t caused the temperature to drop too much. Still, it was fall and the water was cold. I’d danced around the edge for several minutes before Slayde hoisted me over his shoulder and charged straight into the black waters, me laughing and squealing the whole way.

Now we drifted on the waves, my arms around his shoulders and his around my waist. The water was chilly, but I was warm against his skin in the too-big white tee that drifted up like a dress. My legs wrapped around his, and I tried to remember why I hadn’t removed my panties. Oh, because he hadn’t given me a chance. I laughed through my nose.

“What are you thinking about?” He smiled and leaned forward to kiss my neck, right at my ear. His touch made me shiver.

“All of this is so crazy and unexpected.”

His arms tightened around my waist, and his lips moved to my eyebrow. “You’ve made everything unexpected for me.”

Resting my palms flat on his shoulders, I looked into his blue eyes, clear in the moonlight. “You’ve made everything easy for me. Before it was all confusing and frustrating.”

“Why frustrating?” His eyes traveled over my face.

Thinking about my answer, I focused on his mouth. “I needed to change how I was living, but I was afraid. I didn’t know if it would be too hard or if I’d make another mistake... so I didn’t do anything. Until you.”

“Stand up,” he whispered. He’d been walking toward the shore, and I hadn’t noticed until I lowered my legs, and my feet touched sand.

The white shirt I wore was like a transparent second skin on my naked body, and I saw his eyes darken as I stood facing him. Lust trembled in my chest as his warm hands cupped my hips then trailed up past my waist, higher to my ribcage. His eyes burned into mine as his thumbs followed a line toward my heart, stopping when they reached my hardened nipples. My brow collapsed as he circled them, teasing me, flooding my already wet panties with heat.

The muscle in his jaw moved, and his voice was a throaty whisper. “Being with you is incredibly easy. Whether it’s a mistake, I guess we have to wait and see. I’d like to think it’s not.”

My body swayed with the movement of his thumbs over my breasts. “I want you to kiss me.”

In one swift movement, his mouth covered mine. An ache of longing moaned from my throat into his, and he pulled my bottom lip between his teeth. Wrapped in his arms, tight against his firm chest, heat shimmered under my skin.

He whispered over my lashes as he pressed his lips to my forehead, the scruff of his beard roughing my skin. “I’ve dreamed of holding you this way since that first night. I hated myself for it because you’d been hurt—”

“You kept me from being hurt.” My voice was breathless with desire.

His lips moved back to my cheek, down to my jaw. “You’re so beautiful standing here in the moonlight.”

Dropping to his knees, cool air flooded where the warmth of his body had been. Strong hands moved to my waist, one holding my side, the other flat against my lower back as full lips kissed my stomach through the damp shirt. His mouth moved to my hip, and I felt my legs start to tremble.

“Slayde,” I whispered, barely staying on my feet. It had been so long since I’d been touched this way, I wasn’t sure how much I could bear.

So fast I hardly noticed, he hooked his fingers in the side of my panties and pulled down. They were off as a deep groan left his throat. The hand on my lower back held me steady as he kissed the skin just above my clit.

“Oh, god,” I gasped, threading my fingers into the sides of his hair as his tongue slid between my folds. My whole body shook as he kissed me intimately, his tongue moving full and slow, the scuff of his beard teasing my skin.

“I don’t think I can stand,” I panted, but he didn’t stop.

My toes curled in the sand as he passed over and over my sensitive bud. Unbearable heat coursed through my thighs. My mouth was open and my eyes closed as tiny sparks fired through the arches of my feet. A high-pitched moan filled my ears, and I realized I was making the sound.

Rising on my tiptoes, I almost lifted off when two thick digits roughly invaded my core. Twisting and curling, he massaged the building ache inside me, until all at once, every muscle in my body squeezed unbearably tight and then... exploded.

“Slayde!” I cried, riding the orgasm out on his hand. “Oh, god, don’t stop!”

He didn’t stop. His mouth flooded me with pleasure as his fingers worked me until I couldn’t bear it any more. “Oh! Stop now,” I laughed, pushing his shoulders and dropping my head forward.

Smiling eyes blinked up at me, and with a grin, his warm lips traveled to the crease in my legs, licking the soft skin there, shooting another tickling aftershock straight to my core. My palms were flat against his cheeks, and he kissed his way back up my belly, pausing to circle his tongue around my tight nipple, until he was back to standing.