“I want to take the journey between your legs,” he informs me.
I fix him with a stare. “Derek Michael Noble.”
“Aw shit, not the middle name.”
Nodding solemnly, I tell him, “You’re in big trouble now.”
Drawing his finger out of me and using two fingers to rub against my clit, he tells me, “Not as much trouble as you’re in as soon as you slide that bookmark between the pages.”
I smile faintly, leaning in to kiss him and murmur against his lips, “Promise?”
He cradles a hand behind my neck and deepens the kiss, his tongue tangling with mine. Once he has me good and breathless, he pulls away and settles back into his spot, crossing his arms over his chest. “Finish your damn chapter.”
I’m distracted now, but I find my place and get through the rest of it. As promised, the moment I slide the bookmark between the pages, he snatches it out of my hand and transfers the book to the bedside stand. I wrap my arms around his torso as he climbs on top of me, taking my lips like he’s been waiting forever. I’m heavy and weightless all at once as he kisses me. I don’t know if it will always be this way between us, but it’s still such a pleasure to be invaded by him, even if only my mouth.
Then he nudges my knees and plants himself between my thighs. I sigh against his mouth, chills moving across my skin as he reaches down and guides his cock to my entrance. I feel him there, the smooth skin of him against me. He pushes the tip inside and teases me.
“Wait, condom,” I remind him, while I still have my wits about me.
“We’re out.”
My eyes open. “What?”
“Used the last of them at your house. We need more.”
He is so exasperating sometimes. “Derek, that’s not something you thought to mention?”
Since he knows he won’t win with words, he switches to his strength—making me mindless with his damned body. Nudging his smooth head against my clit while he leaves soft kisses along the sensitive column of my neck, he asks innocently, “Want me to stop?”
I should say yes. That’s the responsible thing to do. He probably wouldn’t listen to me anyway. He’d keep pushing and teasing until I relented. It’s our first night together in this house, knowing we’re really together, knowing the future really belongs to us, and we belong to one another. No insurmountable obstacles, just us and the rest of our lives.
“We’ll risk it just this once,” I tell him. “But one of us has to buy more condoms tomorrow.”
“Deal,” he agrees readily, pushing his cock lower and filling me up.
---
My fingers move against the soft down material of Derek’s blanket, my hand catching his. I think he’s trying to hold my hand, but I don’t know why; I’m still half-asleep. Cracking an eye open, I note the room is bright, so it is definitely morning. It must be early. I went to bed much earlier last night than I have been while I prepared for Dreamcatcher, but my eyes still burn with the effort of opening them.
“What time is it?” I mutter.
“Early,” Derek murmurs, leaning in and pressing a kiss to the side of my face. He repositions his body behind mine, wraps his arm around me, and holds me captive in his embrace. “Go back to sleep.”
“You woke me up,” I inform him, closing my eyes.
“Nah,” he says dismissively, tangling our fingers together and giving my hand a squeeze as he holds me. “That doesn’t sound like something I would do at all.”
My stomach drops and my eyes fly open. When he squeezed my fingers, I felt something foreign. Something hard and cold pressed against my finger. Now I stare, mind momentarily empty, at the engagement ring on my left hand. It sits on my finger like it belongs there, but I’ve never seen it before. It’s absolutely stunning—three emerald cut diamonds, the largest in the center with a smaller one positioned on each side.
“What is that?” I
ask Derek.
“What’s what?” he asks.
I turn my head to look at him over my shoulder. “There’s a ring on my finger.”
“Of course there is,” he replies, like that’s to be expected.