Oh my God.
What is coming?
My knees are trembling, but I nod.
Jaw clenched, North crouches down and unstraps my sandals, the delicate leather looking extra dainty in his scarred hands, and he removes them. Then he drags his fingertips up my legs from ankle to the hem of my skirt, slowly tugging the garment down to the floor. My tank top has been tucked in all day and I stupidly try and smooth out the wrinkles, but North catches my wrist, kissing my firing pulse and holding it away, his golden eyes captivated by my sheer, sapphire blue panties.
“Bet those were expensive.” He leans in, his hot breath feathering my stomach. Lower to my mound, his lips nudging me there. “Good. Only the best for this pussy.”
Letting go of my wrist, he hooks a finger into the waistband of the underwear and slowly, slowly, tugs the blue material down to mid-thigh, stopping to exhale shakily at the sight of my bare sex, before continuing. I can barely breathe while stepping out of the panties, and that’s before he stands, so tall I have to tip my head back, his hands gathering the hem of my tank top and peeling it upward, over my breasts. His eyes never leave mine as he strips off my top, those thick fingers going to work on the front clasp of my bra.
And then I’m naked.
Totally exposed, while North is still dressed, shoes and all. I’m vulnerable and achy and shaking, but not because I’m cold. No, it’s warm and humid in this place. It’s…I think it’s my body’s awareness of what’s coming.
North captures my chin and tilts it up, golden eyes boring into mine. “Give me permission to touch you—any part of your body—at any time. I want that trust. I need it.” Before I can answer, he lays a kiss on me that is so sexual, I whimper around his seeking tongue, my head growing dizzy from lack of oxygen before he pulls away, rolling his forehead against mine. “I want you to trust me—completely—to know when we need to fuck. When it’s been a hard day or you get wet out in public, if I pull you behind a parked car and unzip my pants to service you, I don’t want you to question me. I want you to trust that I’ve weighed the risk and that I’m going to keep you safe. That I would die for your safety. If you’re sad or stressed out, I want you to trust me to hold you and care for you, without sex. To know when it’s time to be between your legs—and when it’s not. I just want absolute fucking trust from you, Gracie, and I don’t know…I don’t know.” His fingertips dig into my hips, his forehead grinding on mine. “I’ve never felt like this before. It’s new. I don’t even know if it’s bad.”
Goosebumps occupy every inch of my skin. My head is spinning from his words. His confession. Our bodies crowd closer automatically and I feel his erection against my stomach, hard and long. There’s a voice in the back of my head whispering, you’re not a girl anymore. Not after tonight. And I know that to be true. Something is happening here. Maybe it’s premature, maybe we’re inspiring complicated, adult-level emotions in each other, but it’s too late to turn back now. We’re in the thick of it. “It’s not bad,” I gasp against his mouth, trying to recall every single detail of what he said. “I want t-to give you that trust, too. Making the decision once and then having it out of my hands…it’s exciting. It’s a relief. And I do trust you enough to give you that. To give you…control. Of what we do and when. Oh my God. It sounds crazy saying it out loud. It feels like I’m not supposed to, but I want it so bad.”
“I know you’re not supposed to.” His palms slide down over the cheeks of my backside and clutch roughly, making me whimper. “I’d knock a man’s teeth out if I heard him asking a girl for this…total permission. But it’s me and you, Gracie. I can’t stop. I look at you and I’m just honest.” His exhale is jagged. “I want no barriers between me and your body. It’s mine.”
God help me. I want that, too. I can’t explain how right it feels.
There’s just nothing but this. There’s no denying we both want the same thing.
“It’s yours.”
North makes a hoarse sound and jerks me off the ground, up against his fully clothed form, my legs encircling his hips involuntarily. Our mouths merge into one, licking deep and groaning wildly at the slippery contact. His hands are everywhere, petting my backside, smoothing up my back, tangling in my hair—and then I’m being laid down on one of the wide lounge chairs, cool leather kissing my spine. North presses down on top of me, ravenous, heavy with muscle and need and passion.