I settle over her, my arms bracketing her slim body. Now that I have her here, I can slow down. I can savor this.
There’s so much I want to do, touch every inch of her silken skin, breathe her fragrance in deep. Kiss those cherry-sweet lips. But all I can do is stare, my hands clumsy as I cup her cheeks.
“You nearly killed me down there,” I croak. “For a second. When I thought…” My chest hitches, and I kiss her again. Just to feel her, to confirm she’s real.
When I pull back, Brenna traces one of my brows with the tip of her finger, her expression solemn. “I bumbled through the first half. I’m sorry.”
“I’m not. Thank you.”
Her lips quirk with an uncertain smile. “You’re thanking me for a badly worded public confession?”
“Yes. My heart was broken. You made it whole again.”
“Rye.” She strokes my cheek. “I’ll do my best to be more careful with you in the future.”
I said that to her once. When I risked it all and thought I’d lost her. She’s giving my words back to me. A slow smile spreads through me. I feel it down to my toes, on the back of my neck, in the pounding center of my chest.
I want to say something, tell her what she means to me, but she’s tugging me down, her mouth fitting over mine.
For a long time, we simply kiss, slow and easy, whispering nonsensical things, exchanging small touches just because we can. Lazy contentment steals over me. She’s warm and delicious, her mouth a wonder, her body my most covetous dream. If all I had of her was this—lying in her arms, tasting her mouth—I’d take it.
But she’s given me everything. The knowledge fills me up, has me threading my fingers into her hair and holding on.
Brenna’s gaze is soft as she rubs the scruff of my beard. “What were you going to tell me in the hallway?”
“Oh, that?” My smile is self-deprecating, the heavy desperation of that moment replaced by buoyant satisfaction. “I was going to engage in a little light begging. Tell you that I was a bonehead coward when I said it was a mistake to ask for more.” I tug her closer. “It was a lie, Bren. I wanted you. So fucking badly, that I said what I thought you wanted to hear so I could keep you in my life.”
“We spent a long time protecting ourselves from each other.” She strokes me to gentle the words. “Made us both a little boneheaded.”
“Now I want to make a joke about bones,” I confess with a laugh. Because it feels so fucking good just to laugh with her.
Her lips purse, but she can’t stop the smile. “Of course, you do.” The smile breaks free, and her lips press to mine. “You gonna?”
“Going to what?” I ask against her lips, distracted.
She snickers. “Bone me?”
I blink—and then burst out laughing, my body quaking with it. God, I adore this woman. So much, my hands are clumsy as I lift her shirt to free her from it. The sight of her pert, pink-tipped breasts has me groaning low in my throat. “Hello, lovelies, oh, how I’ve missed you.”
She huffs a laugh, as I lean down and kiss each rosy tip with due reverence. But the sound dies as I gently suckle one nipple, and her fingers thread through my hair. “Rye…”
“Yeah?” I rasp, nuzzling under the curve of her breast. She smells so good, feels like satin.
“I’ve missed you too.”
The confession, softly spoken and filled with longing, has my heart clenching tight. With dreamlike slowness, I map the silken dips and lines of her body, drawing off her pants as I go. She opens her legs for me, and I find the heat of her, swollen and slick, and all for me.
I need a taste. She is luscious, melting against my tongue, dripping honey that I lap up with growing fervor. I drown in her flavors, the musky scent of her desire. It feeds my own, and I grind into the bed to ease the ache. I am utterly lost, working her as she comes and comes.
Until she grabs at my hair, tugging with impatience. “Up here,” she demands, all dewy pink and panting. Greedy hands pluck at my shirt. Grinning, I help her out, whipping it off, easing down my pants. My dick slaps against my abs, it’s so damn hard.
I palm it, squeezing hard to get it under control. But her hands are on me now, running along my shoulders like a balm. I surge up to kiss her, needing those lips, needing to feel her skin pressed to mine. It’s been too long. Forever. Fucking agony.
But she’s wrapped around me now, easing the pain. Legs locked with mine, her hands stroke my back, grasping my ass. I love it. Love everything about her.