One to Save (One to Hold 6)

“Oh, Stuart,” she whispers. Her eyes slide closed and she cups my cheek with one slim hand as her movements quicken. Leaning forward, she presses her soft lips to mine and exhales a little moan. Fuck, I’m on the edge. She arches back, and I catch a tight nipple in my mouth, giving it a strong pull. I feel her clenching around me as I’m buried deep inside her.

“Yes,” she whispers, holding my neck as I kiss a trail across to her other breast and do the same, catching that tight dark bud between my teeth. Her body shudders, and she’s almost there.

Again, she leans down and pulls my face to hers, roughly consuming my mouth. I’m right there to meet her. It’s her pattern when she’s getting close. Her kisses grow more desperate, her little noises wild. She’s riding my lap like it’s a fucking pony, and dammit it’s the hottest thing I’ve ever known. Tracing my fingers across her ass, she groans, rising up on her knees and slamming back down. The pressure in my pelvis is building, and I’ve got to stop thinking about how gorgeous she is.

“Come on, baby,” I growl against her shoulder, giving

her a little bite. “Come for me.” That does it. One more rise and fall, her knees scrub against my hips and her insides break into spasms massaging me deep inside her.

“Oh, god!” Her arms are around my shoulders, and she finishes so beautifully. I lean my head back and let go. The force of my orgasm nearly pulls me out of my skin it’s so intense.

“Fuck,” I hiss, gripping her ass and moving her up and forward on me as she cries out more. Rolling us to the side, she’s on her back, and I hold the inside of her knee, spreading her thighs as I drive deeper, harder, finishing those final, blinding thrusts as her fingers clutch my shoulders.

I’m holding the last one, trying to find my way back to Earth, and my eyes blink open. There she is, lying on her back, her hair spread out around her, smiling at me. Those sunset hazel eyes, golden and gorgeous, are filled with more love than I deserve.

I drop onto my elbows above her and kiss the base of her neck. “You are the fucking sexiest woman I’ve ever known.”

Everything about being with this beautiful girl is new for me. I’ve never done the whole “making love” bullshit. In the past, it went along with my “no relationships” lifestyle. If I needed a release, it was pretty easy to find a willing partner. The women I’d been with liked it fast and dirty—bend over the desk, take it from behind, slap that ass, and we’re done. Everyone was happy. Until now.

She laughs, and her fingers curl in the sides of my hair. I feel her lips against my brow, and I hold her as I find my bearings again.

“I’m not sure how I feel about that compliment, Stuart William.” Her voice vibrates against my cheek as she teases me. “It makes it sound like you’ve known a lot of women.”

One more kiss to that fabulous neck, and I lift my head. “Not all of them biblically.”

Her nose wrinkles as her eyes roll, and I swear, I could take her again on the spot. Instead, I go back to the question that got us in this position. “You never answered me. Did you fill out the transfer application today?”

She exhales a growling sound and twists in my arms. My hug tightens over her. I’m not about to let her wiggle out of answering this question.

“Let me go, Stuart.” Blinking up at me, her resistance is so adorable, I kiss her lips, long and soft. Then I swipe my tongue inside, finding hers for good measure.

When I lean up again, she blinks slowly. “You fight dirty.”

“You give me dirty thoughts.” Our eyes meet, and I continue. “Princeton is one of the top schools in the country. You might have heard of it.”

“It’s too expensive, and I have a scholarship at Ocean County College. I like it there.”

“You’d rather go to a state school than live with me here.”

She starts to struggle again, and this time I do release her.

“I have a job in Bayville. Kenny, my best friend is there. Remember her?” She sits up, wrapping the sheet over her beautiful body. I resist the urge to pull it away. “I won’t drop my life to move here and live with you and let you pay for everything like I’m some... some...”

Her chin drops, but I catch it and lift her face. “You’re here almost every day as it is. How would it be different?”

“You know how it would be different.” Fire is in those beautiful eyes. I love it. “I’m here because it’s an easy drive back and forth, and I like spending my free time with my boyfriend.”

“Is that so?” A smile pulls at the corner of my mouth, but I hold on. We’re leading up to a question I’ve been ready to ask since December.

“Besides, it sets a bad precedent if I let you win every argument by sleeping with me.”

“Aren’t we supposed to fight it out in bed?”

A little nose twitch, a teasing glance, and I can’t take it anymore. Snatching the sheet away, I catch her around the waist and pull her body flush with mine. She squeals with laughter, and I cover her mouth, kissing her deeply until her struggling relaxes and her arms slide around my neck slow and easy.

Pulling back, I hold her body and her gaze a moment. Then I say it. “I want you to marry me, Mariska. I want you to transfer to Princeton and live here with me as my wife. Fuck this boyfriend-girlfriend shit.”

Her eyes blink fast, and her brows pull together. For a second, my chest tightens. Sick hits the pit of my stomach when her tears spill over, down her temples and into her hair.