“I wonder where Evan is,” I mutter quietly to Alyssa, noticing several people around the bonfire and a few out in the water, but no sign of him.
“Who knows,” she whispers in my ear causing the hairs on my arm to stand on end.
The slick skin of her stomach rubs against my back as she hitches a ride on our way out of the water. As her arms tighten around my neck to hold on, so does my hold on the backs of her thighs.
“Last I saw … your brother and my sister were headed for the back of the cabin.”
I sigh at the thought of Tristan screwing this whole thing up for me by pissing off her sister.
“That sounds all kinds of wrong,” I say as Alyssa giggles.
She slides off of my back and plops down on a blanket that is spread out across the sand. I join her, quickly slithering into a clean t-shirt that I brought with me earlier. Alyssa does the same before subtly nuzzling against me.
“Did you see that one rocket bounce off my damn calf?” Matt carries on next to us.
“Oh my gosh, I was about to die when I saw you dive behind the truck,” Tyler chimes in, “I just knew it was going to blow up when Tristan launched a rocket that way.”
“No shit man, look at …”
"Hey, you ready to go? I have to start the firework display in thirty minutes and need to get there early to set up." Evan’s voice directs my attention over my shoulder and I see Tristan walking back towards us with a pissed off look.
Not too far behind him is Piper and Abby. I laugh to myself, assuming that my brother must have been shot down again, before I jump to my feet more than ready to leave.
“Let's go … it’s time for that surprise." I take Alyssa’s hand in mine trying to tame the smirk that is emerging on my face. Her smile mocks my own as she walks beside me.
I mouth a quiet “Thanks” to Abby and she responds with a wink. Placing my hand on the small of Alyssa’s back, I lead her up to Evan’s jeep and hop in the passenger side.
“Come on.” Patting my lap, I grin and raise my eyebrows to beckon her into the jeep with me.
Once her body slides onto mine, I place my hand along her thigh and make a slow, soft trail across the skin above her knee, focusing on looking out the front window instead of where my hand is. My insides are bouncing off the wall with anxiety and anticipation of tonight. The cyclone of thoughts spinning in my head is unreal. What if I disappoint her? Was renting the cabin a stupid, impulsive idea? God, what if I go too fast or too slow or …
“So the show starts in forty-five minutes so that should give you guys plenty of time …” Evan bumps his fist forward and backward above the steering wheel as he drives and I just about lose it.
I cannot believe he just said that. Wait, yeah I can … this is Evan.
“Shut up!” I rifle out instantly, watching Alyssa for any recognition of what he just said.
Unless Abby or Tristan spilled, she has no clue where we are going. For all she knows we could be going to this side to help Evan or to get a close up view of the 10:30 annual firework extravaganza that the lake puts on.
“Ok, what’s going on you two?” she asks, craning her neck around to look at Evan then back at me.
“Hey, whoa … hold on. There is no you two involved in what is going on tonight, unless you are referring to you and Judd, but I will definitely not be attending …”
“Evan!” I say a little sterner, about to shove him out of the driver’s seat and take the wheel.
“So are you not staying for the show?” She directs her question to him, clearly talking about the fireworks.
He chuckles, glancing over at me. I’m mentally choking him with a look that more than likely expresses that desire quite well.
“Oh come on. She walked right into that one,” he laughs, “I told you once before, Alyssa, I’m not into that shit.”
“Wait, what?” her confusion, Evan’s sarcasm and the tight knot of nerves wound inside of me has me about to come unglued. One minute I want to laugh hysterically the next I want to panic.
“Don’t listen to him,” I growl.
She looks back at me for a second before sweeping her gaze to our surroundings as we pull into the large gravel lot. Evan steers us back to where I parked earlier today and slams the jeep into park. Looking over Alyssa’s shoulder, I see him holding out a lighter.
"Bring it back out because it's the only one I have."
“Sure. I’ll be right back.” I pat her legs, motioning for her to scoot off my lap.
After grabbing the lighter and smiling a quick thanks to him, I dash for the door having absolutely no clue what is in Alyssa’s head. Slipping the key out of my pocket, I quickly unlock the door and bolt into the back bedroom. Damn it … Abby had to go and get a million candles. I need a freaking blow torch.
Flicking the lighter with my thumb, an orange glowing flame instantaneously pops up. I act fast, aware that I just left Alyssa in a confused state out with Evan, the mother of all mouths. As my best friend he is armed with every detail of what I hope happens tonight and he has absolutely no filter. He is probably filling her head with all sorts of bullshit right now.
After the first two tall candles are lit, I start tipping them to the side so that several wicks are met in the center when I light it. It takes only a few minutes and I am darting back out the door, not even bothering to survey my candle-lighter skills before I leave.
“… of this. If you don't enjoy it, don't blame me." I hear Evan’s amused tone as I walk up beside the jeep.
He sees me over her shoulder and his smirk deepens. He is just eating this up.
"Shut up, you ass! And here's your lighter."
Alyssa snaps her head around to face me.
Reaching past her, I shove the lighter towards Evan. “Come on.” I help Alyssa out with the other hand. “Thanks for the ride, man.”
“Go get her, stud,” Evan mouths as he grabs the lighter.
I shake my head at him, trying not to grin and encourage him.
Once we step inside the cabin, I think it finally dawns on Alyssa what is going on. I flip on the light in the main living area and her eyes search the entire cabin. These cabins are so much different than the ones on our side, much more upscale and perfect for this night; for the night.
I stand silently behind her and watch her eyes dart to the rock fireplace in the corner, up to the chandelier hanging from the vaulted ceiling and then on to the flickering candle light barely filtering out of the back bedroom.
She spins around to face me, standing only inches away but yet too far for my taste.
“Did you rent this?” Her voice is laced in amazement and it brings a smile to my face.
I waste no time pulling her into my arms and flush up against my body. Bending my head down, my lips find hers and I slowly slide my tongue along her bottom lip coercing it open. She complies, and I taste and explore her mouth while carefully guiding her back past the doorway of the bedroom.
Brushing my elbow against the door, it lets out a quiet creak and Alyssa breaks contact to turn around. I stretch my neck, trying my best to look at her face while remaining behind her. I wish I knew what she was thinking.
Looking from her face to the room and back again, I focus on what she is seeing and what could be running through her head. The back of the cabin faces the lake and this bedroom has the best view of all, with a large picture window that stretches from the headboard on up. In the distance the lake sparkles with reflections of small fireworks going off here and there. Below the window, lies the massive bed which Abby had peppered with red rose petals.
Glancing back at her as she studies the room, I see flickers of candlelight sparkling in her absolutely content and happy eyes. She catches my look and twists around to face me again.
“This had to cost you a fortune.”
I laugh at her assessment and the stunned tone of her voice.
She doesn’t seem upset or fearful of any expectations I may have. She seems hopeful and th
at makes my heart thud like a canon.
"Don't worry about what it cost. You’re worth more than this."
Doesn’t she know that she is worth everything I own; every thread of clothes on my back? There is no jewel or gem that I would treasure more than her; I would give anything to have her near me.
“… how?”
I smile at her question feeling somewhat proud that I was able to hold out until today. There are so many things that I have been holding onto for tonight; just to make this moment as perfect as possible.
"I rented it the morning Jake left. I wanted our last night to be special with no interruptions."
She laughs at my confession and for a moment I think about the last part of what I said. I really hope there are no interruptions! Evan is supposed to come get us in the morning and take us back so I can leave with Tristan, but considering he is only about twenty yards away getting ready to set off fireworks for all the vacationers, that part of my plan could easily crash and burn.
Backing her up a little more into the room, she slides down onto the edge of the bed and continues to look up at me. This is it!
I scoot in beside her and run my hand along her back and to her waist so that I can pull her into my lap. She slides onto me with ease and looks into my eyes with a gentle smile.
"Alyssa, don't think I expect anything. I just thought..."
Her lips smash into mine and just like our first kiss, I made no movement to make this happen. Definitely another one of those hell yeah moments!
As soon as I feel her moving her legs to both sides of my waist in an effort to get as close as possible to me, my body blazes with need.
Sinking my hands into the soft flesh of her thighs, I greedily trace a fiery path up her back then flip her over. My actions are saying the exact opposite of my words, but there is no holding back now.
Desire and longing licks at my insides as my hand clutches her waist. I pull her to the head of the bed with me, sliding over rose petal after rose petal and never once breaking the rhythm of my tongue against hers. I drink her in, lapping my tongue inside her mouth as if I have to taste every ounce of her. Yearning, longing and craving burns through me, spilling into every limb of my body until I cannot touch her enough, taste her enough. My lips move from her lips to her chest down to her stomach and thighs then slowly back up.
Her shirt has wormed its way up her body with a little help and I have to feel all of her.
Trailing my tongue back up her slim waist to her rib cage, my hand drifts below the fabric of her suit. I softly graze my fingertips over her nipple and a moan escapes her lips followed by another soft whimper.
She quickly rips her shirt over her head and I immediately take that as a sign that the rest of her clothes have to come off; now. My mouth sucks and tastes a path up to her neck while I quickly untie the strings at her neck, sliding the fabric down to expose the plump and fleshy curves of her body.
I soon untie the rest of her suit and fling it to the side, ready to take off the few scraps of fabric that still remain on her body.
My lips join hers again in a slow melody of kisses as I slide back on top of her. Once the hard, pebbly skin of her nipples makes contact with my chest, my excitement intensifies to a nearly painful level and my mouth desperately seals to hers.
My head is in a frenzy and my body has a mind of its own. Sucking and licking my way down to her stomach and around her sexy ass belly button ring, I have one goal in mind as I slide my fingertips along the side of her shorts and swimsuit bottoms. To hell with taking them off one by one, we’ll knock out two tasks at once.
My heart is hammering and my head is screaming at me to rip them off but I pause for a single second to gather my wits.
“Is this ok?” Please say yes, please say yes.
I can barely catch my breath as I suck air in by the gallons. Once she nods her head and lifts her hips off the bed, I let out a breath and pull both articles of clothing off in one swift motion. For a second I fear that I may have been too forceful and burned her thighs from the friction of the fabric, but as I toss the clothing aside my mind and body is stunned into silence.
I lean back, sitting up with my legs bent beneath me and barely grazing her inner thighs. My eyes roam and take in the most amazing sight I’ve ever seen; Alyssa completely and utterly bare and sprawled before me. Her legs are bent with both feet planted on the bed beside me. As I search my way up her creamy soft skin, a shiver rolls through her.
“You’re so beautiful,” I barely get out between breaths as my eyes land back on hers.
I lean down, anxious to run my tongue along every crook and curve of her body, but I halt in my movement when I feel a tug at the button on my shorts. Swinging my line of sight downward my heart jumps with excitement as I take in her delicate fingers nervously pulling at the clasp.
“What about you?”
Meeting her eyes, I struggle to maintain normal breathing. “Are you sure?” I’m ten seconds from busting out of them anyway, but I want to make sure that she wants this, too.
She barely answers with a slow nod before she has me unzipped and my shorts are pushed down to my knees. I help her out, shifting my weight from side-to-side until they are off and on the ground. Once I kick them to the side, I kneel back in front of her to scan her body a second maybe even a fourth or fifth time by now before sliding back onto her.
The moment my skin melts into hers, our lips connect in a wet, sultry kiss that has me nearly hyperventilating. Her legs graze my hips reminding me that there is nothing between us; no barriers to keep me from feeling everything that I want so badly.
I continue kissing her, moving my lips and tongue in a quick needy motion that has her tilting her hips and wrapping her legs around mine. Heat is barrels off of her and I can’t wait any longer, but I have to tell her how I feel first.
Pulling away, I suck in quick breaths only centimeters from her face.
“Alyssa, I’m in love with you.” I can barely speak, barely think. I take another nip at her lips and try desperately to catch my breath. Her eyes glisten with unshed tears, but I don’t stop, "I've wanted to tell you so many times, but I was afraid I would scare you off but I can’t hold back anymore.” After scanning her face, I continue to let the words gush out of my heart like a river breaking free, “I'm so in love with you! I've never felt this way about someone before and I know we've only known each other two weeks but I can't imagine my life without you now."
My chest expands and contracts against hers as our hearts wage a drum war with one another. After tightening her arms around my back, she places a small gentle kiss on my lips. Pulling away to where I can still feel her breath move across my lips, I notice a small tear drop down her cheek.
“I love you, too.”
I squeeze my eyes shut and smile, feeling relieved, excited, hopeful, happy and nervous of what’s to come all at the same time.
Tenderly, my lips join with her as I slowly move my hips to connect us. I take it slow, making sure we fit comfortably together. Her head falls into the pillow and she instantly whimpers, making me want to move faster.
I want this to last; I want to take it slow, but her skin against mine sends sensations zapping through my body until I may come unhinged. Gripping her shoulders, I push and thrust while my tongue slides up her jaw to her ear lobe. I pull that tiny bit of flesh into my mouth, teasing it with my tongue. She whines and whimpers and wiggles beneath me, driving me insane. I kiss my way back to her mouth with a hunger I’ve never felt, then down to her chest while arching my back so I can deepen my movements.
Moving back up to her mouth, the pleasure within me builds,
Builds,
Builds,
Shoving my hips forward one last time, my mouth opens and an animalistic sound erupts from my mouth before I collapse onto her. My body quivers and shakes from the eruption of pleasure. I keep my head buried in her hair against her neck, trying to allow blood to flow back into other portions of my b
ody so that I can think again.
Her hair tickles my cheek and I pick up on the sweet smell of strawberries mixed with a hint of sweat as I focus on calming my breaths.
Once I can think, I almost wish I couldn’t.
I want nothing more than to flip her over and go for round two right now but I'm way too ashamed of my performance. What was that a minute; two at the most? What the hell? I can't even look her in the eye. I'm so embarrassed! As soon as I felt her, the zips of electricity from the friction sent me over the edge. No way did that even give her time to enjoy it.
I slide my hand into her hair and brace myself onto my elbow.
“I am so sorry that was so quick,” I say, hiding my face in my hand from absolute humiliation.
Lowering my hand a bit, I look over the top of them to gauge what she’s thinking and go on, "Here I wanted this to be a magical experience and I built it up so much to make it just right and then I ended up …"
I take in her expression and am met with a beaming smile and bright eyes, so I stop reiterating my humiliation from getting overly excited. Maybe it wasn't as bad for her as I assume.
Her fingertips leisurely combing through my hair make me want to close my eyes and melt into her. Each pass of her hands has every nerve in my body unwinding and the embarrassment fading away.
"Well then you succeeded because it was perfect."
I narrow my eyes and stare at her, still skeptical and feeling I need to explain. I mean last thing I want her to think is that I have no stamina. I have stamina, just apparently not the first time with the first girl I’ve ever been in love with. Damn, she felt so good.
My lower extremities come to life once again right as loud popping ignites outside of the window. My attention has been so focused on everything that I didn’t even hear thunderous sonic booms and see bright beams of light flashing just yards away. Still looking at her as she continues to ruffle her fingers through my hair, I realize she hasn’t noticed either.
Catch My Breath Page 15
