Red: Burning Desire (Spectrum Series Book 7)

by Allison White

  A gust of chill from nowhere hits me, and I quickly get in the shower. Thank God, she left the hot water running. I think I half moan when I put my head under it and feel the water cascade down my muscular back. The water feels amazing, especially as I see clumps of sand swirl down the drain. I hope it doesn’t clog anything. I feel guilty as I let the water run down my body and face for a few minutes. After a while, I finally use the non-scented shampoo and body wash.

  When I finally feel like I got every particle of sand out of every crevice I didn’t even know could hold sand, I step out with a towel around my waist. I stand in front of the foggy mirror and rub another towel over my hair. I do this for a few minutes before I feel mostly dry in both my hair and body. I step into my boxers that were thankfully saved from our playful encounter and throw open the door.

  It’s dark, and I feel a sense of déjà vu.

  I don’t even take one step out before Red materializes in front of me. She has this blank, sort of lusty stare, on her face, and I pause for a moment, worried.

  “Red? Are you okay?” I don’t even get to finish my sentence before her lips crash on mine. I sink into her soft lips and hook my arms around her. Our bodies grow flush, and I am painfully hard. Fuck. I pull back briefly and look into her darkened eyes. “What are you doing?”

  “What do you think?” Her knee brushes my loosely tied towel. I hear the soft thud before I feel her hand around my aroused cock.

  “Oh, Red,” I hiss in her ear.

  “I want you. Do you—do you still want—?”

  I don’t even let her finish that ridiculous question.

  I smash my lips onto hers and moan as her small hand pumps me slowly. Teasingly. I have to be dreaming this, I think, as she moans my name. I grip her plump ass and bring her to me, skin on skin. Fuck, she dropped her towel. We’re both naked. I am so close to coming, damn it! But that’s what I get for not having sex in so long or anything remotely as intimate as this.

  I want more. I need more. Or I will fucking explode.

  Hooking an arm around her lower back with one arm, I raise her, and she moans like a wild beast. We pry apart for a hot second as she looks down as I walk us over to the bed. The desire spread across her face grows even more, if possible, and she’s pumping harder. When we’re close to the bed, I drop her on her back, me on top. She kisses my neck and doesn’t stop as I roll over, letting her straddle me.

  Oh. My. Fucking. God.

  Her hand is so small yet capable of creating a storm of pleasure inside of my bones. It creaks and howls and I’m panting, gripping her hair. I nearly bust when she lowers her mouth on me, sucking. Hard. Kissing. Soft.

  Oh fuck oh fuck oh fuck.

  Her mouth is so gentle as she kisses up and down my long shaft. Tongue moist as it glides up and down, and around, and lays against my erratic, needy cock. I pump her head around me with my fist in her hair. And my head flings back as I feel an orgasm creeping up my toes.

  “No. I need to feel you,” I say and yank her head back. I realize I pulled too hard and begin to apologize, but she’s grinning like a madwoman, pleased.

  “But my lips—” she begins.

  I tug her up to me by her hips. “Not those lips,” I whisper haughtily. She’s turning me mad for her. I couldn’t have switched around and get in between her legs fast enough.

  “Noah!” she cries out, back arching, as I kiss her soaking pussy.

  I swirl my tongue around and enjoy her pleasant screaming. I kiss her like I would on New Year’s Eve when the ball drops. I kiss her passionately and tenderly, and I add a little tongue. Then I’m cupping her thighs and burying my entire face in her. She screams so loud, I can only imagine how many complaints we’ll get. But I don’t give a single fuck.

  “Please,” she murmurs, voice shaky. “More.”

  And I know what she means.

  I’m on the verge of coming myself, and I just started eating her out.

  “Hold on. I want to make you come first.”

  “I will when you’re fucking me too,” she says breathlessly.

  I just smirk and continue my slow, fiery pace. I kiss and lick and tug with my lips. I add two fingers and watch her react because it gets me even harder. It hurts by now, as I watch her thrash around, coming close to her release. I pick up the pace, curling my fingers and licking faster. And faster. And faster—

  “Oh, Noah!” she screams as she releases on my tongue. I lap up her sweet juices that give me a sugar high. I smile against her and peck her. She giggles, and I crawl up quickly, getting in between her legs. I kiss her deeply when she pulls me to her lips.

  This kiss now…this fucking kiss. We roll around and around and are laughing one second, serious the next.

  “Wait a second.” I jump off the bed and race into the bathroom. Adrenaline courses through me as I pull out a strip of condoms I bought a week ago in hopes of something like this happening. Good thing I thought ahead. I take one back to the bed and climb on top of her.

  I roll us back to the middle, with the golden foil packet in my fingers. I tear it open using my teeth, then brush fallen hair back on my head. She watches with fascinated, wide eyes, and arches her back. Reaching for me. I genuinely smile at her nimble fingers in the air as I roll the condom onto me.

  “Come on,” she whines, and the sound is like heaven and hell. Heaven because it’s like a choir, and hell because…just look at her. She’s a little minx that knows how to tug at the strings of my heart and cock—she’s got real talent. And the most beautiful face and body.

  “Hold on.” I splay my hands beside her body, letting my eyes get a taste of her. The moonlight crawls and rests on her creamy skin, hitting her stomach and breasts, lighting up her eyes like fireworks. I could suffocate in her effortless beauty for days without ever growing bored.

  “You’re so beautiful,” I tell her as I lean down. I glance down to align myself with her. When I look back at her, she’s smiling with her lips closed, a fond look in her dancing eyes.

  “So are you, Noah. You are everything I could ever desire and want in the most innocent way possible.” She cups my face and brings me closer. I nearly lose it when she kisses me slowly, passionately…lovingly. Then she slowly releases our lips and whispers, “Now please make love to me.” Her voice breaks and I hear the purest need; it crackles beneath her eyelashes and crosses her flushed cheeks.

  “I love you, Red. I love you, I love you, I love you,” I whisper as I enter her in one swift go.

  She breathes in sharply as if I stole all of her breaths but still manages to say, “I love you, Noah. So much it hurts.”

  Just hearing her say that feels better than being inside of her. But then I begin to move in her, and the confession of her loving me and her beauty and my movements collide, and I’m panting and feeling euphoria linger in my veins. The heavy mixture fills me up until I’m drowning in it, but I’m enjoying the slow burn of my lungs.

  This girl. This damned girl means the world to me. Hell, she is my world. And I can’t get enough of her. Everything about her makes my heart race, makes me soft, yet hard, and—and I can’t even form a coherent thought. God.

  She makes a throaty sound, and it drives me over the edge. And I’m falling, falling, falling…I don’t see the bottom.

  I kiss her deeply as I move in her in a steady pace. Her moans hit my ears as I repeatedly move in her, getting deeper, hitting sharper. At some point, I don’t even hear her, but instead our heartbeats. Hers and mine the same. Both beating wildly and peacefully. Rocking against each other. Caressing each other. The feeling is a phenomenon that is overwhelming yet very comforting.

  “Are you okay?” I ask her. My voice is barely audible behind my heavy breathing.

  “Y-yes,” she stammers, gripping my hair with both hands. “Oh God.” Her head flings back into the pillow, and I smile and press tiny, dedicated kisses along her heated skin. I nip at it with my teeth, drag them along, eliciting a silent hiss and cry for more.
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  “Let me kiss you. Please,” I say, and she nods frantically.

  I plunge into her, and her mouth drops open. I kiss her open mouth, and she moans, almost like a growl. I take deep, wide plunges into her like I’m swimming—swimming in her. We don’t part until we absolutely need to, and when we come back again, we’re smiling and just teeth and touch and barely lips. I can feel her love for me in the way she’s beaming up at me. And I can definitely feel my love for her as I gently caress her cheek. Her head moves to the side, and it’s the simplest yet most beautiful thing yet.

  She trusts me.

  Full-fledged trusts me.

  And my heart soars, and the pleasure is building.

  I can feel it in my spine, the soles of my feet, my legs, my head, my heart—everywhere.

  Her breathing is picking up, her nails digging into my arm. She’s close.

  “Noah, please—” she begins to moan.

  I swallow her lusty moan with my mouth. I glide my tongue around hers, reach my hand in between us. “Come for me, Red.” I lure her to her increasing pleasure, circling my thumb against her. I rub slowly, then faster—over and over until she’s arching into me, panting for breath, for more, my name, nonsense.

  “Oh fuck. Oh, Noah!”

  I hit my pleasure as she grabs me tighter, latches a leg around me. I grunt through my teeth but continue my increased pace. I hold the back of her knee and kiss her heavy pants. I kiss her with everything I have, give her it all. I don’t want it. I just want her, in my veins, my heart, my soul—I just freaking need this girl. So much. It hurts and I get slower and thrust harder faster, milking myself inside of her.

  She screams my name, tears puddling in her eyes. I kiss them away gently, giving one last thrust, claiming her moan, before slowly withdrawing.

  Neither of us move as we bask in what we just did—made love in its purest form.

  Chapter Forty-Seven

  A feather-light tickling sensation wakes me from my peaceful slumber.

  I feel drowsy and dizzy when my heavy eyes bat open. Foggy circles of saturated golden light and a lamp are in my vision as I try to focus. I feel like I’m underwater until I yawn and things come into focus. One after another, everything falls in line, and I blink a few times.

  Sniffling, I wiggle lazy toes and focus my groggy attention on the ceiling. It has a white popcorn detail that makes me smile for some reason. Which may have something to do with the lightness and elation I feel spreading through my idle bones.

  Hearing a soft intake of breath, then feeling a warm exhale, I look to my right, then down. And my heart flutters like a cage of exotic butterflies. Red’s puffy pink lips are smooshed into my side, a peaceful expression on her glowing face. I look further down at the crumpled white sheet covering us from the waist down, her leg thrown over my waist, feet intertwined.

  I drop my head against the pillow with a joyous smile. A relieved breath escapes me as I think back on last night. Our perfect, sweet night. Her hot skin against mine. The sounds she made. Oh God. I could feel myself grow hard, but it’s too early. We need to gather ourselves, calm down. Either that or I will combust. Last night was enough for a century. This one smile that curved her bruised lips from our passionate kisses makes my heart twist and lunge slowly, landing in a puddle of her contented sighs.

  I’ve never ever experienced what I did last night with Red. And I don’t think I ever will again, at least, not unless it’s with her. It was just the feeling of being home in her arms, feeling like I hit the huge jackpot. I had my Red in my arms, under me, moaning my name, claiming she loved me—I had her yearning for me as I’ve yearned for her. The sensations were almost too much to understand. Too much to handle.

  I am growing a headache, the kind that brings up memory after memory, filling me from my toes to the top of my head. I rub my forehead and yawn some more. I let my palm meet her back. So soft. I smile to myself as I rub her skin. I lean over and kiss her shoulder blade. I kiss her tenderly and gently and pull back and stare at her breathing softly against my skin.

  This feels perfect.

  I almost move to grab my phone to take a picture, when she stirs slightly. I stop rubbing her back, not wanting to help wake her up. I’ll let her sleep on me forever if she asks me. She deserves her sleep, anyhow. But she stirs some more, and I brace for her to awaken.

  A gush of warm breath fans against my stomach and her eyelashes flap softly. I smile and rub her back some more, gently luring her into the morning.

  “Good morning, love,” I say with a smile.

  She grumbles and lifts her head. I can’t help but chuckle at her scrunched-up face, sleep marks on her cheek. She begins to say something more, but a loud yawn cuts her off. I watch her in amusement before she calms down and is staring up at me with a sedated smile.

  “Good morning,” she rasps.

  This is what I’d love to wake up to in the mornings, I realize, as she yawns, eyelashes fluttering, blonde hair wild and everywhere. I wonder what it’d be like if we lived together…no. I put up a roadblock and create a room made of concrete around it. We haven’t known each other for that long. Usually, couples of a year or more move in together, not two people who don’t even have a label. It’d just be insane, right? Right…?

  “It’s eight in the morning. What could possibly be going through your head?” She squints at the sun peeking through the sheer curtains that are blowing in the slight mid-November wind. Then, her inquisitive gaze rolls back onto me.

  I’m sort of at a loss for words; do I admit to thinking about getting a place with her, risk her running away from me and blocking me indefinitely, or lie and avoid all of that? We had sex just last night, and she means a lot to me, but she’s also very hesitant to commit. We’re already testing us out, so proposing moving in together would surely push her over the edge.

  I don’t want that. I just want her.

  So, pushing the thought behind closed doors, I smile and wave a hand. “Oh, just thinking about the game tonight. It’s the last one of the season, and I’m kind of nervous.”

  “Nervous? But you’re the football god,” she exclaims, wide eyes and everything. “Or at least, that’s what all the bimbos around campus are saying. You get checked out at least ten times a day, and you don’t even notice. I’m surprised they haven’t built a statue for you yet.”

  Blushing, I cover my face with a pillow. “I am not worthy of a statue. I’m not even that good, and there are other players on the team, you know.” My voice is muffled, but I hear her laughter loud and clear. I peek over the edge and find her beaming at me in amusement.

  “I know, but none of them are as adorable as you,” she teases, but she sounds closer than before. When I tip the pillow down, she lunges at me and roars in laughter. I join her and am amazed by how light she seems, how bubbly she is. It’s almost as if our night last night opened up light that was dying to burst out from inside of her, and I’m relishing in her light, basking in it, and coaxing it with open arms.

  She settles down and lays her head against my chest, arms wrapped around me. Her hair tickles me immensely, but it sort of feels nice, reminds me that she’s snuggled into me, and comfortable. I am comfortable. I have never felt so at ease, it’s insane. What’s really ridiculous is how much I have fallen for this girl in such little time. I almost have the urge to pinch myself, see if I’m dreaming or not.

  “What did you think when you first saw me?” she asks, and it’s so out of the blue, I’m too stunned to do anything but blink. And when I look down at her, she’s staring out the window.

  “Well, I thought you were beautiful.”

  She looks up, confused. “Shut the fuck up.”

  “I’m not kidding,” I say, laughing. “And I was a bit intimidated, not gonna lie. But also intrigued. By a girl that insulted me. Twice. When we first met.” She was, admittedly, not my type at all, in my past life, anyway. But when I saw her, something crushed a little, and I found myself genuinely drawn to
her, like polar ends of two magnets, and when we connected, an unexpected explosion ensued.

  Her scrunches up guiltily. “Oh. I was a bitch, wasn’t I?”

  “Yeah, but it’s okay. It’s who you are and I mean this in no disrespect,” I say, and she slaps my stomach with a mock-offended gasp. “But at least you’re constant. No one likes a flip-flopper. And I’ve actually come to adore the snappy, will-punch-you-in-the-throat-now Red.”

  “Seriously?” she scoffs and sounds incredibly thrown off. But she shouldn’t. If she thinks she’s so horrible and I’m apparently “too good” for her, then why does she think I stick around? It isn’t just because of the physical things, it’s because I genuinely care for her. In the most innocent meaning of the word possible. I’d rather be able to talk with her than just be able to engage in the sexual things with her. The sex is a plus, but being with her is the real jackpot.

  “Yes, seriously.” I take one of her small hands, grinning. “Believe it or not, you’re actually fun to be around. Especially when you snap, like last night with that douche in the elevator.” I rest her hand on my heart, and she laughs. “Ugh. Totally melted.”

  “Stop lying,” she whines, covering her face with her hands.

  “I’m not, though,” I promise, and she finally removes them, tipping her head back to stare up at me. My breathing hitches, heart stammering in my chest, as last night’s events replay in my mind. Her hands are on my shoulder, scratching my back. Her head is tilted back, back lifted off the bed. I feel her hips rolling against mine as I thrust into her gently, picking up the pace slightly.

  “Thinking about last night?” she asks, reading my mind. I nod slowly, unable to form words. I’m still caught up on the sounds she made. Her eyes cloud and she bites her lip, and I momentarily lose my mind, imagining my own teeth tugging on her lip ring.

  “Last night was…” I let out a huff, and she chuckles, nodding.

  “Yeah. Wow.” Her back presses onto my chest, eyes staring at my mouth. Her hand reaches up and I hold in a hungry growl as she lightly pinches my lower lip. “Kind of makes me want to go again. You were kind of an animal.”