“Really?”
“Of course.”
His eyes dart back and forth between mine. Dash licks his lips as his fingers curl around and clutch the back of my head. My heart starts to gallop like a stallion in my chest. He moves his thumb down the curve of my jaw and presses it against the vein in my neck.
“Your pulse is beating pretty fast.”
“That's because of you.”
“I like that,” he says, lowering his face closer to mine. “I like being able to make your heart race.” His lips hover over mine, all while his eyes stay right on me. He grabs my hand and places it on his chest. “You feel that?” he asks.
“Yes.”
“That's what you do to me. You make my heart go crazy.”
I swallow hard as his lips brush mine. He doesn't kiss me yet. He moves his mouth across mine, teasing me, tempting me, making me want him more than I could have ever imagined.
I want him to erase the hurt I feel. I want him to help me forget the pain and sadness that's trying to live inside my soul. I want Dash to show me that life isn't always kind, but when it is, it makes you warm all over. When you can feel every inch of your being as it lets go and embraces what's standing right in front of it, that's what life wants you to remember.
I'm ready to let go.
He licks the shell of my ear. I exhale softly as my eyes close and my breath hitches. Goosebumps ripple down my skin as his fingertips move up my arm and across my shoulder. He's caressing my scalp with one hand, while he touches me ever so lightly with the other.
My head rolls from one shoulder to the other, my skin bristling as a tingle runs down my spine. I love the way he touches me. I love the way he makes me forget everything else in the world with his lips.
Dash flutters kisses across my jawline from one ear to the other, sucking my earlobe. He lets out a hot breath of air against my cheek as his fingers massage my scalp harder.
“Mm,” I moan as he manipulates my head in his hand. It feels so damn good. The sensation spills down through my body, washing away everything else.
I don't feel sad anymore. I don't feel worried. I don't feel anything but his hands and his lips.
The tip of his tongue traces my bottom lip. He grabs my lip and plucks it between his teeth. I open my eyes. He smiles. His eyes are sultry, the bright blue now as deep as the ocean.
“Let me make you forget everything. Let me take it away for you, even if it's just for a little while.”
He's reading my mind.
“Please,” I say, keeping my gaze fixed on his. “Make me forget everything.”
Dash crushes his lips against mine, kissing me hard and fast. His lips are soft and fierce in the same breath. Time stops the second his mouth touches mine. There is no him or me, it's only us. Us in this room. Us on this bed. Just us.
My senses are addictively entranced in everything that is Dash. The silkiness of his hair as my fingers drive up and through. The heat coming off his skin as he brushes his face against mine. The roughness of stubble as it prickles my cheek.
I can't get enough. I can't get close enough. I can't breathe him in enough.
Everything I thought I came to the city for is now a small mound next to this mountain of a man. Right now, I'm here for this, for him, for me—and what I'll never find back home. A man who isn't afraid to take what he wants. A man who isn't afraid to tell you the truth and be there to catch you when you fall. A man who understands that words can change one thing, but a kiss can change a thousand small things at once.
My hands are under his shirt before I even notice what I'm doing. Touching his hot skin, I run my fingers up his back, then down his ribs and around over his abs. I grab the edge of his shirt and pull it over his head.
We break our kiss for a single breath, but the second his shirt is off, his lips are right back on mine. His tongue circles mine with long rough licks. I can taste the strong, bold flavor of whiskey on his breath.
Dash's hands crash into the pillow under my head as he lays on top of me. His lips turn hungry as he moves them down my neck, taking small bites of my flesh. I moan as my back arches with every nibble he takes.
Electricity surges through my veins, spreading down my limbs until my fingers are numb and my toes tingle. His lips are like fire on my skin, leaving invisible marks I can feel long after his mouth is gone.