So I focused on cherishing him with soft caresses of my mouth and my fingers. It wasn't until he began to grind his hips against mine that I knew that savoring wasn't something I was going to be able to draw out for too long.
Soft whimpers began to fall from Micah's throat as I pressed kisses against his pounding pulse point and then the sensitive spot where his shoulder met his neck.
“Con,” Micah breathed. His eyes were closed and his head was thrown back, probably to give me access to his throat. I obliged him. My hands were on the move too.
While I was shirtless, Micah was dressed in sweats and a T-shirt. But that didn't stop me from exploring his body. The upper half of it, anyway. In the weeks since we’d left New York, he’d filled out a little bit. He was still too thin, but his bones didn't stick out as prominently as they had before and his skin had taken on a bit of color.
I let my hand skim over his abdomen which automatically drew up tight beneath my fingers. I pushed his T-shirt up just enough that I could see a strip of his gorgeous skin. When I’d entered Micah’s room after hearing him screaming in his sleep, I’d turned on the lights and hadn't thought to turn them back off, so I had a good view of every part of him. My body was drawn tight with the need to claim him completely, but I managed to tamp it down and focused on every sound Micah made when I touched him, every move his body made in response to my kisses, my caresses.
“So beautiful,” I murmured as I pressed my mouth to his abdomen. I could feel his cock nudging my chest, but I continued to keep the contact limited to his upper body. I wasn't sensing any fear or hesitation, but from my own experience, I knew that could change in an instant. One wrong touch or word could put Micah back in the place he'd likely been when I'd had to force him awake from his nightmare.
I shook off that particular memory and focused on pushing his shirt up even higher. Micah seemed to get my unspoken message as he reached down and pulled the offending garment off his body and threw it aside. His long fingers closed over my head and began threading through my hair. The tie that I used to keep the long locks in place was cast aside as I continued to toy with exploring Micah's chest with light butterfly kisses that served only to tease. I could feel Micah's frustration as his fingers gripped my hair, but it wasn't until his legs wrapped around my lower body that I knew he was ready for more. I had to be sure though, so I moved back up his body and kissed him deeply. His tongue met mine stroke for stroke and by the time I managed to force my lips from his, I was breathing hard and the stranglehold I had on my control was starting to weaken.
I pulled in a few deep breaths as I closed my eyes and dropped my forehead to his. I wanted to explain to Micah that I wasn't hesitating, but the words got lost in my throat as a wave of intense emotion overtook me. Thankfully, Micah seemed to understand what was going on because his fingers skimmed the back of my neck. He was breathing just as hard as I was.
For several long minutes, we just lay there like that, wrapped around one another and hanging on for dear life. It was like we both knew that what was about to happen was real. It wasn't going to be some desperate, rushed encounter up against a tree that had been born of frustration and anger.
“Sweetheart, have you been tested?” I forced myself to ask. I knew it was a potential mood killer, but I had to make sure we were both protected. “I got tested last month. I'm negative.”
“Me too,” Micah said, his voice heavy with nerves. “I asked them to test me while I was in the hospital.”
I nodded and pulled in a deep breath.
“Con, I'm not sure if I'm ready to…”
I pulled back enough that I could look him in the eye. “I know, sweetheart. Nothing happens that you don't want. Do you trust me?” I asked.
There was no hesitation on Micah's part whatsoever when he said, “Completely.”
His words made my heart jump in my chest. I still couldn't believe that we were really doing this. That we were really going to give each other a fresh start. But the proof was there beneath me. It was in Micah's gorgeous eyes as he watched me. He wasn't hiding anything. There was no hint of fear or uncertainty. All I saw was what I knew was in my own eyes.