I tear my mouth from his and shove my head into his neck, sliding back and forth over him.
“Baby.”
“Don’t you dare tell me we have to stop.”
One hand loosens, sliding over my hip, pelvic bone, and between my legs to cup me. Two fingers run gently along my sensitive skin until one slips easily inside. My muscles instantly contract, gripping his finger as I whimper into his skin.
Every muscle in his body tenses as his hand freezes. I try to swivel my hips, but the hand cupping my butt grips tighter.
“Baby, look at me.”
I do as he asks, and my already racing heart threatens to leap out of my chest at his expression.
“Harley, baby…”
Without asking, I tell what he wants to hear. “I’m...”
“You haven’t ever been with anyone?”
I drop my head, wishing my hair was down so I could hide my awkwardness at the admission. “Not in that way.”
His finger slides out of me as gently as it slid in, and I swear he growls as he stands, crushing me to him. One arm curls under my thighs as the other goes to my neck, cradling me to him like a child. He stalks out of the Jacuzzi, the cool air hitting my body before he snatches a towel off a chair and throws it over my back, rubbing it to dry me. My head pounds with the possibilities of what he’s thinking and if I should have shared my information sooner.
He takes us to his room and doesn’t stop until he lays me on the bed.
“Don’t move,” he orders, disappearing into the bathroom.
My anxiety spikes, realizing I’m naked from the chest down. Before I can scoot under the covers, Achilles is back, a towel wrapped around his waist. He goes to one elbow, crowding to my side, his other hand framing my face tenderly. His eyes gleam a shade of amber so deep, I swear they’re glowing. I suck in a breath and decide to give it all to him before losing the courage.
“I didn’t exactly sit in waiting all these years. I’ve dated and had my share of flings, but it didn’t go anywhere. Every time I’d meet someone, I’d wonder if he’d be the person who would fill the void that was you. That didn’t happen. It may make me an anomaly, a twenty-seven-year-old virgin, but in my head, it never felt right.”
“Not even what’s-his-fuck from college?”
“I walked in on him getting a blow job from a former friend.”
Blatant relief lights on his face. “Untouched.”
“I’m not a prude. I’ve been touched—“
A throaty rumble vibrates low in his chest. His jaw gets tight and the air between us thickens. I massage the back of his neck and press up to kiss him quickly.
“I didn’t know what would happen, but I always hoped it was you.”
“We need to go slow. This doesn’t have to happen tonight. I’ll wait as long as you want.”
“I’m done waiting.”
“You saved yourself for a reason.”
“And you’re that reason.”
He studies me intensely, my stomach curling at the possibility he’s about to turn me down. Every muscle in my body tenses, and my brain goes into panic mode.
He picks up on my anxiety, his fingers sweeping affectionately across my cheek. “You are my reason for everything.”
The ragged gentleness in his tone turns my panic into a whole new emotion. He’s staring at me adoringly, his gorgeous glowing eyes piercing mine.
With everything we’ve shared, it should be obvious. But the need to tell him the depth of my feelings is overwhelming. It’s terrifying and thrilling to know I’m laying out my vulnerability. I open my mouth, then his thumb slides to my lips, pressing lightly to silence me.
“I love you.” He steals my words.
My heart threatens to shatter at hearing the endearment I’ve wished and longed for. “I love you, too.”
“I feel like I’ve waited a lifetime to tell you that.”
“You have. Took you long enough.”
His lips curl in an amused grin.
I shiver at the feel of his fingers gliding along the edge of the fabric of my top, going around my neck and tugging at the tie. “This needs to go.” He does the same with the string at the back. Leisurely, he peels the material from my chest and tosses it.
I forget to breathe as his gaze travels downward
“Flawless.”
My body lurches when his lips graze over my nipple before gently sucking it into his mouth. His hand moves to my ribcage, traces over my hipbones and between my legs. Instinctively, my knees part, giving him access.
Similar to earlier, the instant his finger slips inside, my muscles cinch tight. He works it in and out, adding another that has me moaning in pleasure. He moves to the other breast, sucking and kissing every inch of flesh.
Nothing in my past lives up to this moment. Any other experience I thought I had will forever be a memory replaced by the way my body reacts to his touch.