Chapter 17
Dax closed the door firmly behind him after having just watched his mom and sister drive away towards the airport. When he turned around to face Ginny, a gigantic grin spread across his face. He couldn’t help it. “I was starting to think they’d never leave.”
“They were only here a few days,” Ginny reasoned, but her smile might have been even bigger than his was.
“I was counting the seconds until they left.” He started walking towards her and she retreated with a smile on her face. “Are you telling me you weren’t?”
“No. I loved getting to meet them. I’m really going to miss them.”
“Really?” Crossing his arms, he planted his feet shoulder width apart and grinned down at her. “So, you’re telling me that I didn’t see your face light up at dinner last night when my mom said they were heading back this morning?”
“Okay, maybe.” She dipped her head coyly and then lifted her pointer finger as she added, “But, that doesn’t mean I’m not going to miss them. The two feelings are not mutually exclusive.”
“Damn, you’re cute,” he growled playfully as he wrapped his arms around her waist and spun her around, drawing a bell-like laugh from her.
He set her feet back on the ground and leaned his head close, resting his forehead against hers. “I missed you,” he rasped.
His voice was low and intense. Even he could hear the lust in it. The lust that was about to be expressed for the first time, in a way that was free and untethered. Chase was out of town performing at an event and they had the entire day stretching out in front of them, and he was definitely going to make the best of it. He was going to make slow, unhurried love to her. They had twenty-four hours until she was due back in the studio, and that was exactly how much time he planned to use.
“I missed you, too,” she breathed as she lifted up on her toes and her body rubbed against him.
Without wasting another second he pressed his lips to hers and kissed her slowly, languorously. The passion that he felt was even more intense because he wasn’t giving into his raw, visceral needs. It was like a flame that, when it burned lower, was ten times as hot compared to when it raged out of control.
He slipped his tongue into hers and explored her mouth, taking time to appreciate every nuance in a way that he hadn’t had the opportunity to up until now. She was a perfect treasure. A masterpiece. He was going to explore every curve, every niche of her perfect body and soul. Commit it to memory.
By the time he was done with her, he would know her better than he knew the back of his hand. He might only have a short time with her, but he was going to make the most of it. If she was going to go out there and meet other men, he wanted to set a bar so high none of them could come close to reaching it. Then maybe, someday, when she was ready, she would come back to him. Over the past few days of nonstop obsessing over the subject, that was the best-case scenario that he had come up with.
He moved his arms down, slid one behind her knees, and scooped her up. She laughed and her arms snaked around his neck and she squeezed him tightly. He carried her down the hall, the same way he had when she’d had too much Sangria. She’d kissed his neck during that trip as well, but this time it was so, so much better.
“You do smell good,” she said repeating what she’d told him that night as she brushed her lips against the skin below his jaw. “And I do want to taste you.” With that declaration, she licked him in an open mouth kiss.
“I want to taste you, too,” he gritted out as need raced through him.
Her only response was a giggle as she buried her head into the crook of his neck. Damn, it was so adorable to feel her small movements against him. He loved the way she snuggled into him, and the feeling of the tiniest brush of her fingertips against his skin. Everything she did was perfect in his eyes.
When they reached the bedroom, he set her down on her feet and pulled her to him, kissing her again with deliberate intent and passion. Even though he wanted to throw her down on the bed, rip off all her clothes and claim her—he wasn’t going to give into that. Because what he wanted more than anything was not to rush this. To savor every second they had together and in doing so, drive them both to heights of ecstasy that neither of them had experienced before. He wanted something that affected them both right down to the cellular level. And the only way to do that was to take his time and build it up.
Not to mention, he felt like he was nothing but a rank amateur when it came to the ins and outs of her perfect body. He needed to discover every wonder it had to offer, and he couldn’t do that if they were rushed.
He undressed her slowly, taking his time, going step by step. Every button. Every zipper. He marveled at every new inch of flesh that was revealed when he took each piece of clothing off of her.
She watched him in wonder. “The way you look at me makes me feel…I love it, but…I’m not sure I’ll ever really be able to live up to it,” she said with a nervous laugh. “Whenever people are on a pedestal the only place to go is down.”
He smiled and put a pin in his mission to get her naked. Straightening he cupped her face in his hands. Her crystal blue eyes stared up at him with such raw trust and vulnerability, she stole even more of his heart.
“It’s not a matter of you living up to it or falling off any pedestal,” he explained in a hoarse whisper. “You are amazing. You just are. It’s a fact. And not just your smile, your eyes, or your body. Those are just physical things. I mean, don’t get me wrong, I probably wouldn’t be looking at you like this if it wasn’t for your perfect ass and tits,” he teased.
Her head fell back as she laughed and when she lifted it again he could see that his crude comments had had the desired effect. There wasn’t even a hint of anxiety in her beautiful aqua gaze.
“But those things don’t scratch the surface of what makes you you. It’s your laugh, your talent, your sense of humor, your intelligence, your generosity, your heart and your soul. Every part of you is perfect.”
She sucked in her breath at those words and closed her eyes, pressing her cheek against his hand. Her fingers trailed up his chest and she breathed, “I feel the same about you. That’s exactly how I feel. You put it perfectly.”
This talking was great and he was all for taking things slow, but those things could all happen when she was naked. He finished undressing her and took a step back and let his eyes leisurely travel up and down her beautiful face and body. Her chest rose and fell rapidly. Her skin was pink and flushed. Her nipples stood at stiff attention at the peaks of her soft, round breasts. She was ready for him—there was no question about that.
He took her hand and led her to the bed, then laid her down and trailed his fingers all over her skin, touching her everywhere—her shoulders, her arms, up and down her sides in her belly. Her smooth, long legs. Every part of her sensual, perfectly formed body.
He marveled at the way her skin shivered under his touch. Tiny little micro tremors in her muscles, too small for his eyes to see, but his fingers felt them. He liked the idea that he was causing her body to quake. Endless little earthquakes under her skin, and his fingers were the epicenters.