Part 4 (2/2)
”He was very proud of me.” He needed noise to drown out the chaos in his head and the ache in his chest that accompanied thoughts about his father and the doctor's warning.
”Was? And now?” she pushed.
Now it's like looking in a mirror, at what could happen to me if I get hit in the head again. Now I hear his slowed voice telling me to give it up and follow my heart to something else. Now I'm standing between two rivals playing Russian roulette. On one side is my father's care and quality of life. On the other is something I haven't thought about with any great significance-my own well-being.
And now the thing I never expected has happened.
Now there's you. Causing me to question my decisions in a way I never have before.
He couldn't say any of those things. Not tonight. Not on their first date.
Maybe not ever.
”Now I think we should go to a club, listen to music, and see if you're as good at dancing as you are at listening. And kissing. You're definitely good at kissing.”
Chapter Five.
TWO HOURS LATER Sky's and Sawyer's bodies were pressed tightly together on the crowded dance floor of a dimly lit nightclub, surrounded by a ma.s.s of people b.u.mping and grinding to a band Sky had never heard of. The melody didn't matter. They'd been dancing since they'd arrived, and their bodies moved to a rhythm she was sure only they could hear. A private beat, fast and slow, hot and sensual. His hands splayed across her back, moving over her hips, then up her arms. Undemanding and possessive at the same time, as if she'd been his forever.
Sky didn't consider herself uptight or laden with inhibitions, but she had some level of self-control-and she'd left it behind when their bodies began their slow seduction, and her mind turned l.u.s.tful and dark. It had been a long time since she'd gotten lost in someone, and that's exactly what was happening. She couldn't resist letting herself feel for the man who loved his father enough to fight for him, the man who listened and comforted her. The man who could have taken advantage of her openness, if he'd been a different type of person. The man whose soul seemed to be as deeply rooted in who he was as hers was.
Her hands traveled over the hard ridges of his chest, as their hips brushed and his arousal pressed against her, rigid and tempting. She closed her eyes, and when his mouth descended on hers in a needful, wanting kiss, she felt dizzy. Her skin p.r.i.c.kled with antic.i.p.ation of more. Her emotions whirred, and he intensified the kiss, crus.h.i.+ng his mouth to hers at the same time he slid one hand lower and cupped her a.s.s, brus.h.i.+ng his thumb beneath her shorts and over the edge of her panties.
His lips slid to the corner of her mouth, then across her cheek, and he said something in a growl, but the music was too loud to make it out. She pressed in closer, craving the sound of his voice. His thumb slowly stroked her flesh, grazing her panties with each pa.s.s, making her insides smolder in flames. She wanted so much more of him. s.e.x was all around them. Men gyrated against men, women danced with men, and women openmouthed kissed other women in a visual orgy of s.e.xually charged bodies, all of which heightened her arousal. When Sawyer turned her in his arms and raked his teeth over the sh.e.l.l of her ear, she tilted her head to the side, giving him better access. He sealed his mouth over her neck and pressed his hard length against her a.s.s.
Somewhere in the back of her mind she was chastising herself about this being their first date, knowing she should slow down. But Sky was all about the universe pulling her in the right direction. And right here, right now, she let herself enjoy where it was taking her. Every touch, every stroke of Sawyer's tongue, made her crave more. She turned to him and claimed his mouth in another unrelenting kiss. He returned her efforts hungrily, until his oxygen became hers and the line between them blurred.
Sky didn't know how much time had pa.s.sed before they finally left the bar, but it felt like a lifetime. A long, sensual lifetime that made her acutely aware of her s.e.xuality and the ripe state her body had fallen into.
His arm was heavy on her shoulder, his jaw scratchy against her cheek, and she loved it all. His strength, his protectiveness. The sound of his gravelly voice.
They headed toward the shop with their bodies pressed together, their mouths connecting every few steps. She gripped his hips, clawed at his sides, touching him wherever she could. Forgetting herself-forgetting that they were on the crowded sidewalk with people walking by. She didn't care, and probably no one else did either. At night Provincetown was a plethora of s.e.x and greed, and tonight she was lost in the thick of it. Lost in the world of Sawyer Ba.s.s.
As they rounded the dark alley beside the shop, their lips parted long enough for her to say, ”I had you pegged so wrong.” She was breathing hard, wis.h.i.+ng she hadn't spoken so he'd plunder her mouth again.
”When I came in for the tattoo and could hardly keep from staring at you?” He leaned in to her and pressed her back against the cold brick wall as their mouths came together again.
”At the bar,” she said. ”When I heard you play the guitar. I thought you were totally into yourself.”
”I was lost in thoughts of you. I saw you reading and couldn't stop thinking about you.”
”You don't need to b.u.t.ter me up. You're already getting kissed good night,” she teased.
”If I wanted to b.u.t.ter you up I'd use a better line, like, where have you been all my life, or-”
”Cheesy!” She b.u.mped him with her shoulder as they stumbled toward the stairs as if they were tipsy, when all they'd consumed was each other.
They ascended the narrow steps to her apartment. His hand rested at the base of her spine, searing heat right through her s.h.i.+rt to her skin. On the landing, Sky's pulse quickened with the need for a fast decision. She was having more fun, and felt more alive, than she had in a very long time. s.e.xy fun. If she asked him to come inside, she knew they'd likely end up in bed together, which sounded very, very good to her at the moment. But she wasn't the type of girl who slept with a man on the first date, and she was truly hoping for a second date with Sawyer-and a third and fourth.
”I had a really great time,” she finally said.
He held her hips, and the surety of his grip stirred thoughts of what it would be like to be naked beneath him, to feel the weight of him bearing down on her while their hips moved in perfect sync.
”Want to come inside?” The invitation came too fast for her to stop it.
”I want to,” he said, eyes dark as night, ”but I think I'd better say good night here.”
Worried that if she said anything at all, Then stop thinking, would come out, she nodded instead.
He pulled her flush against him and, good Lord, did he feel good. Driven by the combination of l.u.s.t and something deeper that had seeded itself sometime between the ice cream and his confession about his family, she went up on her toes and pressed her lips to his.
His tongue swept over hers in a slow, intoxicating kiss. A lovers' kiss that spoke of far more history than they'd shared-and like everything else about Sawyer, it drew her in.
One hand slid beneath her hair and cupped her head, and the other crushed her to him. Sky was whirling with desire, and her hands were on a mission, traveling up his sides, over the muscles of his back, then down into the pockets of his jeans. She pressed on his firm a.s.s, bringing them impossibly closer. The depth of her desires surprised her, and her eyes came open with the realization of just how strong the urge was. How far she was willing to go.
Their lips parted and he kissed her forehead, then pressed his hands to her cheeks and said, ”I could kiss you all night long.”
”Okay-” slipped out before she thought to stop it. She wasn't ready for more, despite how much she wanted it. Was she? G.o.d...did she ever want him. He smiled and pressed his lips to hers again, lighter this time, and when he drew away, her lips still tingled from their impa.s.sioned kisses.
”I like you, Sky. I like you too much after just a few hours. I don't trust myself not to do more than kiss those lovely lips of yours if we go inside.”
Her knees weakened at his honesty. ”I'm not sure I trust myself either.”
”See how much we have in common?” He held her close, and she breathed him in, memorizing his scent to carry her through the night. ”I'm training in the morning. I'd like to see you tomorrow evening. That is, if you don't mind hanging out with a boxer.”
A boxer. How could she have let that get so far from her mind? Fighting went against everything she believed in, but she'd never had her beliefs tested in this way before. One look in his dark eyes drew her into his arms again.
”Honestly, I haven't had time to process how I'll deal with your career, but I know I feel more connected with you than I've felt with anyone before. And that means something to me, so I'd like to spend more time with you while we figure out the rest.”
”I can't ask for more than that,” he said with a smile. ”Tomorrow, then?”
”Oh, wait.” She winced, remembering her promise to Jenna. ”I just remembered that my brother and our friends are having a bonfire tomorrow night, and I promised to go. Would you like to go with me?”
”I would love to, as long as I won't be imposing on your time with your friends.”
”Not at all. It's just a few of my friends and their husbands.”
”Sounds great,” he said with a s.e.xy smile. ”What can I bring?”
”Me.”
With his mouth a whisper away, he ran his thumb over her lower lip and said, ”The second before we kiss, you get a wanting and exquisitely feminine look in your eyes, and it's the most sensual thing I've ever seen.”
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