Page 46 of Echoes in the Storm
A short, sharp laugh erupts from my chest. “I guess so.”
He reaches for my hand, taking it in his and pulling me up so I sit in front of him, my legs splayed in a most un-ladylike fashion on either side of his. “I didn’t want to kill the mood, Cam. I’m sorry. It’s just …”
“The reality hit you hard?”
“Yeah.” He frowns, tracing my cheek with his fingertip. “I didn’t mean to make you feel bad or anything. Hell, you should be proud.”
“Proud?” I say with a laugh. “What on earth for?”
“Being the amazing woman you are. I swore off ever dating again, adamant that I’d lost my only chance at being happy. And after that, it just became normal to be on my own, normal to stick to myself. But you …” He shakes his head, looking down to my lap as he takes my hands in his. “You won’t relent. You’re in my head even when you’re not here.”
“I have that effect on people,” I tease.
He smiles, lifting his gaze to mine. “Do you believe in fate?”
I nod, the belief that he was placed in my path for a reason so strong I can almost taste it. People don’t come into your life without purpose; they always have a role to play. How else could I justify only being given a little less than five short years with Taylah?
“I want to try this,” Duke says, shaking my hands gently as though to drive his conviction home. “My gut tells me I’d be stupid to pass you up, even though my heart tells me this can only be trouble.”
“Thank you, I guess?” I twist my lips up in an unsure smile.He was complimenting me, right?
Duke huffs out a small laugh, moving his hands to my face. “Now let’s stop talking and try again, huh?”
He doesn’t need to tell me twice. I tilt my head, letting my eyes slip closed as he kisses me again, this time slower and with more purpose. He tells me through his touch that he’s for real, that he legitimately wants to see where this leads. He promises with the slow and measured way he coaxes me to lie down that I can back out at any time, no questions asked.
Yet I don’t want to. My back hits the grass, and I hook my legs around his hips, my calves pulling him flush against me. Duke holds our kiss as he drops to his forearms again, his chest pressed so tightly against mine that I couldn’t mistake the quickened beat of his heart if I tried.
The sun has all but set as he moves those hot lips of his to my jaw, kissing a line down my neck to my shoulder. I tip my head back, ignoring the scratch of the dirt below as I part my lips on a silent moan. His rough hand slides across my collarbone as his lips linger on my jaw, his fingers tucked beneath the edge of my cardigan.
I couldn’t pick a more perfect evening: the stars come out to play as the last rays of light die off, the night providing a spectacular backdrop as I look at the man who carefully kisses his way down my body. It’s too much, too fast, yet at the same time it feels only natural.
I’ve never been able to click with someone like I have Duke. Maybe our first day together had teething problems, but the time we’ve shared since has been easy, natural, comfortable. I don’t feel judged when I’m with him, and most importantly, Itrusthim. I don’t believe he’d ever intentionally hurt me.
“You with me?” he whispers in gruff tones as he returns to lie over me, his hands either side of my head.
“Wouldn’t be anywhere else.” I push my shoulders back, reaching up to meet his lips in another stolen kiss.
The rumble in his chest vibrates through my own, a gasp falling from my parted lips as he shunts a hand beneath my butt to press me harder against him. There’s no denying how he feels now. None at all.
The grass shrouds us from the moonlight that takes over from the day before, yet it still provides enough light for me to make out the intensity in Duke’s eyes as he holds my gaze.
He doesn’t have to say anything at all for me to know he’s asking permission, asking if this is okay. I rock my hips into his in reply, my bottom lip pinched between my teeth as I urge him to follow through with whatever thought runs through his mind.
“You’re fucking gorgeous, you know that?” He searches my eyes, a small furrow in his brow. “But it’s not what got to me.”
Words fail me as he tucks a hand beneath my loose shirt, and palms my stomach, squeezing my side.
“It’s all of you, Cam. They say true beauty lies within, and babe, you’ve got that in spades.” His wrist turns, his fingers edging beneath the waist of my leggings and thong until he cups me in his firm hold. I moan without inhibition as his fingers apply the barest pressure.
“You’re going to wreck me,” I half-heartedly protest, pushing against his hand to beg for more.
“You ruined me the moment you threw your damn car in reverse, woman.”
He splays his fingers, parting me for better access. I’m soaked, and I know it—itching for release at his hand. “Jesus, Cam.”
“Totally your fault.” I groan as he slides a digit through the wet folds.
Duke doesn’t hesitate, his breaths coming quick and heavy as he pushes one, and then two fingers inside of me. He shakes his head as though he can’t believe that we’re lying out in the field, doing this. Hell, I can’t, but it doesn’t mean I’m about to halt things. “God you look amazing when you’re turned on.”