Once Upon A Half-Time 2(37)

Nate leaned against the porch railing. Was it possible for him to look better now, waiting in the dark stillness? The shadows struck the hard angles of his jaw, and his eyes absorbed the mystery of the night. Green gave way to midnight tones of blue and silver. I stared, imagining everything we had done and had yet to do.

“Everyone asleep?” His voice rumbled, low and cautious.

“They will be,” I said.

“You okay?”

“I will be.”

Nate crossed his arms. The tattoos creeping along his biceps and under the t-shirt edged black in the low light, too dark to hide anything but their intent. He wasn’t a man who saved damsels in distress, but he was the type to accept their gratitude however they wished to award it.

I cradled the blanket to my chest. Nate didn’t ask any more foolish questions. He offered his hand.

I took a breath.

My palm fit within his, and the heat coursed over me, through me, inside me.

He guided me along the dirt path leading from the cabin to the lakeside dock. I hadn’t been to the lake since I was little. Back then, the water seemed huge and impossible. Now the stillness was safe and serene. The lake lapped the dock, and the sky above stretched in brilliant shades of blue and the darkest purple. I almost giggled. The sky looked indigo.

We didn’t need to speak. I wasn’t sure what we would say. Nate had pushed, and I’d denied him so many times. But we ended here together, staring into each other’s eyes like it was the first and last time we would touch each other.

Nate laid the blanket over the wooden planks of the dock. My breathing shuddered, and I had no idea how to stand or protect myself or what to do.

But he showed me, just like he did before. I was so inexperienced then, and I was still inexperienced now. Despite the twisting in my stomach as the baby swatted at all the butterflies, I’d never felt safer.

Nate reached for me, his hand caressing my cheek. He pulled me in for a kiss and let his fingers tangle in my hair.

“It’s shorter,” he whispered. “You cut your hair.”

“You weren’t the only one who noticed.”

“It’s beautiful. You’re beautiful.”

His lips met mine. Why did I ever fight his kiss? He nibbled the words I couldn’t speak, soothed the fears I breathed, and hummed absolute comfort in every draw of his lips.

“Simple pleasure?” My whisper broke the silence, too softly for anyone but him to hear.

“If that’s all you want…” His voice caressed me like another hand. “That’s what I’ll give.”

“…What else could you give?”

“Anything you wanted.”

He seized me again. His touch became ferocious, conquering, but still so very gentle.

Since when was Nate Kensington gentle?

That wasn’t his reputation or his real desire. But he did it for me.

Because of me?

He tucked me against his body. The delicate press of his fingertips into my hips wasn’t the fierce grip my instincts expected. He touched slow, steady. I abandoned my hesitations and fell into heaven. My arms fit over his neck, and I drew myself to my tippy-toes to kiss him deeper.

It shouldn’t have felt so good. I had no idea if the connection between us was real or a trick of my heart. Nate was the only man who could soothe everything jumbled inside me—because he was the one who tangled it.

At first I dove against him and eagerly swept my lips, mouth, tongue on his, like the last time we tossed in a bed and the passion overwhelmed us in hours of frantic excitement. But this touch deftly tickled over me. Soft. Leisurely.

Nate was patient, and I knew why.

“I’m not a virgin anymore,” I whispered.

I broke the kiss. He chastised me with a tightened grip on my hair. A thrill of excitement trapped me in his arms, and he tipped my head back. He nipped my neck and claimed that soft hollow he knew I loved so much.

“You deserve to be spoiled with pleasure. To learn from someone who takes the time to show you how great sex can really be,” he said.

“I already had a thorough lesson.”

“No.” His voice could command and comfort in the same breath. “That night was selfish and quick. I thought you wanted to blow off steam.”

“I did.”

“That’s not how we’re doing it this time.”

“It’s…not?”

His smile might have stopped my heart. “No. I’m going to show you everything tonight. How you should feel. What you can take. This night is all about your pleasure.”

My voice weakened in amazement. “Mine?”

“I’ve been chasing you for a reason, baby. Once wasn’t enough to sate either of us.”

His fingers teased over my blouse, and his adept hands worked the buttons without struggle.