The Stillness Of You(15)

Carefully I reached for her bra and it was like I was fourteen again-I   was all thumbs. A deep breath or two helped things along and when I felt   that little piece of fabric give, I think I stopped breathing.

Slowly I slid the little straps over her shoulders, my eyes on hers as she looked up at me and watched.

It fell to the floor at our feet and though she was bared to me, I   couldn't take my eyes off of hers-they were liquid pools that I could   drown in.

We stared at each other for a long time, as if we were already locked   together. As if I was already inside her. She swallowed and the   expression in her eyes changed. Her lids fluttered and she squeezed them   shut and-wait, was that a tear?

"You're so perfect," she whispered so softly that I barely heard.

What the fuck? Suddenly concerned my hands slid across her jaw and I tipped her head up. "Hey, are you okay?"

She nodded but didn't say anything and her eyes remained closed as her   body began to tremble. She sank against me-we were skin on skin and it   was all I thought it would be. She was soft, so fucking soft … and the   smell of summer was everywhere but something was wrong.

I swallowed and blew out a long, breath. I took a moment before I   attempted to speak because I thought that if I didn't get this right, I   might blow everything , whatever the hell it was with this girl. This   meant something to me.

I kissed her temple and wrapped my arms around her, holding her tight so   that I could absorb everything. Every shudder, and tremble, and  breath.  It was all mine.

After a while I realized she was crying and I felt like the biggest shit   on the planet. I didn't understand what was happening-what I'd said or   did-but I knew I needed to fix this.

"Hey," I said softly, running my hands over her shoulders and down her   spine. "We don't have to do this. We can wait. I don't … " God, what the   fuck? "I don't want to pressure you or anything. I thought … I thought you   wanted this but … " Shit, was I even making any sense?

"I want to," she mumbled into my neck. Her voice sounded so small and   uncertain that something broke apart inside me. Such a feeling … or a need   to protect filled me that for a moment I was speechless.

"I wanted to," she repeated. "But I want to do this right and there's so   much you don't know about me and if you did you'd probably run the   other way because I would … if I was you. And … " she shuddered again. "I'm   not making any sense am I?"

She pulled away, enough so that I could look into her eyes again. Thank the fuck that they were open.

I needed to make her understand.

"Georgia, don't worry. We can take this slow. This isn't just about sex, although I gotta tell you, you're killing me here."

A heartbeat passed. Did I just say that? Holy hell if Rossi from the   team had heard that come out of my mouth he would have pounded me for   sure. I was the no commitment guy.

"I want this to matter." I hoped like hell I hadn't blown things.

She was nodding and whispered, "Okay," but I knew it wasn't-there was   something in her eyes that tore at me. And even though my hard on was   going to be a bitch to deal with, Georgia mattered a hell of a lot more   than the state of my dick.                       
       
           



       

"Okay." I rested my head on top of hers as I tried to take control of my body. "We'll take this slow."

For a moment there was silence. "Thank you."

Those two little words punched me in the gut something fierce. I hugged   her and then picked her up, my mouth seeking hers as I headed for the   bed. Once there, I managed to tug the comforter back and after she slid   inside, I followed her in.

She fit right into me like we'd been sleeping together forever and I   cuddled her close, inhaling her essence, keeping it as mine. I moved her   hair from the back of her neck and trailed a line of kiss up to her  ear  until she was trembling again.

And then I smiled. "I'm sleeping here with you tonight, no negotiation on that."

She nodded, but didn't answer.

"And when Matt comes home on Monday-"

"He'll be home tomorrow," she whispered, her arms sliding along my forearm and curling around, holding me in return.

"Good, because as soon as I see him I'm going to tell Matt that we're   seeing each other and if he doesn't like it, fuck him. I'm not hiding   the way I feel. I can't be the guy who does that. I want you."

A thought occurred to me and I didn't like the way it made me feel. "You   do feel the same way, don't you? Tell me that this isn't all me,   Georgia. This crazy fucking explosion I feel inside."

There was silence, and then …

"No," she said softly. "It's not just you."

I groaned and kissed her shoulder, loving how she shuddered against me.   "I want to learn all your deepest and darkest secrets." I was teasing   but her fingers stopped stroking my arm and she stiffened.

"What if my secrets are things you can't deal with?"

I frowned though I tried to keep my tone light. "Have you murdered anyone?"

"Not that I know of."

A heartbeat passed.

"Then we're good."





***





I woke up with a stiff neck and an arm that was on fire. Georgia was   still sleeping and gingerly I pulled my arm free, the ache in my gut   still there as I stared down at perfection. It was late, we'd missed our   run, and the sun was coming in her window causing a kind of halo to   dance around her.

She was still on her side and I took a few seconds to appreciate what it   was that laid there. So much creamy skin, all soft and curvy. I wanted   to trace the indent of her waist and run my fingers across her hips  and  over her ass but I was afraid to wake her.

Don't get me wrong-I wanted to wake her-I wanted her to wake up with me   buried deep inside her but it was going to have to wait. After last   night I knew I needed to take it slow with this girl.

Aside from the fact that my dick didn't seem to understand that notion, I   was fine with it. In fact, I was looking forward to spending as much   time with Georgia as I could. I wanted to know what made her tick. I   wanted to know what she was afraid of … what her dreams and goals were.

I wasn't bullshitting. I wanted to know her secrets.

But she was right. We barely knew each other and if this was going to be   something other than just a hook up, a relationship for fuck sakes, I   needed to get it right.

With a groan I leaned over, because I couldn't help myself, and I kissed   the dimple just above her butt. I would have loved to have turned her   onto her back because other than a quick glimpse the night before, her   breasts were still pretty much a mystery to me-a mouth-watering  mystery.

My dick sprang to life at the thought and I rolled away from her-needing   a bit of space and perspective. There was time for Georgia to be  naked.  I grinned. Lots of time.

I'd just stepped out of her bedroom when I heard him.

"You've got to be fucking kidding me."

Mother fucker.

I squinted into the face of a very, very, pissed off Matt King and held my hands up, palms out. "Dude, it's not what you think."

He took a few steps closer and before I could say anything else, the   bastard surprised me-fucking sucker punch. His fist connected with my   jaw and I swung into the wall so hard a framed photo fell to the ground   and crashed.

"What the fuck?" I snarled, shouldering him in the gut and sending him backward, hard.

The two of us glared at each other, until Matt spoke. "I told you to   stay away from her. She's fucking trouble. I can't have her screwing   with your head."

"What the hell are you talking about?" He wasn't making any sense. "What are we? Five years old?"

Something soft touched my shoulder and I glanced down at Georgia. She'd   thrown on a robe and stood a few inches from me. She didn't quite meet   my eyes, and something twisted inside me, because I had a feeling   everything had somehow changed and I didn't understand any of it.                       
       
           



       

Georgia moved past me before pausing in front of her brother. I couldn't see her face but Matt's expression was fierce.

"He's trying to tell you that you matter to him. That you matter to the   team and he sure as hell doesn't want anyone to screw that up. He's   trying to tell you that whatever this is between us won't work and maybe   you should listen to him."