Trust in Me(100)

            Happiness and heat flared in her gaze and then her lashes swept down as she flicked the button of my jeans open and then pulled down the zipper. I chuckled as she gasped.

            “Easy access.” I reached down between us, easing myself out.

            Avery’s eyes remained fixed, and there was nothing hotter than that. My entire body was taut as a bowstring. I couldn’t help myself. I moved my hand up to my tip and then back down to my base as my heart rate kicked up.

            “I’ve thought about you,” she whispered.

            Every muscle in my body froze. “How?”

            She hesitated. “When I . . . touched myself, I thought of you.”

            “Holy fuck,” I growled and then clamped my jaw down. I almost came right then and there. She thought about me while she touched herself? Good God almighty and the devil down below . . . “That is the hottest thing I’ve ever heard.”

            Her lips tipped up, and I kissed her, harder and rougher than I probably should’ve, but she didn’t shy away. I brought her hand down to me, coaxing her fingers around my thickness. At first contact, my entire body jerked and then she moved her hand up and down.

            What she lacked in skill, she sure as hell made up in eagerness. The innocence in the way she stroked me was almost too much.

            “You’re perfect,” I murmured against her lips as I slid my hand back between her thighs.

            Our breaths mingled, fast and hard as I cupped her through her panties, pressing my palm against her clit as I pushed my finger into her warmth, separated only by a flimsy barrier. I kept my mouth on hers, taking her tongue into mine as she rode my hand and I thrust into hers.

            I felt her body tense and then she cried out in a harsh expulsion. “Cam!”

            Her body spasmed against my hand, wave after wave as I eased her down. Tremors rocked my body as my release barreled through me. I came harder than I ever had and I was amazed by that. She held on, her head dropped against my shoulder as I clamped one arm around her waist.

            Only when I became too sensitive, I gently removed her hand. She was boneless in my embrace as I tucked her against my chest. I knew I needed to let her go. I’d made a mess of her and me, but I loathed to part with her body just yet.

            Reaching up, I tilted her head back and kissed the lids of her eyes and then her parted lips. The silence stretched out between us, comforting until I felt her tense in my arms. Concern flooded me. I knew I hadn’t hurt her, but maybe it was too much?

            “Hey,” I said, smoothing my thumb along her cheek. A troubled look filled her gaze. “You okay? I didn’t—”

            “It was perfect.” She kissed my jaw, closing her eyes. “This is perfect.”

            Avery was right. Oh God, this was the most perfect moment, but a ball of unease formed in my gut. A cloud had passed over her. It was gone now, but it had been there and I couldn’t help but fear that it would come back.





Twenty-Three

            Ollie stood on the edge of the bench across from us, Avery’s left-over Chinese food in a carton. The fact that he’d brought that to campus with him was weird. And that food had been in the fridge for a couple of days.

            “All I’m saying is that Presidents’ Day is more interesting than Valentine’s Day,” he said, digging his chopsticks into the noodles. “After all, Hallmark created V-Day. It’s not a real day.”

            Sitting next to where he stood, Brittany shook her head. “Presidents’ Day is boring. What happens on Presidents’ Day?”

            Avery sat in my lap, curled up against my chest. It was a brutally cold day in February and I had unzipped my hoodie, gathering the ends around her. “Did those two hook up at some point?” she asked quietly.