Trust in Me(108)

            I caught the rest of her words with my lips and my tongue. I liked the tickets. The gift was great, but I’d never tell her that it was those five words that I loved. “Of course I’m taking you. The gift is perfect.” I nipped at her lower lip, and she gasped. “You’re perfect.”

            Those words replayed over and over in my hand as I clasped her hips and pulled her against me. I was fully aroused, which seemed like a constant state of being around her.

            My stomach dipped as she looped her arms around my neck. I didn’t have to say anything as I lifted her. Shortcake wrapped those legs right around my waist as I kissed her deeply, drinking her in and refusing to let her go. She moaned, and a painfully intense lust slammed into me.

            I was on a mindless autopilot as I carried her back to her room and my stomach was still dipping as I laid her on her back. I stared down at her for a few seconds and then I leaned back, tugging my sweater off and tossing it aside. I leaned over, planting my hands on either side of her head. My chest was rising and falling in uneven breaths. I needed her as badly as I needed the rush of taking a ball down the field, of scoring. Maybe even more so than that.

            She traced a delicate, slender finger over the flames surrounding the sun on my chest. “I love this tattoo. Why did you get it?”

            “You really want to know?”

            Her thick lashes lifted. “Yes.”

            “It’s pretty lame.”

            She continued to follow the design, sending a bolt of electricity through my body. “I’ll be the judge of that.”

            “I got it after the fight with Teresa’s ex.” I slid my hands under her shirt, smiling at the feel of her soft skin and when she lifted up so I could remove it. “I was kind of messed up for a while. Couldn’t go back to school, was stuck in my home, and I’d done that to myself. I was worried that there had been something wrong with me to lose it like I did.”

            She lowered her hands to her sides as I placed mine on her bare stomach, mere centimeters under the fragile clasp of her bra. My hair fell into my face as I leaned over, placing my other hand beside her head. “I was depressed. I was pissed off at myself and the world and all that bullshit.” I smoothed my hand down her belly, smiling when her hips lifted just a little bit. “I think I drank just about every liquor my dad had in his bar over the course of a couple of weeks. I knew my parents were worried, but . . .”

            The hollow between her raised breasts looked absolutely lonely and distracted me. Lowering my head, I pressed a kiss between them and did it again when she sucked in a soft breath. “Jase came to visit me often. So did Ollie. I probably would’ve lost my fucking mind without them.” Placing my fingers on the clasp, I looked up, my eyes locking with hers. “May I?”

            She nodded.

            “Thank you.” I lowered my gaze as I unhooked the clasp, leaving the rest in place. I’d never seen her bare there before. I wanted to take my sweet-ass time. “It was something Jase had said to me while I was drunk off my ass. Don’t know why, but it stuck with me.”

            Her chest rose as I dragged a finger up the center of her chest. “What did . . . what did he say?”

            “He said something like things can’t be that bad if the sun is out and shining. Like I said, that stuck with me. Maybe because it’s the truth. As long as the sun’s shining, shit can’t be that bad. So that’s why I got a tattoo of the sun. Sort of a reminder.”

            “That’s not lame.” She smiled.

            “Hmm . . .” It was pretty lame, but it had worked. I hooked my finger under the edge of her bra and pushed it aside, doing the same to the other cup.

            I devoured her with my gaze. The dusky pink tips of her full breasts immediately puckered, begging me. Staring down at them, I felt like I’d never seen breasts before. I wanted to touch them, lick them, and suck them. All at once.