I was sitting on the beach staring at the Pacific Ocean through swollen, bleary eyes when I first saw him. If I had the troubles of the world on my shoulders, this guy was my polar opposite. He strolled down the beach, almost skipping while humming...
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I woke up to Hope's long, taut body wrapped around mine and I laid there, remembering the events of a few hours ago. It was the most incredible feeling knowing this wasn't a dream. He was actually here sleeping in my bed, my body tucked in close to his and his long arms around me. I savored the feeling of him around me for a moment before willing myself to look at the time on my digital clock beside my bed. 4:14am. I wondered why I had woken up, but then realized the reason.
I gently extricated myself from Hope's arms. Fortunately, he was either a heavy sleeper or very tired, because he didn't stir. I tiptoed to the bathroom, relieving myself and replacing my contacts before quietly making my way back to the bedroom. Boo was asleep on the couch, not being comfortable being in the bed with Hope. All the better. I quietly shut my bedroom door behind me to make sure she stayed out and made my way back to the bed.
The moonlight and my digital clock made it so I could see Hope's profile, sleeping so peacefully. My breath caught as I looked at him. He was so beautiful. His angular features were thrown into sharp relief in the moonlight and his hair was soft around his face, his long fingers stretched out against my pillow where I had been laying. The white shirt he was wearing had lost another button in his sleep and was hitched to the side, the band of his boxers showing slightly above his jeans. I suddenly felt heat pool in my core, looking at the exposed skin on his hip and thinking about last night, his body hovering over me in this bed.
I gently slid back into the bed, the need to touch him and have him close damn near overwhelming. It seemed the ache I had for him last night did not go away with a few hours sleep, but had intensified even more.
I reached over gently and ran the backs of my fingers up his angled jawline before resting them on his neck. His eyes fluttered but he still didn't wake, so I softly pressed my lips to his neck and made my way down, gently kissing the soft white skin on his exposed chest.
His eyes fluttered open and he looked down at me, his gaze hooded. I could feel his pulse quickening under my hand on his chest and I kissed it again, this time maintaining eye contact as he watched, his eyes burning as I made my way up his neck and exposed clavicle. I had been dying to kiss the perfect skin there since the second day I'd known him, if I was honest with myself.
Running my lips up his neck, his eyes fluttered shut for a moment as I let my hands wander down his chest and felt his hard body underneath my palms. He met my gaze, his eyes burning as he watched me with his mouth slightly agape and his breathing picking up. Finally, my lips made their way to his jaw, letting my tongue slide along it gently.
He made a sound in his throat and in an instant he pulled my face to his and crashed his lips into mine, his long arms pulling me flush against him like a vise as his fingers found their way underneath my shirt and slid their way up my back. I hitched my leg up over his hip and could feel him hardening against me already through his jeans.
I fumbled with the rest of the buttons on his shirt, desperate to get closer to him. I wanted his skin against mine, needed it. He pulled away for a second, kissing down my neck as he gave me better access to his shirt and I finished unbuttoning the last few buttons, pulling it off him and immediately replacing it with my hands, roving them all over every inch of his chest and stomach I could grasp.
