Cherish Every Moment Book 1: A Chance Encounter

3 Wanting

It was way too early to be awake after having drifted off to sleep only a few short hours ago, yet Avi was awake, his mind spinning as he briefly wondered where he was. He struggled to get his bearings, his mind was a swirl of fog and very clouded. Sometime in the brevity of his slumber, Rayne had shifted and turned towards him. He could feel the warmth of her breath upon his neck, the beat of her heart against his chest, and the rise and fall of her breathing under his arm. The heat of her body radiated through him filling him with a tumble of emotions tangled in desire. She was still relaxed and sleeping in his arms, held tight to him by his strength; lost, deep in her own dreams. Avi wondered if she dreamt of him as he held her. He wondered if she even knew, in her sleeping mind, that it was his arms that she lay in. He found his legs to be neatly tangled with hers and the sweet smell of her hair comforting in his nose. He tried to look down at her sleeping face, but found the positioning too unwieldy to do so.

Avi tried desperately to calm his wild thoughts as they blossomed and exploded in his mind. He was fighting a losing battle. His body was fueled by passion desire and emotion; a bad mix when the woman that caused all those feelings lay resting in his arms. He lay there holding Rayne close with her body calling to his. She was warm against him somehow soft and yielding and yet not, as he slowly caressed her back. Avi didn't know exactly what he was doing or why he was doing it. The feel of her skin, like the rise and fall of her chest, was just so soothing to him. He drew slow soft circles with the tips of his fingers across her shoulder blades and up towards her neck; inadvertently finding and tracing her scars. Avi intended to extend the comfort she gave him to her through his hands, hands that were consequently always in motion. He couldn't stop them from moving if he tried. Avi had no intentions of trying. Gently, lazily, he let his fingers troll across her back up her spine and to her neck. His touch was warm and light. He felt fire in Rayne's skin as he tenderly let his fingers dance over it. He struggled to regulate his breathing, touching her so tenderly, intimately, made him feel so helpless and happy. Rayne was undeniably beautiful, bathed in the dim lamp light. Who dimmed the light? Had he done it? He couldn't recall. He watched the shadows and light play in her hair. He must have before he lay down next to her. She mumbled his name softly and Avi drew Rayne closer to him.

***

It was still early morning when Rayne woke to find the weight of Avi's arm draped over her waist and the length of his lean body pressed tight against her. He had wrapped himself around her, slid his hand under her ribs, and curled his body tight to hers. She doubted that there was a millimeter gap between them anywhere. She didn't mind it. He felt good comforting and warm. She could feel his warmth spread over her as she lay tucked in his arms. His breathing was smooth and quiet. As his breath warmed her neck, she felt her own heat rising, her heartbeat quickening, mind filling with desire. Her mind raced to keep up with her accelerating heartbeat. A thousand butterflies blossomed in her belly and her heart fluttered as her mind began to process the events of the evening. Behind her lay one of the most beautiful human beings she had ever laid eyes on. It wasn't just Avi's physical appearance that attracted her. He had the eyes of a gentle soul, the heart of a saint, the body of Adonis and the voice of an angel. Right now, that body was pressed tightly against hers. She could feel every detail of him through their thin clothing and it excited her.

She needed calm and she needed it fast. He was clearly sleeping; the response she felt from him was involuntary. Rayne opened her eyes and the harsh light of the bedside lamp jabbed into them. Careful not to wake him, she reached for the switch and dimmed the light. Yeah, darkness was going to help her calm down with that beautiful man behind her his body hard and pressed so tightly to hers. She closed her eyes again and settled into Avi's embrace. She tried to focus her tired and frazzled mind on something else; anything other than the way Avi was clinging to her. Her mind eclipsed her heart, as she sought a proper focus. She forced herself to think of the ocean, cold dark and grey, the waves crashing loudly over the rocks. She could hear the rumble and roar of the water, carving the stone, shaping the cliffs and crushing the rocks into sand and could think only of Avi's voice. His deep rich tones crashing through her heart and soul. She thought of the cool grey days she'd seen abroad and the warm sunrises over the green fields and she found herself swimming in Avi's eyes, drowning, yet safe in the harbor. She was hopelessly lost.