Love in Darkness (Castles on the Sand 2)

Twenty-Five

“See, look,” says Madison. “You’re already standing in front of a bathroom door.” She steps close enough to back me up against it, and I’m now keenly aware that I’m not wearing a shirt.

I’ve got no armor against her, nothing to dull her touch. I can feel the heat rising off her skin and the soft stream of her breath against my collarbone, and she’s not even close enough to hold me yet.

Those blue eyes look into mine again. “Let me see if I can get this right, because it was really effective on me. You’ve just been through something traumatic, and you just tried to save me from myself. Sound familiar?” She’s re-enacting our first kiss, with our roles reversed, only she pauses. “I’m not going to trap you, okay? You can tell me to stop or to back off anytime.”

I nod.

“Can I touch you?”

I hesitate, then nod again and brace myself as she steps closer and places her hand on the side of my neck, her thumb tracing my jawbone. It’s hard to breathe, for fear any motion will cast her loose from me.

Those blue eyes look me over, then return my gaze. “Can I hold you?”

I shut my eyes. “Yes.”

She moves in closer and our bodies touch. Her cheek rests against my clavicle as she fits her body to mine.

I feel her warm breath on the side of my neck and tremble, unable to hold still. My hand shoots out to grasp the IV stand for balance. After a panicked moment, I give in and reach up to stroke her silken hair with the backs of my fingers.

She presses the palm of her hand to my waist, then slips it behind the small of my back. Her other hand she slides up my back to grasp my shoulder, and now she’s holding me like she always used to, right from when we first got together.

There’s no way I can resist this. I slide my hands up her arms and watch her eyelids flutter shut for a moment while I wrap her in my embrace. She lifts her chin and I lean my forehead against hers. Just like before, I feel like I’m being offered something far more precious than I deserve. I don’t understand why she smiles when I stroke her hair and look into those eyes, but she does. She has so many other options. So many other guys would require less sacrifice than I do. I cup her jaw in the palm of my hand and gaze at her, willing her to know how beautiful she is, how she could have anyone she wants.

“Alex,” she whispers, shakily. “Can I kiss you?”

“Only if you want to.”

She leans in and presses her lips to the side of my throat.

I let out a strangled gasp as she kisses her way down to the notch between my collarbones. Delicate strands of her hair slide between my fingers as I stroke the length of her long locks and tears burn my eyes. She feels more amazing than ever.

Her breath tickles my skin, “This okay?”

“Yeah.”

“Howabout this?” She runs the tip of her tongue along the base of my neck creating an explosion of sensation.

“Ah, hey.” I cling to her to keep my balance. That is not a move I used on her. My knees are weak and my vision’s graying out.

She giggles. “Too much?”

Emotion builds in my chest like a thundercloud. “No,” I whisper.

Her demeanor changes. Her muscles unclench and it’s as if she melts in my arms, save for her hand grasping my shoulder and pressing me to her. She kisses my neck again, and this time it’s as if she can’t stop. Her arm around my waist tightens and her breathing becomes more ragged.