Forever Yours

Graying Skies [16]

16. Graying Skies

Maureen

He tasted like salt and this other unfamiliar taste that just made me think that it was him. He took his hands from my waist for one moment to gently wrap his hands around my hands which hung limply at my sides and bring them up to his shoulders. Then his arms encircled me, pulling me closer against him.

I had no idea what to do. But somehow that fear of failure disappeared, as it always seemed to do with him, and instead I felt myself open up. I tightened my arms around his and my hand went to his hair, tangling in its soft, curly thickness. Shyly, I pressed myself closer against him. I could feel his lips smile against mine and I knew he could feel the heat of my cheeks against his.

I lost all sense of time and place. The sun slipped farther down behind the horizon, casting long rays across the water. My eyes were closed but I saw the red and the orange fire dancing along on my eyelids, mixing with Ryan and his heat which dispelled the feel of the chilly water which raised goosebumps on my skin.

Finally, Ryan pulled back. His face was flushed and there was an emotion in his eyes I'd never seen before. He ran a finger down my cheek.

"Been wanting to do that for a long time," he said, smiling crookedly.

I smiled.

"We should go," he said, glancing at the graying skies. Night was coming on. I nodded, feeling disoriented.

"Yeah," I sucked in a breath, trying to get rid of the scratchiness in my voice. Ryan took my hand in his and led me back to the shore. I gripped his hand tightly, trying to keep my grip on reality. He was the only thing that felt real in that instant, the only thing I could hold onto.

We went back to his truck and he gave me a towel that he had in his backseat. My body was trembling from the sudden cold and it was hard to keep full control of my hands but I toweled off as well as I could and then pulled my dress over my shivering body. Ryan noticed the goosebumps on my arms and pulled a jacket from his car.

"Here," he said, putting it around me. I stood still while he zipped it up and then he paused, his fingers stilling on the zipper.

"You're so beautiful," he said in a husky voice. I searched his blue eyes wonderingly. I expected him to kiss me again by the expression on his face, but instead, he wrapped his arms around me and buried his face in my shoulder.

For some reason, this felt just as intimate as the kiss had. He didn't seem to want anything more than just to hold me... he couldn't know that that was all I wanted too. Wrapping my arms around his back, I pressed my face into his neck, and sighed.