AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Bryce stands in front of me and whispers warily, “I left because of you, but not for the reasons you think.”
He reaches out and gently cradles my cheek with one hand. It’s so warm and familiar, I can’t resist. Instead of stepping back, I tilt my head to nuzzle against his palm.
I can’t begin to explain what this night is doing to me. It’s taking me back and moving me forward.
Logically, my mind is assessing the new information I’m learning. But my body has already decided for itself. Irrationally, my body does what it always did around Bryce. Seeks him out. Surrenders to him. Bryce touching me is more than soothing tenderness. It’s like an unveiling of what I had tucked away long ago. Forcing me to face things I wanted to forget. His touch is as loud as the words I’ve always needed to hear. It signals a connection I stopped thinking was possible.
Relief percolates to the surface of my skin, past my armor of false indifference. Answers to questions I’ve suppressed for years are within reach. And maybe, I cautiously believe, forgiveness is still possible. For both of us.
“In Columbus, you were everywhere and nowhere,” he continues while running a thumb over my wet cheek. Tears sprung up without my knowledge.
“Nothing prepared me for how everything reminded me of you. And although you tried to reach out and comfort me, there was too much shame. I needed to be where no one knew me, where I could build myself from scratch without a constant reminder of what I’d lost.”
He swallows with some difficulty. When Bryce catches my tears with both hands cradling my face, I sway closer.
“I’m sorry I wasn’t strong enough then, Ana. I’m so sorry for how much I hurt you. If I could turn back time, I’d swallow my pride and tell you what you meant to me. Although I didn’t let you near me physically, you were always with me. It was the drive to be the man you deserve that pulled me out of the darkness.”
We stare at each other, his confession washing over us like a balm for wounds covered and forgotten.
Time collapses. The grip of the past and the uncertainty of the future collide. Most crucially, the present moment demands to be reckoned with.
It happens in an instant. Bryce and I reach for each other and crush our bodies together, grabbing bare shoulders and seeking with hot, hungry lips.
Without restraint, we kiss. He slides his hands around me, spanning my back and molding my softness to his unyielding hardness. The ridge of his arousal presses against my stomach, urging me to rub against it. Our mouths join in a frenzy, tongues sweeping and lips devouring. When he sucks my tongue I feel an achy pull at my center. My grip is greedy, wanting more of his smooth neck and soft hair. I move my hands to roam broad shoulders, pulling myself higher.
He grabs my ass and places me on the table. My legs clamp around Bryce’s hips. A rumble of approval escapes his mouth and I feel the vibration go through me. The pressure of his cock grinding against my apex turns me into putty. Fingers crawl under the line of my sleep shorts, closer and closer to my weeping center.
“Gonna let me touch you there, Ana?”
“Bryce. God, y-yes. Yes,” I stutter. The kiss is unleashing more than physical desire. Succumbing to our sexual tension isn’t a matter of giving in to lust.
It’s an admission of something that’s getting harder and harder to deny: I want to be lost in Bryce. His aroma, his strength, his lust—my entire being transformed into his instrument of pleasure.
A hand slides between my shoulder blades and grabs my nape. The slickness between my thighs makes me squirm. He tugs my hair, tipping my head back and making me moan for more.
“Need to know how wet you are, Ana.”
“Yes. Touch me, Bryce. Please.”
His jaw flexes before he crashes our mouths again. It’s a bruising kiss that I meet with my own demanding hunger. With each inhale, my lungs fill with his earthy, herbal goodness. I devour his plump lips and swallow his groans as if I’ve been starved for days.
Bryce’s hand lowers to cup an aching breast and thrum a puckered nipple. “Your skin is silk and your body… your body, Ana. It’s made to drive me crazy.”
The hand on my breast moves to the front and I’m acutely aware of the softness of my belly. “I’m not the same,” I mumble. “I’m not a skinny teenager anymore.”
He stops and pulls back to look at me. “No, you’re not. When I first met you, over a dozen years ago, you left me speechless. Today? Today, you take my breath away. You have the body of the most beautiful woman who’s ever walked the earth, Ana.”
Before I can respond to his hyperbole, he falls on his knees so his face is lined up with my stomach.
“What are you doing?” I ask, surprised and confused.
“I’m begging,” he says, placing gentle kisses along my stomach and licking the line of skin between my shorts and lifted tank top. “Been dreaming of your kiss, your skin, your body. I’m begging you to let me touch you.”
“Then why are you down there?” My screech pierces the air.
“I want to touch you with my tongue.”
“Bryce!” My legs try to squeeze closed, but his palms are firm at the back of my knees, keeping me open while he runs hot kisses along the inside of my thighs.
