“It was bigger than most. I heard he was in the UFC,” I mumble.
“Shh.” She cuts me off, lifting up on her toes and pressing her lips to mine.
One touch of her mouth strips away the rest of my reservations. My hands slide up her shoulders and neck, into her hair as I shift her head to the side so I can kiss her deeper. Her hands gather up the bottom of my sweatshirt and T-shirt underneath, and I lift my arms to help her pull them up and over my head. She trails her fingertips down my bare chest, a light scratch that she carries down to the button of my jeans. She undoes it easily and drags the zipper down just as I’ve backed her up to the edge of her bed, all fluffy and pink with pillows and blankets everywhere. She falls into the softness on her back while I push my jeans down my hips and awkwardly kick them off while trying to do the same thing with my shoes.
“Damn it!” I say as her head falls back in laughter. I pull one leg up at a time to untangle my mess then move to crawl my way above her as she scoots back enough to make room for both of us.
She lies back, caged between my arms as I nip at her neck and kiss my way down to the center of her chest, where the cotton hides her breasts. Arching her back with each kiss I leave behind, she drives me to keep going until my mouth breathes against her belly button and my thumbs flirt with the lace trim of her panties.
“I want you, Jonah,” she says.
My eyes shut and my hard-on flexes. I have no idea what I’m doing.
“Are you sure?” I ask, glancing up at her, male hormones screaming at me to shut up.
She bites her lip and nods.
I keep my eyes on her and let my fingertips dive under the lace of her underwear, slowly pulling them down the curve of her hips as she lifts herself from the bed. Every new thing revealed ratchets my pulse to the point I think I might pass out. She’s completely naked on her bottom half as I sit back on my knees and brace myself for what comes next.
“I have a . . . in my wallet. I mean, just so I’m always prepared. Not that it’s old. It’s new, I mean. Not that I bought it today.”
Her teeth clamp down on her bottom lip as her laughing smile stretches the width of her face.
“Get the condom, Jonah,” she finally says.
I freeze for a beat and hold her stare, partly to make sure this is real, and also to help myself slow down.
“Right.” I nod. I rush to my abandoned pants and dig out my wallet and the condom, tearing the packet open with my teeth while Eleanor sits up and pulls off her sports bra. I step out of my boxers and slip the condom on as she lies back again and raises her knees, my eyes glued to her exposed breasts.
I slide up between her legs as they fall open to make room for me, and hold myself above her to stare into her wide-open, pools-of-green eyes. Her fingers stroke along my swollen cheekbone then move up the side of my face, into my hair. I lower myself enough to dust her lips with a timid kiss.
“I’ve never . . .” I close my lips tight and pull in my brow, a little embarrassed to be admitting this.
“It’s okay. Me, neither,” she says.
I nod, shaking my head in tiny, staccato, scared-as-hell movements.
“I trust you, Jonah. I want to do this with you,” she says.
“Me, too,” I say, not giving a damn how weak it might make me seem. Nobody matters right now besides me and Eleanor. This is about us.
“Are you ready?” I ask, shifting to align myself with her.
She nods and then shuts her eyes as I push inside her a little. Her mouth falls open with a gasp, and her face looks pained. I shift back, but she clutches my sides.
“No, don’t stop. I’m okay. I’m okay,” she says, eyes opening to meet mine.
I study them intently as I move back into her, watching for any sign that this needs to stop—that I need to stop. I ease into her further as she exhales, and when I don’t think I can go any farther, I pull back. The sensation of sliding in and out of her once is enough to knock my breath out completely.
I pause before rocking my hips again, and this time Eleanor moves with me, her fingers clawing along my back to hold me close. I collapse against her, holding our bodies close while her mouth searches for mine, her teeth leaving small marks up the length of my neck until she grabs hold of my lip with her mouth.
With every push into her, she exhales against my mouth, her pants turning to tiny cries that begin to exalt pleasure, building my confidence until I move in and out of her at a faster pace. The rush comes fast, and I think it’s too soon, but Eleanor’s thighs squeeze at my sides, her body bucking up to meet mine with each pulse until her head falls back, exposing the nape of her neck as she lets out a stuttered cry. I muffle my own moan against her bare neck, sucking enough to leave a tiny pink mark in my wake.
I roll us to our side after we finish, my body exhausted and hers covered in a slight sheen of sweat. Rain pelts against her window, and all is right in the world.
I should have gotten in a fight a long time ago.
Twenty
This is definitely a record number of football games for me. I wouldn’t have missed tonight’s game for the world, though. Actually, I couldn’t give a
