Em
Jake takes me back to his place. Neither of us talks in the car on the way there, but the atmosphere is so electric in the car, I think we’re both scared to move or say anything in case the air ignites. Jake doesn’t take his eyes off the road except to glance over at me once or twice, and the fire gleaming in his eyes makes my pulse leap. A warmth spreads through me at the thought of what’s coming, an anticipation like nothing I’ve ever experienced.
We pull into his driveway and climb out of the car. It’s quiet except for an owl hooting. The moon is full, and we can see the pinpricks of stars in the patches of dark sky between the treetops. Jake takes my hand and leads me in silence up the stairs to his apartment.
He fumbles with the key, and I wonder if he’s nervous, which makes me feel slightly better because I am too, but not as much as I am excited. I never once felt excited about sleeping with Rob; in fact, I used to try to put him off as much as possible. I didn’t even like him seeing me naked, but the way Jake looks at me makes it impossible to feel anything other than beautiful.
Jake shuts the door behind us and there’s an awkward pause where we both just stand there. He hustles past me. “You want something to eat? Drink?” he asks.
I shake my head. There’s only one thing I want. And it’s standing right in front of me.
“Shower?” he asks.
I pause and then nod. I could use a shower after the skating, and it’s cold inside. As if reading my mind, Jake kneels down by the wood-burning stove in the living room and strikes a match to get it going.
As soon as it starts to blaze, he gets up and walks toward me, taking me by the hand and leading me into the bathroom. He turns the shower taps on and then tugs me by the hand toward him. I let him. One thing I love about Jake is how safe I feel with him.
He pulls my sweater over my head and tosses it to the floor, then slowly unbuttons my jeans. I step back to pull them down as he watches. His gaze travels the length of my legs and then he pulls his own T-shirt off in one quick move. I can’t help myself. I move toward him and rest my hands against his chest, stroking my palms over his shoulders and down until they rest over his heart. I can feel it pounding.
His arms loop around my waist and he pulls me closer, his hands sliding up my spine to undo my bra. He discards it with a trace of impatience and pulls me closer, his mouth hot—tracing across my skin, making me shiver. He draws me even closer against him so we’re skin to skin, and an ache starts to build inside me until I’m as impatient as him.
I tear at his jeans and he takes over undoing his fly as I step out of my underwear. The next thing I know, Jake’s stepping me backward and into the shower. Hot water drenches me, and I gasp as Jake presses me against the cold tile behind. He’s against me, his hands stroking up my sides even as I pull him closer, raking my fingers through his hair, desperate to feel every inch of him against my body.
His mouth is on mine, his hands holding my arms above my head as he keeps kissing me until I’m breathless. Then he drops to his knees. I tilt my head, letting the water shower over my face, as Jake expertly finds the place that makes me moan.
He doesn’t make me come, not yet, but I get close. I pull him back so we’re face-to-face. “I want you inside me,” I tell him, breathless. “Now.”
He grins, water cascading down his body, and I let my own gaze fall the length of him, biting my lip in anticipation. He takes my hand and we climb out of the shower. I stumble on shaking legs and he catches me and wraps me in a towel, drying me off before he takes a towel himself and wraps it around his waist.
He takes me outside into the living room, where the fire has now warmed the room up enough that when Jake tugs my towel open, I don’t even shiver. Or maybe it’s his look that warms me. Either way, I stand there naked as Jake continues to stare at me.
“You are so beautiful,” he murmurs, and a lump catches in my throat. He’s the first person who has ever told me that. “You have no idea,” he says, shaking his head as though marveling at a miracle.
“So are you,” I say, running my hands over his skin, watching it contract in a long shiver. I strip his towel from his waist, and he smiles at me as I throw it to the ground, but the smile disappears when I push him backward hard and he lands on the sofa. He narrows his eyes at me, but I straddle him before he can protest. “I want you to know something,” I tell him as I lean down and kiss him on the lips. “I love you. And you’re the only person I’ve ever said that to.”
He catches my hands in one of his and forces me to look at him. His other hand curls around my neck. “Same,” he whispers.
“And”—I smile, cheeks burning—“you’re the only person who’s ever made me come.”
He frowns at me as he works out what that means. “Well, then you’ve got some catching up to do,” he says, and he rolls me over onto my back and starts kissing me all over.
It’s not until I’m aching so badly for him that I’m almost in tears that Jake tosses away the condom wrapper and finally pushes inside me. He rests on his forearms and he’s as gentle as can be, but I let out a cry anyway. He stops, but I urge him on, wrapping my legs around him to pull him in deeper. He sighs against me and I can feel every muscle in his body taut as a wire, as though it’s taking a monumental effort for him to hold back.
“More,” I whisper, urging him not to hold anything back. I want him every bit as much as I can feel he wants me.
He hesitates, but when I urge him again, he moves inside me even faster, his fingers still touching me, stroking me until I think I’m going to lose total control. My fingers bite into his waist, drawing him into me, and I arch up to meet him, desperate to feel all of him. I had no idea it could ever be like this, that it could ever be this good. It’s out-of-this-world unbelievable.
“Are you close?” Jake whispers in my ear.
I nod, feeling myself about to lose control. Jake strokes me with his hand as he drives into me even harder. I can feel his whole body starting to tremble. I bite my lip and suddenly I’m coming—a long wave of pleasure that rides through my body so hard that I cry out loudly. Jake’s waited and as soon as he feels it, he comes too, collapsing down on top of me, breathing hard, his face buried in my hair.