Chapter Twenty-Seven
Aveline
RICKY CLOSED THE bedroom door without releasing me from his arms. My heart galloped and raced in my chest. I could hardly believe this was happening. That this man, this gorgeous, tough, smart, hardworking man would be the first I would ever touch was too much to process.
Ricky looked down at me, his brown eyes gentle and sweet. “You say the word at any point and we stop. You’re in charge here.”
“I know that. I’ve never felt safer.” Leaning forward, I kissed him, timidly at first, increasing with more power and desire.
Ricky groaned, setting me on my feet in front of him. His body was tense, his hands clenched in fists and his breathing hard and fast.
Slowly and tentatively, I reached for the hemline on his shirt and pulled it as high as I could reach. He took over, yanking it over his head. I moved behind him, gently slipping off his hair tie, watching as his waves of thick black hair spread across his back like a curtain.
Moving around to his front, his eyes reflected hunger. Feeling braver and more confident than ever, I pulled his belt off. I slid the button of his jeans out of its hole and released the zipper.
Ricky’s breath sounded choppy and I looked up for confirmation before progressing. “Keep going. You’re doing great.” His words were kind, but his tone was harsh and clipped.
Guiding him to the bed, I sat him down and moved onto my knees. I unlaced his boots and pulled them off, quickly following with his socks. I pulled him back to standing and pushed his jeans down to the floor. He stepped out of them and was left wearing only his tented boxer briefs.
My fingers twitched, the need to pull them down and see the mystery inside drawing me to him like a magnet to metal. But instead of taking off this last layer, I reached down and pulled off my dress. Reaching behind me, I freed my hair from its knot and removed my glasses, setting them on the nightstand. As I stood before Ricky in my bra, panties, and heels, I felt as exposed and as sexy as I ever had.
“Fuckin’ hell. You have the finest body I’ve ever seen.” Ricky’s hands skimmed down the sides of my body, appreciating every curve.
“Funny,”—I kissed his chest—“I was thinking the same about you.”
Ricky lifted my chin, kissing me deeply and thoroughly. When he pulled away his lips were red and puffy. His hands found the clasp of my bra and it was pulled away instantly. His hands and mouth were on my breasts before I registered what was happening.
Holy crap. The warmth. The electric heat. The pure intimacy he introduced me to. Like a long-lost lover, I welcomed him closer. Needing no more words, but so much more touch.
“That feels amazing.” I encouraged him. He lifted me up to his lap and I wrapped my legs around his waist. We were face to face and when I pressed against him, my nipples rubbed against his and the heat between my legs raged.
“Your skin, mariposa. It’s like velvet,” Ricky rasped in my ear, seeming to enjoy the wonder of our bare skin touching as much as I did.
“Touch me more.” I pled, arching away so that his mouth could suck on the other neglected nipple.
And he did, sucking and biting until I squirmed in his arms. He flipped me onto my back. Moving down the bed, he slipped off my heels and placed open mouth kisses from the tops of my feet to the top of my panties.
“Oh,” I moaned. The anticipation ratcheted higher and higher.
He pulled the black lace down and I was exposed to him. His fingers parted me, and he groaned when he must have felt the moisture. His eyes shot up to mine. “You want me?” he asked, voice cracking.
“More than I’ve ever wanted anything,” I answered with unwavering determination.
He dragged his finger through my wetness and I gasped. He’d only touched me like this and I was ready, begging for more. He slid off the bed, kneeling on the floor, and pulled me down closer to him, his hands on my ankles. Spreading me wider, I should have been embarrassed, but I wasn’t.
I was ready.
Propped up on my elbows, forearms resting behind me on the bed, I watched the sexiest man I’d ever met, place his mouth… right… there. His tongue touched me, moving and circling in rhythm with his fingers. The pressure built. Like I was climbing a mountain, almost to the peak. I shook, sweat covering my skin. I couldn’t tear my eyes from him, and he kept his on me.
And I was gone. His mariposa, wings stretched, gliding, flying through the air. I left my body, soaring to the sun, the sensation so glorious, tears pricked my eyes. Suddenly, I was in his arms as he held me and kissed me. The taste of me was light on his lips and I drank it in, loving every second of intimacy this experience brought to us.
He kissed the corners of my eyes, tasting my tears, and I laughed, never having felt more cherished in my life.
“I dreamt of this,” I told him. His eyes flared, but he stayed quiet. “In my bed, I would touch myself, and think of you with your hair free, lying next to me. I would touch you.” I followed my words with actions, pulling his boxers down. He had rolled to his back, fully erect, large and thick and something I had only ever imagined. I took him in my hand, so big that one couldn’t span the width. I used both, holding him tightly and running my hands up and down.
“Keep going, mariposa. Tell me what you thought of.” His voice was as rough as I had ever heard it and I loved every second of it.
I looked up into his eyes and smiled. “I pictured touching you, stroking you, bringing you some of the pleasure you deserve.” I increased the speed and pressure as I stroked, and Ricky shuddered, his mouth falling open with a gasp.
“And while I touched myself and got closer and closer to coming,” I told him, his eyes glued to mine. “I’d imagine taking you in my mouth.”
Moving down the bed, I slid his hot, silky skin into my mouth, groaning at the feel of him. Reality was much better than my imagination. My groan must have felt good because Ricky jolted, and I heard him call to God in Spanish.
I couldn’t take him all the way in, my mouth was too small. But I licked and sucked and used my hands and gave all I had to this man who I had come to adore.
“Aveline, Aveline,” Ricky’s voice shook with warning, but I ignored him, taking all that he had to give. Who knew how long I would have the treasure of this glorious man in my life?
I wasn’t wasting a single second.
* * *
MORNING SUNSHINE STREAMED in through the windows, warming the skin on my face. I reached over and felt nothing but mattress and sheets. No Ricky.
I sat up, grabbing my glasses from the nightstand and hastily putting them on. Even with my enhanced vision, he wasn’t anywhere to be seen. He wasn’t here, and neither were his clothes. Closing my eyes, I took a few deep breaths.
You knew this was a possibility, Aveline. He never made any promises to stick around the next day.
Last night had been… perfection. After we recovered, I’d brought up the soufflé I’d baked, and we ate it in bed. Ricky laughed, he actually laughed, telling me stories about his sisters and his best friends.
I had wanted to tell him about my parents being deaf. It was on the tip of my tongue to share that last part of my life with him, but our mood was jovial and light. I relished in it, picturing weeks, months, years, laughing with and loving this man.
To find him gone without a word this morning… that hurt. Deeply.
Instead of wallowing in my pity party, I decided to feed Tobias and begin to clean my disaster of a kitchen. I slid on my robe, knotting the side tightly, and headed downstairs.
Tobias trotted out to greet me, licking my hand as I entered the… what the hell?
The kitchen was clean. Spotless, with gleaming countertops and freshly washed pots and pans. Ricky stood by the sink, towel in hand, drying the last of the pots. His hair was down, shirt untucked, and feet bare. He was the most delicious sight I had ever laid my eyes on.
“Mornin’ mariposa. Can I pour you some coffee?” His grin was sultry, and my feet couldn’t move fast enough to him.
Resting my hands on his chest, I looked up into his eyes. “I thought you left. When I woke up this morning and you were gone, I thought…” My voice trailed off and I watched Ricky’s eyes narrow.
“I wouldn’t have done that to you. Not after last night. I would have woken you up to say goodbye.” His voice sounded hurt, like my words injured him.
I rose up on my tiptoes, pressing my lips to his throat, the unshaved skin prickly. “I know, I panicked. I’m sorry.” Motioning with my hand to the kitchen, I laughed. “And you were doing all this? You didn’t need to worry about cleaning. I would have taken care of it.”
Ricky kissed me gently, his lips tasting like coffee and cream. “I know. But I wanted to thank you. You spoiled me last night and I don’t get a whole lot of that in my life.”
My cheek pressed against his heart, the thudding beats relaxing my body. “Message received. And plan on being spoiled a lot more. I l-love doing nice things for you.” I stammered on the word love. What wanted to come out of my mouth was that I loved him. I felt like I could, like I did, already. But that was some crazy post-sleepover high, right? I couldn’t already be as head over heels in love with Ricky as my heart was telling me, right?
Ricky kissed the top of my head and pulled away to pour me a cup of coffee. He held up the bottle of hazelnut creamer and I nodded. Wrapping both of my hands around the warm mug, I sipped, thinking that the sight of Ricky in my kitchen, sharing coffee each morning was something I could get used to.
We drank for a few minutes, watching each other, and the air around us buzzing with some sort of electricity.
I took him in, all of him. And decided.
Placing my coffee cup down on the counter, I reached for his and placed it next to mine. Taking his hand in mine, I gently tugged him back up the stairs. This needed to happen in my bed, in my bedroom where I had dreamt of this moment. Standing inside the room, I shut my door. We were home alone, but I was too nervous to take any chances.
“I don’t want you to leave. This is all too perfect. It’s… right.” I blew out a breath and straightened my glasses. “I want you to be my first. Right now. I want—no, no that’s not right. I need. I need it to be with you.”
Ricky stared at me, mouth agape, and then he paced, looking like a caged animal, a sexy beast that was close to losing all control.
“This is big. Huge. I don’t deserve this.” Ricky forced out, his face twisted with what I hoped was indecision and not repulsion.
I spoke slowly, enunciating each word so that he would know my full understanding and intention. “But I deserve you.”
That did it.
We crashed into each other. Open mouths, dueling tongues, hands everywhere. We pulled off clothes, sucking on earlobes and necks along the way.
Bringing his mouth to my nipple he sucked, alternating until I cried out in overwhelming pleasure.
Needing some control, I pulled off his boxers, humming in approval when I felt his hardness between my legs.
Ricky stopped sucking on my breasts, his mouth slightly parted as he fixated on the same sight as me, his long, hard length between my legs, where it belonged.
“You sure, mariposa? We can stop right now.” Ricky’s sweet words melted me, even as the volcanic heat in his eyes loosened the parts of me that still rattled with nerves.
In response, I slid my panties off, allowing his hardness to nestle almost exactly where I needed him. Our eyes met, and we moaned in unison.
In an instant, my back hit the bed and Ricky was between my legs. His mouth licked and sucked until I called out for him to stop and never stop, and to keep the euphoria I felt forever in my body.
Blinking my eyes and attempting to come back to earth, Ricky had left the bed and walked back, rolling on a condom. And then he was perched over me, stroking my face and kissing my lips.
“This will hurt at first, but I’ll go slow and make it good for you. You have my promise.” Ricky’s eyes searched mine, moving back and forth until he seemed to accept the serenity in my own. I nodded, consenting to what we both wanted. He slid in slowly, kissing me and swallowing my cries until he was fully inside me.
The pain pinched and burned but was quickly gone, replaced by the most intense feeling of fullness I had known. Steadying my breathing, I gazed into the eyes of the man I was starting to love. “I trust you. You’re the best man I know and I’m glad I get to experience this with you.”
Ricky stilled, his eyes squeezing shut for a long minute. When he opened them, they blazed with intensity. He didn’t speak, but he moved inside me rhythmically, guiding our bodies in escalating pleasure until we broke, falling apart in each other’s arms.
We were quiet for a long while after that. I sprawled across Ricky’s chest while he played with my hair and ran his fingers up and down my back.
I had never felt this connected to another person. Joy filled me, my heart wanting to grow arms and burst out of my chest, latching onto the person next to me who made it beat harder and stronger. My body like an electrical wire, zinging with energy and heat. I was amped up, and yet sated. Emotional and also peaceful. Most of all, happy. The realization made me grin and I pressed my face into Ricky’s chest, muffling my elation before I elevated my dork status too soon after mind-bogglingly fantastic sex.
When he finally spoke, his voice was smooth, but filled with emotion. “My best friend, Dean, is getting married next weekend. Will you come with me? As my date?”
My heart jumped into my throat. “All your guys will be there? Your closest friends?” I asked, knowing the answer, but needing to hear it nonetheless.
“My very best friends in the world will be there. And I want them to meet my girl.”
His girl. Ricky’s girl.
There were moments in life so impactful you would know that every millisecond would etch onto your soul.
This was mine. I was his.
And he was unequivocally mine.
* * *
A FEW HOURS later he had to go.
“I’m working at the shop the rest of the day. Ed closes next week, and I’ve gotta go on some job interviews the next few days.” Ricky told me, slipping on his leather jacket.
“The wedding’s Saturday, rehearsal’s Friday, and bachelor party is on Thursday. Between tux fittings and job searches, I probably won’t see you next week.” He placed his hands on my shoulders. “Know that I want to, okay? And I’ll make it up to you.”
I lifted to my tiptoes, wrapping my arms around his neck. “I understand. I’ll get a dress for the wedding and I’ll be working all next week too at my new job. We’ll see each other in class.” I tilted my head up and he leaned his down to meet me. We kissed a long, lingering, wistful goodbye.
Ricky walked out the front door and I watched him get on his motorcycle and start the engine. He took off, the sound of his engine booming like thunder across a stormy sky.
He hadn’t left this morning. We made love for the first time. He had explained his plans for the week. He said goodbye to me with one hell of a kiss.
All signs were pointing toward me being wrong. Maybe Ricky, the big, strong, tough, formerly angry, sex-God, would take a chance on a relationship with the shy, awkward, slight of a girl with glasses.
Perhaps sometimes, the light of hope was strong enough to keep fear locked away in the dark.
Only leaving room for one thing.
Love.