Chapter Thirty-Two
Emerson
I watched Luke as he walked around my room, water dripping from his skin. His hair had droplets of water that were catching the first rays of sun, and it almost looked like he had tiny diamonds in his hair. He smiled when he caught me watching him.
“You like what you see?” He wiggled his eyebrows at me in a playful manner.
“Ehhh... it’s okay.” I shrugged. He narrowed his eyes at me then pounced on the bed, shaking his wet hair in my face. When the cold water hit, I tried to pull the sheet up and over me, but his knees held it in place.
“Not so fast.” He covered my body with his. His hands enclosed my face, and his eyes grew melty.
He lowered his mouth to mine but didn't kiss me. He said softly against my lips, “If I had known then what I know now, I would have worked a lot harder to have you.”
“You mean my stunning good looks didn't draw you in on day one?” I rolled my eyes, and he grew serious.
“There is not a part of you that isn't amazing, even your tendency to yell at me.” I pressed my lips to the corner of his mouth. I kept my eyes open and watched his pupils dilate. He moved over me, and I adjusted, searching for the right pressure. He settled between my thighs, and I pushed up against him as he kissed my jawline before covering my mouth. His tongue swept inside, and the kiss deepened.
He pulled away from me and softly said, “We can't.”
I pulled the back of his neck. “Can’t never could,” I grinned at him. “I want you inside of me.”
The words were soft, and my voice sounded foreign so thick with arousal. He pushed up, shoved his boxer briefs over his hips, and laid back down between my thighs. His fingers traveled down and dipped inside, spreading me open. I felt his tip against my wetness, and I arched my hips to encourage him. He slowly started to push inside of me. I pushed back trying to get him deeper, but he was taking his time. He lowered himself down on top of me, his weight resting on his forearms. He dropped his mouth toward mine, but our lips simply touched, and our eyes met. He watched me, his eyes focusing from one of my eyes to the other. As he moved his hips, he never looked away from me, our lips never disconnecting. Each stroke was a promise, each movement solidifying our relationship. It wasn’t just sex. It was so much more than that. I had never experienced anything like it. I had never felt the intimacy that we shared at that moment with anyone else.
He said softly against my lips, “I think I might love you.” I pushed my lips up and against his, but he pulled back and just kept staring into my eyes. I felt the familiar burning deep in my belly and tried my best to find the oncoming orgasm, but Luke held steady. As the building intensified, I felt him waver in his movements, each one becoming a little more forceful. I clamped around him, and the world spun. I pulled him against me, our lips mashed together, and I fell down the rabbit hole. I heard him grunt, and then my name floated across his lips as he buried himself deeper inside of me. I felt him swell with each thrust forward. When he released, my body clamped down around him, he jerked and cursed, then slowly slide out of me. I felt every inch as he slid out and then a wetness followed. He laid back over me and kissed me deeply, forcing my head back into the pillow.
***
I woke a couple hours later to find Luke gone. As I walked to the bathroom to shower, I looked out the window to find him and Ryan working on his springboard. They would be leaving in a couple days for the next competition. I found my phone and called Rachel. With everything that had been happening, I hadn't had a chance to call her and let her know how things had progressed.
“Morning, sunshine.” I could almost hear her smiling through the phone.
“Good morning,” I replied.
“Well, don't you sound chipper this morning? Oh my goodness. You finally had sex with him!” She yelled through the phone. “Charlie, she had sex with the lumberjack.” I heard her yell through the phone. “You owe me a massage and thirty minutes of oral!”
I busted out laughing. “You guys had a bet on when I’d get laid?”
“Not so much when, but with who. My money was on the lumberjack. Now, tell me everything.”
The phone went silent as I tried to find the words. “I don't know what to tell you.”
“Please. Spill it girl.” She laughed.
“It was... amazing.”
“And,” she prompted.
“I don't know. It was different than any other time I've had sex.” I smiled, thinking about this morning.
“Which was what, with one other guy?”
“There have been two,” I protested. “Okay, so I don't have a lot of experience, but that doesn't mean I don't know great sex when I have it.”
“Elaborate.”
“It's just different. When I had sex before, it was more a means to an end, with Luke it's more of a means to a beginning. I don't know how to explain it. I just want to be connected to him all the time. When he kisses me even a simple peck, I want him so much it hurts.”
“You got it bad, girl.”
“I think I might,” I sighed. I knew this would happen. I knew I would fall hard and fast for him and then it would end up being a disaster.
“That's how it is with Charlie. I know I tried to explain it to you, but until you’ve been there, you don't understand.”
“You're right, I didn't.”
“So give me all the gory details.” I heard her clapping through the phone. I went on to tell her everything, and she tisked at me when I told her that we had sex this morning without protection. I was on the pill, so I wasn't worried, but to be connected to him like that was sex on a whole other level. She oohed and awed. I told her about everything.
“I may or may not be a little jealous of the orgasm count.”
I heard Charlie say something in the background.
“Yeah?” She giggled, and I knew I’d lost her.
“I'll talk to you later, Charlie just promised me a few to make up for my jealousy. Love you.” And then she was gone.
***
I worked on my research for the better part of the afternoon, taking the samples, putting them in the appropriate envelopes, and gathering everything I needed so I could send it all off Thursday in Portland. I changed my plans so that I would be in Portland while Chris would be gone from the office as well. Maybe I did it on purpose, and maybe I was adjusting my life to suit Luke’s a little more, but I wasn't sorry for it. And, I actually felt bad for giving Rachel such a hard time when she did the same things. As the month went on, I felt like I saw less and less of Luke, but we were both super busy. I had wanted to try and make his final competition of the year, but with everything going on at work, it just hadn't happened. He wasn't upset but seemed more annoyed that work was getting in the way of us. I was trying so hard to make time for everyone, but I couldn't, and it was starting to show.