Page 51 of What I Like About You

It wasn’t the first time he’d gotten this reaction, but it was the first time that it had ever made him feel something other than, well…cocky. Pun intended.

“You say that like it’s a bad thing,” he smirked, crawling back onto the bed. He hovered over her, planting light kisses along her jawline. He could feel the tension with each touch of his lips, and he wanted to kiss it away. Looking deep into her eyes, he knew exactly what her concern was. The worry was written all over her face. But he also knew that she was his girl, and there wasn’t anything he wouldn’t do for her.

“Don’t worry, beautiful, it’ll fit,” he said, trying to sound reassuring.

“How’d you…?”

“Because I know you, Zara. Sex might be new to us, but intimacy isn’t. This might be a new version of us, but we’re still us,” he answered her, giving her a long, slow kiss. He felt her relax into the kiss, letting out a soft sigh. “I meant what I said the other night—you’re in charge. If you want to stop, we will. I’ve waited this long for you, and I’d wait forever if that’s what you needed.”

The shuddering breath she let out told him that she was still with him. That his words had given her the reassurance she needed. She nodded slowly, nibbling lightly on the left side of her bottom lip. The sight of her, naked underneath him, with her lip between her teeth, made him hard all over again. She was so fucking sexy.

Dalton reached over to the nightstand drawer and grabbed a condom. Ripping it open with his teeth, he positioned it at the tip of his cock, ready to sheath himself when Zara grabbed his wrist, stopping him. He looked up at her, expecting to see hesitancy or something that told him she’d changed her mind. But instead what he saw was pure, primal desire. She was craving the same physical connection he was, and damn if it wasn’t a major turn-on.

“Can I?” she asked simply.

“Abso-fucking-lutely,” he replied, handing her the condom.

Zara grabbed it from him, sitting up slightly so she could reach him better. She took his dick in her hand, gripping it hard. The feel of her flesh wrapped around him felt amazing. If this was how her hand felt, he could only imagine how out of this world her mouth and pussy would feel. Squeezing slightly, she started to stroke his length slowly. Dalton let out a low growl as she played with the head, swirling her thumb around it. If she continued that small motion, he was going to blow it long before he got inside her.

“I’ve never seen one this pretty,” she commented, looking up at him through her lashes.

“He’s rather fond of you too,” Dalton joked. “So much so, if you don’t put that rubber on me, you’re gonna find out just how much.”

She giggled but heeded his warning, rolling the condom down his hard length. She leaned back again, her beautiful, lush body on full display. As he drank it in, a wave of nerves washed over him. He was really going to do this. After all these years, he was finally going to make Zara Wellington his. He hadn’t realized until this moment just how much he wanted this, both physically and emotionally. This was way more than just sex, he just didn’t know quite what it was.

Positioning himself at her entrance, he slowly slid inside of her. The feel of her muscles contracting around him as he pushed forward was incredible. Zara’s sharp intake of breath made him stop for a moment, letting her adjust to his size. When she wiggled her hips slightly, he withdrew, only to immediately slide back in. Staring into her eyes, he soon found a slow, easy rhythm. He didn’t dare look away from her—there was too much emotion in her returned gaze. He could feel all the unsaid words and feelings in each movement of their coming together and knew that this was more than just sex for her too. They’d waited a long time and had a hell of an uphill battle, but fuck if it wasn’t worth it for everything he was feeling right now.

He gave her a long, slow kiss, trying to express everything he was feeling. Knowing full well it would come up short, since everything about this was bigger than he could express with just a kiss. It was as if worlds were colliding, and they were just along for the ride.

Dalton felt his balls begin to tighten with the start of his orgasm. But he couldn’t come just yet, not before Zara did again. He wanted this to be perfect for her, and there was no way it could be until that happened. Lowering his head down to her breast, he took one of her nipples in his mouth, sucking on the taut peak as he reached in between them, finding her clit with his thumb. He circled the slick little nub, hoping to return her to the frenzy she’d been in thanks to his mouth not all that long ago.

“Shit!” she gasped, letting him know his plan was working. Picking up the pace of his thrusts slightly, he was pleasantly surprised to feel Zara react in kind, meeting his movements with thrusts of her own.

“Right there, don’t…stop…” she whimpered, slamming her eyes shut.

Letting go of her nipple with a pop, he looked down at her and commanded, “Come for me, baby.”

“Uh-huh, yeah…oh, oh…” she gasped. Dalton gave her clit a light little pinch and that was all it took to push her over the edge. “Ahhhhh!”

Arching her back, rising slightly off the mattress, Dalton could feel her pussy spasm around his cock, and it was easily the most glorious thing he’d ever felt. Pumping into her harder, he finally felt the lightning bolt of an orgasm race through him. His mind momentarily went blank and his limbs numb as he felt the pure ecstasy wash over him. He couldn’t remember ever coming that hard. Maybe he hadn’t.

Collapsing onto Zara, he let out one last groan. Their bodies were slick with sweat and radiating all sorts of heat, but he didn’t care. The feel of her against him was still magical. Maybe even more so after what they’d just experienced together. He waited a moment to catch his breath before rolling off of her and heading into the bathroom to dispose of the condom. Grabbing a washcloth, he ran it under some warm water before returning to the bed, where he found her in the exact same spot he’d left her, with a gigantic smile on her face.

“Is that what I’ve been missing?” she asked, laughing softly.

“Depends on if you've only been sleeping with uninterested parties,” he joked, running the warm cloth over her, making sure to get everywhere. As he kissed her gently, his heart gave a squeeze. He’d never actually helped a partner clean up after sex, since usually they’d barely gotten undressed in the first place, but he liked the connection it made him feel with Zara. It hadn’t just been fucking. It was the two of them coming together.

“I’ve slept with other people,” she threw out there. ”Not many, but the list is not exclusive to Antwan.”

Dropping the used cloth on the ground, he slid back onto the bed and pulled her into him. She nestled into his body, resting her head on the front of his shoulder. She fit so perfectly into his arms, and every part of him wanted to keep her there forever.

“I know. But…” he trailed off, second-guessing what he was about to say. He figured it was probably too soon, but he’d learned his lesson in not speaking up sooner. He’d be damned if he made that mistake ever again. “It’s different when it's someone you love.”

“Love?” she asked, lifting her head off his chest and gazing up at him. Her tone was casual, and the look on her face was one of curiosity rather than fear. Thank fuck for that.

“Yeah,” he confirmed. “Love.”

His pulse sped up as he waited for her to respond. What if she didn’t feel the same way? He knew she felt something—it'd been written all over her face while they were making love. But what that something was, he wasn’t entirely sure. Hell, he wasn’t sure she even knew. All he knew was that he’d never stopped loving her, and probably never would.

Lowering her head back to his chest, she was silent for another moment before letting out a deep breath. “Tripp?”

“Yeah?”

“Love.”