Page 128 of Destined To Fall
“These towels are huge. Were they made for giants? Because you are not that…” I mumble mainly to myself, languishing in its soft comfort before my gaze shifts to Jeremy’s dripping wet form, and I lose all train of thought.“Buff…” His boxers cling to his thick, muscular thighs and tight, rounded ass, the most delicious fuck-me dimples begging for—
Jeremy chuckles softly, turning further away as he wraps his own towel around his waist, cutting off my perusal, and slides his boxers down his legs. A shiver runs down the length of my body as I watch, riveted. Jeremy turns, throwing them into the open shower, and I drag my gaze slowly back to his face. So slowly,in fact, I could have counted each drop of water running down his perfectlybuffchest. The chest I was pressed against, completely naked and oblivious, only moments before,for who knows how long.
What a waste.
Now this would be the moment I’d drop my towel with a well-practiced‘oops’, leaving no one in any doubt as to exactly what I was thinking or wanting. And what I want is Jeremy. So badly it hurts. My meds have well and truly kicked in, the food has given me a little pep I didn’t have when I woke up, but in all honesty, I think it’s Jeremy that’s given me strength. Holding me while I purged my soul. I don’t even remember the last time I cried. Never so hard or for so long, yet it needs to be said that there is something about a good long sob-fest that’s hella cathartic.
But I can’t lie; there’s still a part of me that’s feeling raw, damaged, and vulnerable. A little drained and a whole lot empty in parts.
Staring at Jeremy just now, though, I feel none of those things. I feel energized, with the familiar current of electricity running under my skin that is always present when I’m with him. The more I look at him, the more I need him, crave him. My body is practically singing with want for this man, even after…everything. I want him so fiercely, it’s overwhelming.
Jeremy’s gaze narrows slightly as he clearly notices mine ogling him unabashedly, and an unfamiliar realization washes over me, practically dousing my flaming desire. I’m no better than the sleazy men I admonish, leering at me like I’m their own personal buffet. I’ve been objectifying Jeremy like he’s a piece of meat I’d like nothing more than to sink my teeth into since the day I met him.
Fuck.
“Sorry…” I mutter, turning my head, my cheeks heating, but Jeremy laughs. Full-belly, partly hysterical laughs. I turn back around and frown at him.“I apologize for drooling all over you, and you laugh? Gee, thanks. Ass.”
“There she is,” Jeremy says,almost to himself, his lip twitching up to one side.“When have you ever apologized for—well, anything—but how did you put it? Drooling over me?”
“Now. I’m apologizing now, asshat. I know where you stand, and I need to respect that and stop wanting something I can never have. But damn it, you’re dripping wet and naked! You’re killin’me, Smalls.”
Jeremy’s gaze turns dark, and if I’m not mistaken, hungry. My damn nipples pucker painfully as he continues to stare at me without saying another word. The silence thickens, charges, and I realize a little too late that somewhere in the middle of my rant, I threw my hands about and knocked my towel off. I’m standing buck fucking naked, dripping wet.
Oops.
The spell breaks a fraction as Jeremy steps forward, bridging the distance between us, and crouches down in front of me.
“Jeremy, what…what are you doing?”
Taking the towel pooled at my feet in his hands, Jeremy glides it slowly up the backs of my calves. A soft, breathy sound escapes my lips as his fingers brush against my skin, the towel moving ever higher as they do. Jeremy sinks his teeth into his bottom lip briefly before he releases it and stands, moving the towel up my hips, his hands sliding firmly over my backside to my waist.
Never taking his eyes from mine, Jeremy brings the towel to its final place, his palms resting against my ribs. Wrapping the towel around my chest, my heart pounding frantically beneath, he presses one end under an armpit, hesitating before tucking the other between my breasts. My breath hitches and my lips part, and his gaze drops to them as his fingers graze the sensitive skin above the fabric’s edge in a barely-there caress.
I shudder, or tremble, but before I can break the tense moment and speak, Jeremy scoops me up into his arms, the towel now firmly wrapped around me, his gaze searing me from the inside out as our faces become inches apart.
I’m breathless and thoughtless by the time Jeremy places me on the bed as he once again falls to his knees before me. The sight is enough to undo me.
“I want to replace all the pain, all the memories,” Jeremy says intently, taking my hand in his and kissing the inside of my palm so adoringly my body swims with mixed emotions.“I want to be what you remember. I want to be all you remember.” His tongue comes out to lick around my wrist, causing a shiver and goosebumps to break out.“Every inch of your body, I want to write my name on it.”
“Jeremy—” It comes out as a moan or a groan or some kind of plea, but Jeremy cuts me off, taking my face in his hands and crushing his lips to mine.
It hurts. The cut on my lip is still raw and the bruise to my jaw still tender, but I’m practically panting when I pull away, my heart slamming against my ribcage. Jeremy barely gives me a moment’s pause, only long enough to search my eyes for something before his mouth is on me again. Begging for acceptance.
I couldn’t deny him if I wanted to. I want him too badly. I need him too much. And if his lips are all I can have, then I’m going to take them, take all of them!
Fuck the consequences.
I kiss him back with equal force, but unlike our previous lip-locks, this is all emotion, all precision, all sensuality, and none of the crazed, almost desperate frenzy of our others. The hunger and heat are still present, but they’re not ruling this kiss; they’re simmering under the surface, hiding below a feeling I can’t put a name to. An emotion I don’t recognize.
Without warning, Jeremy breaks the kiss, moving his lips to my jaw, cheek, eyelids, kissing almost every inch of my face. He nips at my earlobe, then trails kisses down my neck, stopping only to run his tongue along my collarbone, making good on his words.
I melt.
I swoon.
I die a little. But he continues down my arm, kissing the tips of my fingers before coming back up and across the edge of the towel to repeat it all on the other arm.
Grinning softly, he lets go of my hand and rocks back on his feet, taking one of mine in his warm palms, eyes locking with mine. I mumble something incoherent when he kisses the tips of my toes, then runs his tongue along my instep before pressing his lips to the heel of my foot.
