Page 118 of Get Me to the Starting Line
“Now? I have to admit I was wrong.” She makes a face like she bit into a sour lemon.
The tension in my body breaks and I bark out a laugh. “Oh yeah?”
“Thank you for proving me wrong.”
She’s so close to me now. I don’t dare move a muscle, not even a twitch, as her hand comes to rest over my heart. She stretches up on her tiptoes, and we don’t break eye contact as she brings herself closer, planting the softest kiss to my lips. So soft it’s barely there.
But I feel it everywhere, right to the deepest parts of my heart. She lowers herself but doesn’t back away.
“Leah—” I whisper.
“Julien.”
I only ever want my name coming out ofhermouth. Tracing the side of her face with the back of my hand, I search her eyes. The heat and desire and care I feel for her are mirrored back to me.
“Ask me.” I keep my voice low, afraid to ruin this moment. And if I’m being honest with myself—a rare occurrence—I’m also afraid of her answer.
“Ask you what?”
“Ask me to stay.”
She looks at me intently, and the glint in her eyes steals the breath from my lungs. Leaning into me, pulled in by some magnetic force, she arches as my hand settles on the low dip of her back. She hasn’t said it yet, and I don’t want to misinterpret her meaning.
This could be a goodbye to ... whatever this is. Or the race adrenaline.
Ten pounding heartbeats. That’s how long she makes me wait.
“Stay.”
I snap, slamming my mouth to hers and pulling her up so she can wrap her legs around my waist, much like the first time we kissed in her apartment. I turn her to pin her against the wall, devouring her. There’s no way I’m letting her out of my arms this time, not unless she pushes me away.
She doesn’t.
She pulls me in like she’s starving for me as much as I am for her. After months of foreplay, all I want to do is sink into her. But patience—Ihaveto have more patience. I know my size.
My body hums with anticipation. It won’t be a chore to wring out her pleasureso I’ll be able to fit.
We kiss until we can’t breathe and even then, I’d rather suffocate than separate from her. She’s my air, the only air I need. Unfortunately, my lungs protest, not happy with metaphorical air, and we wrench away, gulping down breaths.
I don’t keep my mouth unoccupied for long, trailing kisses down her soft neck. She tastes like rain and smells like my dreams.
I nip and suck at the soft flesh, earning me moans as she tightens her legs.
“Do you like that?” I whisper into her ear before I scrape my teeth on her lobe, giving it a little tug.
“Yes,” she breathes.
“I want to see you.” Ineedto see her. She stiffens as my hands come to the hem of her shirt, making me freeze.
“What’s wrong?” Our breathing is heavy.
She can’t meet my eyes, so I bring my hand to hold her chin, insisting with a look that she talk to me. She swallows, a flush running up her neck.
“I ... I haven’t been with anyone in a long time.”
There’s more to it than that, so I wait silently. A flash of annoyance replaces her look of vulnerability. Good.
“I haven’t been with anyone except Ian,” she lets out in a rush.
