He crooked a finger under her chin and tipped her head up until their gazes met. “Are you sure?” he asked, his brows furrowing. “You and me? We’re going to be great, but I don’t want you to feel rushed. It’ll be worth the wait.”
God, he sounded so sure and so sweet and sincere.
“Yes, I am. Very much so. But I should probably warn you.” She sighed. God, this was hard, especially with his thumb caressing her chin. “I’m not too experienced. Alex was my first and only until about two years ago, and well… that was a disaster.”
Mostly her fault, probably. The guilt had been bad, and tears hadn’t helped. She hadn’t even gotten anything out of it. Just the aforementioned guilt.
Exhaling, she pulled away from him and strode to the sink.
“Harper,” Cas said softly from behind, setting his hands on her shoulders. “Hey, it’s okay. That was the past. This is the present. You’re with me.”
She stared unseeingly at the pasture through the window above the sink. “I just don’t want to disappoint you.”
He turned her around, and she was staggered by the amount of compassion warming his brown eyes. “You could never do that. Pretty sure our kisses have more than proven that, especially our last one.”
Remembering how she’d climbed up him and practically took what she’d wanted, Harper readily agreed and blushed. “Yeah.” She bit her lip and tried to smile. “One touch from you, and I can’t seem to get enough. That’s why I didn’t want to lead you to think I know what I’m doing when it, uh, comes to sex.”
Cas lifted a hand to brush her cheek with his thumb. “It’s more about instincts, and trust me, Harper, you’ve got fantastic instincts.”
Her mouth dropped open, and her eyes widened. “I do?”
“Yes, you sure as hell do,” he replied. “And I can’t get enough of you, either.” As if to prove it, he pressed her against the sink and ground into her. She inhaled as sparks shot straight to her core. “I’d love to show you what I mean. In fact, I’d love to show you a lot of things,” he murmured, running his wonderful, calloused hands up her arms, generating a trail of heat, while his mouth lowered to kiss a path up her neck. “I can guarantee it’ll be the extreme opposite of a disaster.”
Harper clutched his upper arms as sensations rushed through her body in wave after delicious wave. “Then, like I said before, I’m all in.”
He drew back just enough to smile wickedly. “I soon will be, too.”
She trembled at his words. Damn, the sexy guy was even more irresistible when he was naughty. A thrill shot through her knowing he wasn’t going to halt their embrace this time. “Glad you see it my way.”
His mouth was back on her neck when he chuckled, and the vibration sent delicious goosebumps down her side. Then he sank his teeth into the curve of her neck, and she nearly crossed her eyes. “Mmm.”
He drew back and locked gazes. “Like that?”
She nodded. “Very much. How did you know?”
“Instincts, Harper,” he replied, wrapping his hands around her hips and drawing her up close against him. “Just go with your instincts.”
Insecurity reared its ugly head. “But what if I’m wrong?”
He smiled. “There’s nothing wrong with your body’s reaction to mine.”
Harper searched Cas’ eyes. They appeared earnest and heated, and she was not equipped with the ability to fight the strong attraction flowing between them.
And didn’t want to.
“Look, we don’t have to go any further right now if you’ve changed your mind,” he said, lightly touching her arm. “There’s no need to rush.”
She knew that and appreciated him all the more for his willingness to put her needs before the one bulging behind his zipper. The thing was her needs happened to center on the magnificentbulge behind his zipper.
“I know.” She nodded, setting her hands on his chest.
“So, what have you decided?” he asked, lightly running his hands up her arms again, his gaze hopeful, and yeah, still heated.
“Remember when I asked what would happen if I wanted to take two or three steps instead of one, and you said we’d run with it?”
He stilled. “Yeah?”
“Well, I want to sprint,” she replied. “Marathon sprint.”
