Love and Learn (Voretti Family Book 2) (15 page)

“Mmm,” she managed, even though her skin was crawling with impatience.

“Are you sleepy?”

“No!” The last thing she needed was Ty taking off so she could get some rest. “I’m not tired at all. Actually, I’m wide awake.”

“Well, in that case…” His arm found her shoulders, but it didn’t go any farther. “Want to go for a walk?”

She tried to arrange her features into a sultry expression, but it was hard to know if she was doing it right without a mirror. “No thank you.”

“What about a game? Bet I kick your ass in Monopoly.”

“I’m not in the mood for Monopoly.”

“Some music? I know you love Amber Watts, but I found this new indie band that’s gonna change your life. I think I can hook my phone up to your stereo.” He ducked behind the wooden cabinet that held her electronics, muttering something about connectors, while frustration built inside her. How had she messed up sultry so badly?

“Ty?”

“Do you have a USB cord?”

“I don’t know.”

“You don’t know what it looks like, or you don’t know if you have one?”

“Either. Both.”

“The end of it is a flat, rectangular—”

“I don’t want to talk about USB cords! I don’t want to listen to music or play a game or go for a walk or sit on the couch and drink port.” The frustration that had fueled her tirade abruptly ran out.
 

She had Ty’s attention, that was for sure. He was staring at her like there was a spotlight trained on her face.

“What
do
you want to do?”

“I want to have sex.” She wasn’t sure who was more surprised to hear the words come out of her mouth—her or Ty. His eyes glazed over, and his Adam’s apple bobbed up and down.

That was good. If he was distracted, he wouldn’t question why she’d suddenly changed the rules. He’d take her to the bedroom and—

“But we’re not… This is only lesson three.”

“I know. But I’ve always been a quick learner. I get bored if things move too slowly.”
 

His gaze honed in on her, clear and focused now. “So I’ve been boring you?”

“No. Not exactly. I only meant…” She sucked in a breath. “I can’t keep doing this. I can’t be this close to you for much longer without getting emotionally involved.”

“Newsflash, sweetheart. We’re already emotionally involved. You can either woman up and see where this goes or cut and run—and then we’ll never know. So what’s it gonna be?”

His gaze was a blazing inferno. She waited for him to kiss her—to take the choice out of her hands—but he didn’t move.

And she knew. If she really wanted this, she was going to have to say it. Nobody was going to do it for her.

 
Her heart fluttered like it had forgotten the proper way to beat.
 

She cleared her throat and leaped off the edge of the cliff. “I want to see where this goes.”

She was in the air, falling, falling.

“Thank God.” Those low, husky words caught her right before impact.

Ty swung her into his arms.

She yelped. “What are you doing?”

“Taking you to bed.”
 

He cradled her against his chest. His heartbeat echoed through her body, like they had gone from two separate people to one.

“I can walk.” She didn’t sound like herself. Who was that woman with the husky, I-want-you voice?

“You were going too slow.” He carried her through her open bedroom door and laid her on the clean, floral sheets.
 

She was vaguely aware that there was something she needed to tell him, but then he kissed her, and she decided it didn’t matter. Nothing could be more important than kissing him again.
 

She brought his body over hers, large and vital and pulsing with need. For
her
.

His mouth grazed the shell of her ear. “I’m gonna make you feel so good.”

Like some mean-spirited deity had flipped a switch, all traces of desire fled her system.
 

He didn’t understand. He thought she was inexperienced. The victim of a few unskilled partners. That he could add in a little extra foreplay and she’d come like a porn star.

She must have pushed away from him, because he rolled to the side and levered himself up on one arm.
 

“What’s wrong?” There was no trace of annoyance in his tone, only worry.

“I have to tell you something.” She hugged a pillow to her chest. Her heart was pulsing all the way up in her throat, making it hard to talk. “I’ve never…. I mean, I’ve tried. Believe me, I’ve tried. But I’ve never actually managed to….”

“Are you trying to tell me you’re a virgin?”

“No!” She squeezed her eyes shut, hoping that might stop all the blood in her body from rushing to her cheeks. “But I’ve never…you know. Enjoyed it.”

“Hey.” His knuckles traced her cheek so gently she wanted to cry. “Look at me.”

She forced her eyes open.

“You mean you’ve never had an orgasm?”

“Not while anyone else was in the room.”

His lips turned up, hinting at that grin she loved. The one that said everything was going to be okay, because he was Ty MacKinnon, and the universe existed merely to please him. “Is that all?”

“Isn’t that enough?”

 
“I thought you were gonna tell me you were really a man or you had to listen to opera music to get in the mood.”
 

“Seriously, Ty. It’s not like Christian was the first. I haven’t been with a ton of guys, but there have been enough that, statistically speaking, I’m pretty sure
I’m
the problem.”

His grin disappeared as quickly as it had formed. “Fuck statistics.”

“You can’t ignore—”

“There’s nothing wrong with you. And no amount of charts, graphs, and data points is gonna convince me, so you might as well give it up professor.”

“I want to. But I don’t know how.”

“You don’t need to know how. I’m gonna lead.” His hands combed through her hair, massaging her scalp. “All you have to do is follow.”

Just like on the dance floor, her body naturally conformed to his, her head tilting at the barest direction from his hands. His lips were inches from hers, but he didn’t kiss her. He held her steady, letting her see exactly how much he wanted her.

Her body sparked to life. She didn’t just want his kiss, she needed it.
 

The pressure of his lips was an unspeakable relief. Her body strained toward his. They’d been apart too long. Forever.

He kissed her with his whole body. His arms pulled her close, his hips rolled into hers, and his tongue plunged into her mouth, each movement a message—
I want you
.

She wanted him too. She wanted him so close there was no room for doubt. No room for any thoughts at all.

His fingers found the row of buttons that fastened her shirt. She was faintly aware of him undoing them, but then his lips were tracing her neck.

She pressed closer. His stubble rasped against her skin, marking her.
 

Her breath caught in her throat.
More
.
She needed
—

Her top came off with a single tug of his hands.

He levered himself up to undo her bra clasp, and a blast of deja vu hit her along with the cold air from the AC vent.

This had happened before. After prom, she and Ty had—

“You’re thinking.” He brushed a light kiss over her lips. “You know what I told you about that.”

He was right. She needed this. She wasn’t going to let her insecurities ruin her best chance at a normal life.
 

She shrugged off her bra.

Ty’s eyes went dark. Hot.

“C’mere.” He pulled her close.

She needed that. His skin against hers, hot and eager and
here
.
 

She tugged at his shirt, but she didn’t have the right angle.
 

He reached behind his head and pulled it off. There was nothing between them now, and she wasn’t cold anymore. His whole body was hot, muscles straining, skin damp and musky.
 

His hands traced a path from her waist to her collarbone, and her body responded, no hint of hesitation or fear. She wanted his hands all over her—everywhere—but he kept missing the good parts. Every. Single. Time.

He was
teasing
her.

“You…” She couldn’t turn the desperation inside her head into a coherent sentence. All she could do was press her body to his, wordlessly pleading.

Still, he made her wait. He kissed her until every single muscle strained toward him.

Then, finally, his hand found her breast. His rough skin against her sensitized nipple made pressure coil deep in her belly. She shifted restlessly.
 

It still wasn’t enough. She clutched at Ty, grabbing anything she could, desperate to get him closer. And then he was on top of her.
 

Her legs opened instinctively, forming a cradle for his thighs. For that rigid, throbbing pressure right where she was aching.

A groan tore from Ty’s throat.
 

She found the buttons at his fly, but her fingers weren’t working right.
 

Ty ripped the buttons open. He shoved his jeans and boxers off as she kicked her legs free of her skirt.
 

The only barrier between them was a fragile layer of cotton. He traced the hem of her panties with one finger, and she arched in desperate need.

“I want you so bad.” His words were low. Guttural.
 

She could feel how it was going to be when he was inside her. The heat. The desperation.

“I….” The words wouldn’t come. The only language she could speak was more ancient than words. Her moan answered by his groan. His weight shifting against her. Her body’s desperate arch as she tried to get closer.

Somehow, her panties came off. She held her breath. His thumb found that place where she most needed his touch and circled in the perfect rhythm.

Then there was nothing but her and Ty and the pressure gathering low in her belly, building and building until her whole body shook with it. And, still, there was more.
 

Tears filled her eyes. She couldn’t believe… She’d waited so long…

The thought disappeared, overwhelmed with wave after wave of pure pleasure.
 

She hadn’t thought it was possible, but Ty had done it. Ty had given her this miracle.

She closed her eyes and breathed him in. Nobody else felt like this. No one else was Ty.
 

She came back to herself, limp and boneless and sated, just in time to see Ty rolling on a condom.

His gaze locked onto her, eyes sparking with desire. One look, and the pressure coiled inside her once again.

He breathed in, nostrils flaring. “I’ll go slow.”

She didn’t want him to go slow. She wanted him inside her. Now.

He lowered himself over her. She wrapped her legs around his hips. Arched against him.

His body was covered with a sheen of sweat. She could smell him—a concentrated form of his usual musky scent that sent a gush of moisture between her legs.
 

The tip of him nudged her entrance.
 

It wasn’t enough.
 

“Ty?” She kissed him hard. Desperate. “I don’t want you to go slow.”

His whole body shuddered. “Annabelle, sweetheart.” He pushed into her—a few inches that only teased her into madness.
 

Her body was needy and desperate, beyond ready, like she’d been waiting seven years for this. “Now, Ty. Please.”

He groaned, surging into her.

Being filled by him was like nothing she’d ever experienced. She wanted to stay like this forever, but her body refused to be still. She had to… She needed…

His fingers found her once again. “Come with me, sweetheart.”

She was with him, joined as completely as possible, the line between their bodies a blur of grasping hands and arching bodies.

The pressure inside her built higher than before.
 

Her eyes wanted to close, but she refused to allow it. If this was the only night she had with Ty, she would remember all of it.
 

He plunged into her, hard and desperate, groaning unintelligible words into her mouth.

And then she realized he was saying her name.

Annabelle
.
 

Her core clenched around him, even as the rest of her body went weak, overrun with waves of pleasure.

She tried to call his name—she wanted him to know what he was doing to her—but she couldn’t be sure if she said it out loud.

He pumped his release into her, and his body went limp.

He was heavy against her, but she didn’t want him to move. Not now. Maybe not ever.

Eventually, he got up, but only to discard the condom. Then he was back, pulling her so close his breath whispered against her forehead. His heart beat against her cheek. And, for once in her life, she was exactly where she wanted to be.

He cleared his throat. “That was….”

The ensuing silence was so absolute, she could hear the blood rushing through her veins.

“I know,” she said, quickly. She didn’t want him to put it into words. She didn’t want to think about what this meant. Not yet.

His arms tightened, but he didn’t say another word. His breathing grew slower, deeper, and hers followed. She drifted into fairytale dreams, where she and Ty found their happily-ever-after.

*

Annabelle wasn’t sure how long she had been asleep when Ty woke her with a soft kiss at the base of her throat. She would have sworn she’d used up her quota of orgasms for the decade, but he was slow and thorough, and by the time he was done she was shivering with pleasure.

She lay in the circle of his arms, coming down from another epic high. “How did you
do
that?”

He stretched, every inch of his body radiating satisfaction. “It’s three AM and I’m about to pass out. You’re gonna have to be more specific.”

“The way you…” She took a deep breath and forced the words out. “When you make me come, it’s so much stronger than it’s ever been before. I don’t understand how you…” What the heck was she doing? Did she really want to know exactly how often Ty had practiced with other women? “Forget it.”