Wake Me Up (Love Knows No Boundaries) (6 page)

“Really? Where do y’all
get these words from? Why not just call it a condom?” I keep scrolling down until I find “rumpy pumpy”.

“Sexual intercourse.”

I’m struggling not to laugh. I have a one track mind, because all I’m thinking is the course I’d like to inter with her, sexually.

I catch her moving out of the
corner of my eye and reach for her. I just react to her rosy cheeks and slip my arm around her waist. I pull her back, bringing her body right up against mine, and I can feel her heart racing against my chest. It’s arousing, knowing I’m having this effect on her. This barefoot, wet hair, green-eyed girl is doing something to me and I like it.

She’s not relaxing against me
like she did last night. There’s no melting.

“Don’t go all tight on me now,
Emma. We kissed. It was good. We might even do it again when I get you drunk enough,” I tease to lighten the air.

She glares up at me, but
there’s no potency in her eyes, not with the shy smile playing around her lips. All her drunken bravery is gone, and now it’s just Emma, the one she said I’d really like. She was right. I trail my hand down the side of her face, taking in the feel of her soft skin.

“I’m n
ever touching that poison again,” she whispers.

She’s trying hard to
build some sort of wall up around me. She’s failing even harder. Her breath comes faster, and I’ll lie if I say it’s not a turn-on. She wets her lips and my eyes drop down to her mouth, now moist.

“S
o you’re not denying that we’ll kiss again.”

I should stop
, but kissing her was really good, and it’s all I can think about, that and her naked on my bed, and then some.

Her eyes settle on
my mouth, and because I want it, I don’t tell myself why this is wrong on so many levels. I start reminding myself of how good she tasted.

I p
ull her up against me, and seeing the moment she realizes I’m going to kiss her spark in her eyes makes it even sweeter. I lean down, crushing my mouth against hers. Whether she wants to say something or just breathe, I don’t know, but I slip into her mouth as she opens it. She doesn’t freeze up like I would’ve thought. Instead, she throws herself into the kiss, making it so much hotter.

I move
my hands down to her backside and take hold, lifting her onto the counter. Once I have her in front of me, I slide my hands to her hips. I press against her knees and she opens for me to move closer, but it’s not close enough. I dig my fingers into her butt, and tug hard. She gasps as we collide, and I know she can feel how much I want her right now.

Her arms slide
around my neck and I inch my hands up under her shirt. I should take it slower, but then she shudders in my hands and I kiss her harder, our tongues twisting greedily. I slide my hands up higher still, brushing against the bottoms of her breasts. She doesn’t do anything to push me away, and I push her shirt up and off, breaking the kiss.

Her eyes are glazed over with desire, just the way I want them. I reach behind her with one hand and unclasp her bra. Then I dip
to her neck, pressing soft kisses all along her creamy skin, over her collarbone. I slip the straps off and duck lower, taking her breast into my mouth.

Her hands fist at my shirt and she almost comes off the counter
, pressing into me. Damn, she’s sensitive. I pull her legs around me and lift her up. As I walk her to my room I keep kissing her neck, not wanting to break the trance that’s been woven. I ease her onto the bed and drag my shirt off fast, needing to get back to her.

The way she looks at me,
I can look at her all day long, looking at me – it’s with such wonder and it makes me feel damn near invincible.

I unsnap her shorts and hook my fingers into the side
s of her underwear, tugging them both down. I breathe deeply as I ease my hands up her quivering legs, and then I crawl back over her. I slip my arm in under her to move her up to the middle of the bed, and kiss her forehead.

She looks nervous. I start dropping kisses on her cheeks, her jaw, her neck
, and then move back to her mouth. Only then does she place her hands lightly on my arms. She’s very nervous.

I kiss her slow, nipping at her
bottom lip while I keep one hand still on her stomach. Her hand moves up behind my neck and she bites at my lip. Demanding little thing that she is. I smile, and comply by moving my hand down and cupping her. She gasps into my mouth, and when she doesn’t stop me, I take it further still.

“Dammit,
Emma,” I can’t help but groan. I’m groaning more words, of which some are ‘tight’ and ‘wet’, and she’s really hot. Her body quivers against mine, and then a sweet moan escapes her lips.

I let go of her for the second I need to get my
pants off, and then I’m back over her. Her eyes are wide and it looks like she’s switched over to the highest gear of nervousness, and I’m no rocket scientist but … “Emma, are you ready?”

She nods, fast, and that’s just not good enough for me.

I place a kiss on her neck, and my arms on either side of her head, and then I look into her wide eyes. “Babe, is this your first time?”

She swallows hard and after a few seconds she nods.
I’ve been many things in my life, but an ass is not one of them. I may want her badly, but not like this.

I smile gently.
“Then it should be more special.”

But I won’t leave her like this either.
Today I’ll make it about her. Who knows what the future holds, and whether I’ll be the one to make that day special for her?

I kiss her
tenderly and move my hand back down, cupping her heated core. I pin her leg with my own, and then slip my finger back in. She’s back to gasping a few seconds later. I duck my head low, and taking her breast in my mouth I taste her sweet soft flesh. I open her wider and listen to her breaths come faster, short sweet gasps. I press down harder and hit her sweet spot. She arches up against me, her nails digging into my shoulders. I can’t keep from groaning, as her body quivers against mine.

When
she curls into me, small and trembling with the aftershocks of pleasure, I once again have that feeling, invincible. She makes me feel invincible.

~*~

Chapter Five

Emma~

I’v
e never felt something like this. For the longest time it felt like something was building deep inside me, building up to torture me, and then the sweetest release came.

And now I can’t bring myself to look him in the eyes. He’s bloody perfect. Fancy that. The one bloke I run into and I offer myself up not once, not twice
, but three times, and he says no. But then, I have to be honest - it wasn’t a ‘no’ as in ‘Bloody Hell No.’ He made it all sweet, saying it has to be special. The only problem with that is - I don’t believe in special.

Again, I’ve read books and I’ve watched movies and normally the men start pulling back
seconds after. There was no after for him, so he should really be pulling back by now. It’s been close to ten minutes, and all he did was wrap his arms around me and hold me. And he’s still holding me.

Don’t get me wr
ong, I’m not complaining. He’s holding me. I’m not sloshed. I didn’t force myself on him … this time. Pretty sure he came onto me in the kitchen.

It’s ten minutes later.

And we’re lying on his bed.

Naked.

No one has ever held me before … just because, or just for just.

I swallow hard at the lump in
my throat. The more I swallow, the more it bounces back, welling over into my eyes.

Aw, bugger, I’m gonna
be leaking like a hormonal teenager. Now is not the time to cry just because he’s holding me. It seems I don’t need alcohol to be a disaster, it comes naturally. I can’t be with a guy without getting all emotional.

I sniff and duck my head lower. To my embarrassment
, he moves back. Taking hold of my chin, he nudges my face up. I’m going to be looking like a panda again.

“You
okay?” he asks gently. Of course he’ll ask gently. He’s Mr. Bloody Perfect slash Greek God.

“Why are you so nice?” I sniffle even more
, and wipe frustrated at my cheeks.

“You’re
crying because I’m nice?” he asks confused.

“No
… yes. Both. You’re holding me. You’ve been so … nice since we’ve met. People aren’t supposed to be nice.” I think I’ve just managed to confuse him even more.

He wipes
my cheeks with his palms, making me melt some more.

“See
… nice. You don’t even run from a blotching woman.” I try to bring my point across again.

He smiles. “So you have emotions. You think I’m nice, not exactly what I was aiming for. Was going more for great
, but I’ll work on that.”

“You’re great,” I say to appease him.
“Just bloody great. Tell me an awful secret. Tell me you go cow tipping at night, throw eggs at houses, anything will do right now.”

He chuckles and
brushes his hand softly over my hair.

“Do you do those things?” h
e asks, his voice slightly hoarse.

“No
… I’m just reaching for something here. It’s better than asking if you’re involved in something drug-related, murder-related, or just plain crime-related.”

Hi
s eyes roam my face, and then he presses his mouth to my forehead. (Some more melting.)

“I’ve never been on the wrong side of
the law, never gone cow tipping. I have thrown eggs at a house once, when I was twelve. I couldn’t sit for a week when my mom found out,” he admits.

“Bad boy Aiden thr
ows eggs. I feel so much better.”

He chuckles
, and his breath warms my skin as he lays his head down next to mine.

“Where are you from,
Emma?” he asks.

I’m lying naked in bed with a
stranger; still I’ve never felt more at peace.

“From all over
the place. I was born in Africa, but we moved to Pendoylan when I was thirteen. It’s a little village in Wales.” I don’t think giving him a bit of information can do much harm. He’s a student like me.

“So that’s why y
our accent is a little different, because you’re from Africa,” he states.

“Where are you from?
” I ask one back, before he can ask more questions.

“South Carolina.” He nudges at my neck and I close my eyes. This is a real nice way
of getting to know someone. “I’m a Southern boy, ma’am,” he drawls, and I become a puddle of drool right about then and there.

“Why did you
choose Chapel Hill?” he asks.

I don’t think and answer a bit too honestly, “The eagles. They have eagles here.”

He lifts his head and looks at me. No, it’s more like he pins me down. “Why not come for a simple vacation then?”

“A student visa is longer.” This is where I should start keeping quiet, really I should.

“You came here to see eagles?”

O
nce he asks the question, I realize how stupid it must sound to him. How totally nutters. “Among other things.” I try to cover my mistake.

I start to pull back
, feeling more naked than just because I’m not wearing clothes, but he’s not letting go. I dig the heels of my palms into his chest, and instead of pushing I hold them there when he rolls me back, giving me a full view of the eagle imprinted on his skin.

His arms cage my face and he leans in
, warming my body with his muscled one.

“
You’d be surprised how understandin’ I can be,” he whispers against the corner of my mouth.

Oh, I think I know. What man says no three
times?

“There comes a time in everyone’s life when you just need some spa
ce from the old family. I’m taking some time to figure out what I want from my life,” I admit as best I can. For some reason I don’t want to lie to him. It’s as if I know he’ll know, and I just don’t want to go there.

H
e tilts his head and stares at me, looking too deep. It’s as if he’s studying my soul, and then his warmth leaves me.

~*~

A pharmacy. That one was hard. How do you explain to the guy that you need feminine products? Just so not on.

I glance at him as he parks the car outside a mall. This is going to be some shopping experience. How
am I going to buy the things I need without him seeing it?

This is one of those seriously gawky
-arsed moments. As we walk into the mall awkward flees and shitty takes its place.

“Aiden,” the girl, if I remember correctly, Katia is her name, squeals. “
Emma,” she squeals some more.

I form my lips in
to some sort of a smile. When Aiden’s arm slips over my shoulders and he draws me into him, the smile stretches widely. Daft, I know.

“Hey, bud.
” Colton says, taking hold of Aiden around his neck, and playfully jabbing him in the shoulder.

“Hey
, guys.”

Bulldogs. They are
built like bulldogs, and only need to bare their teeth and I’ll be running in the opposite direction. I’m sure they spend the better part of their day at the gym. I feel minuscule standing between the three of them. At the pub it was different. Alcohol makes you brave. Now I’m just gulping and breathing.

Katia is easily a head taller than me
, and I’m still sticking with what I said, if I had a body like hers, legs like those, I’d be walking on my hands to show them off.

The woman must be psychic, because at the exact moment
I’m thinking about her, she reaches a manicured hand to my face. And, just like with my mum, I struggle to keep still. I try really hard for about three seconds before I give in, and, like the night before, I duck into Aiden to avoid her touch. Taking hold of his shirt, I feel his muscles tighten under my fist, but I can’t let go.

What have I done? Have I embarrassed him in front of his mates? I freeze and can’t bring myself to look at their reactions. I don’t even k
now what they are talking about.

His hand slips
from my shoulder to my neck, and up into my hair. He presses me into his chest, and I breathe in his spicy scent. There’s something amazing about his touch that puts me right at ease, and I relax my hold on his shirt.

“Bring your girl,” i
s the first I hear from Katia. “It will be great to get to know her.”

“Will do,” Aiden says.

I start to pull away. I don’t want to go anywhere she will be. How can he just assume that? Annoyance bubbles up. I’ve been told for a very long time what to do. I didn’t come here to have someone decide my comings and goings for me.

I can’t even bring myself to smile as they walk away. I’m upset for various reasons.
One, making a total arse of myself and leeching onto him. Two, him assuming I’ll go to any place she’ll be.  And three, because I like him too much, so soon.

It’s just not right. All of this is just not right. I should pack
up and go.

“
Pharmacy,” he says, as if nothing just happened.

I’m
too brassed off to care, and grab what I need in front of him. I shop fast. Not because of what happened, but because that’s how I always do it. It’s never been one of my favorite things to do, and again, my mother has a lot to do with that. It’s not nice, shopping with a person who chooses everything for you.

Half way through the grocer, Aid
en steps in front of me. Standing in the middle of an aisle, he takes hold of my shoulders. I glance up, waiting.

“Out with it,” he says.

I’m not having the conversation about his mates in the middle of a shop. “Out with what?”

“I have never in my life met
a woman who goes through a store as fast as you do. You barely register what’s on the shelves,” he says, and then he leans down, “so out with it.”

“I just don’t like shopping.” At least I can answer this one honestly.

“Seriously?”

“Yeah, fancy that
, a girl that doesn’t like shopping. Let’s get this over with, shall we.” I step past him before he can ask another question.

~*~

Back at the flat, I still feel a bit tense. I try to avoid any eye contact, because I’m a fast learner. Aiden is good at reading my eyes.

I manage to hide in my room for three miserable hours. In those hours
, I don’t dream my American dream. I drive myself bonkers thinking about a documentary I once watched on possums. Some possums eat for like eight or ten months, and then they shag themselves to death. Some sex frenzy. I feel like those possums right now. I want to go on a binging spree and stuff my face with ice cream and chocolate, otherwise I’m going to end up throwing myself at Aiden, again. And I don’t want to end up belly-up like the possums. Oh bloody hell, I’m not even making sense to myself any more.

I’m just so frustrated. I want to be out there with him right now
, and not in here all alone. I’m just tired of being alone … and a virgin. I decide to write Chloe a quick email, it might make me feel better.

Chloe,

It’s safe to say I officially suck at losing my virginity. I failed a third time. I must be the only girl who can’t lose her virginity on two different continents. I should maybe do a trip around the world.

Yo
u wanted details. Aiden, my flatmate, is a Greek God. He’s bloody perfect. His whole right side and arm are covered in ink. I could sit and stare at him the whole day.

I want to touch him. I like touching him. I love it when he touches me. I’ve never felt something like that before. I don’
t feel sick. For some reason he makes me feel safe, and I know it’s completely nutters of me. I only met him yesterday.

Tell me what to do.

I wish you were here.

Sunshine ;)

There are three soft raps on my door. I quickly press send, and almost fall off the bed to go and open it.

“Er
…yes?” I clear my throat so I can resemble some form of composure (and not the rampant mess I am on the inside).

He’s dressed casually. Slacks and a sweater, with some emblem on. The bloke really looks good in anything, but best in nothing.
My neck and cheeks warm at the direction in which my thoughts are heading.

“I just wanted to know if you h
ave plans for tonight?” So he’s not assuming I’ll go with. Suddenly I feel rotten. “I have this thing I have to go to, and you’re welcome to come along, get out.”

He’s not making it sound like a date either.

So, Katia or here, alone. Aiden or here, alone.

“Sure, what
should I wear?” I hear myself asking. Huh? I haven’t even had a discussion with myself.

“Dress comfortable,” he says
, and slips out, closing the door.

Dress comf
ortable? He’s wearing slacks and a sweater. Do I wear the same?