He wasn’t there.
The blankets and covers were, but he wasn’t. The fire had dimmed, but it was still light enough to look around the room. Reed wasn’t anywhere. Before I could turn around and head toward the kitchen I felt hands on my shoulders, causing me to jump. I turned and ended up face to face with him. His arms were around my waist, and I didn’t fight my way free.
We stood for a moment looking into each other’s eyes.
“What are you doing?”
“I came down to check on you,” I replied.
We were close enough for me to see the intent in his eyes. I could smell the wine on his breath as his lips parted again. “Are you sure that’s the only reason?”
I nodded, but it was a bold-faced lie.
He inched his face forward and drug his bottom lip over mine. I immediately closed my eyes, letting the alcohol and fire between my legs take control. He pulled away, probably waiting for me to react. I said nothing as my eyes opened. He leaned forward and did it again, this time letting his tongue run over my lip. He was so slow, taking his time, inching his way towards a full-blown kiss. It was like he was giving me a chance to change my mind, but the more he did it, the increasingly eager I became.
The wine was like instant courage, except I was still letting him take the lead. He couldn’t know that I was burning for his touch, that secretly I yearned to be with him, to experience him in ways that I’d only read about.
Reed pulled away and ran his hand through the back of my hair. He slowly pulled it back, causing my chin to lift upwards. My lips parted and I felt him getting closer. My eyes were still closed, but I was aware of how close he was to me. His bottom lip drug over mine, and then I felt it. He sucked on my lips, slowly dragging his tongue over them when he pulled away. I couldn’t back away, because I’d already begun to reciprocate. Our tongues touched for the first time, making me weak in my knees. This man, this stranger that I was only beginning to know, was kissing me with more passion than any man had ever showed me. A slow groan escaped his lips, vibrating over mine. It’s when I realized that I was trembling. Being with this man was making me shiver, and we’d barely touched.
I backed away, feeling utterly embarrassed that I couldn’t keep my shit together enough to kiss him. There was no way I could continue with more. He’d probably laugh at me. I placed my hand over my lips as I spoke. “I can’t do this.”
My next move was pretty stupid. I blame the wine for making me think that it was smart to run outside on the porch for air. One minute I was warm, kissing a handsome man by the fire. The next I was running outside during a dangerous storm. The wind whipped the rain into my face, and I didn’t even care. I was too numb and confused to be able to accept that it was uncomfortable.
Reed followed me outside, and I immediately jumped off the porch and began running from him. The stupidity continued when I found myself ducking behind a tree. In my defense it was dark, and I was trying to prevent a confrontation. In my drunken stupor I assumed that he wouldn’t be able to find me.
I felt his presence and looked around the tree trunk to see him standing on the other side. “What are you doing? Are you crazy?”
The lightning flashed above, and beads of rain blew over us, feeling like tiny shards of glass. “I have to stay away from you, Reed.”
“Get your ass back in the house, Erica. You can’t be out in this weather. It’s too dangerous.”
I pointed right at him, determined to get my point
across. Another bolt of lightning crashed behind us. “You can’t kiss me like that, Reed.”
He reached his hand out to me. “Come on. We can talk about this inside.
I pulled away from him. “No. We need to talk about this now,” I yelled.
Thunder rumbled the ground, and I felt myself getting chills. Reed, standing outside in his underwear, reached his hand out for another attempt to grab me. “Please. You’re being ridiculous.”
I backed away. “I can’t.”
He broke the distance between us faster than I was able to turn around and run away. He spun me around, forcing me to face him. Then his lips were on mine. The water was running down our faces while our tongues mingled together. I knew the rain and wind made it cold outside, but my body was instantly on fire. I felt his hands pulling my body closer to his, and then suddenly I was being lifted into his arms. I was done resisting temptation. My legs finally wrapped around his back as he carried me toward the house.
His hot body felt so strong, so powerful as he climbed the stairs and made it onto the porch. My arms clung to his neck, unwilling to let go, even though I knew we were back to safety. Then Reed did something that shocked me. Instead of carrying me inside, he pressed my body up against the house. I felt him lifting me higher as one hand raised my shirt up above my bra. He tugged down on the cup, exposing my breast, and rubbing his tongue over my nipple. The wind was blowing rapidly, but all I could feel was what was happening between us. The sheer pleasure of being exposed outside was both shocking and sexy.
Slowly, I felt my feet touching the porch floor. I let my hands fall free from behind Reed’s back, and watched as he pulled away from me. The feeling of rejection only lasted seconds, because he’d begun removing my shirt. The wet fabric made a sound when it hit the ground. My bra came next, falling somewhere that I paid no attention to.
I put my hands over each breast, not comfortable with standing there naked, even in the dark of the night. The yoga shorts were being tugged down, and I wasn’t fighting him. I wanted to be naked, and as close to him as I could get. I slid them down with ease, only standing after I’d stepped out of them and my underwear. Reed took another step, and as the lightning lit up the sky I watched him taking me in. Another wave of heat rushed over my body, this time causing me to tremble worse than before. Fully exposed, he dropped his underwear and stood before me, naked.
In seconds our lips connected again, this time with the same motivation fueling us. I could feel his erection pressing into my stomach as we kissed. I turned my head when he began to caress the side of my neck with those lips. I felt him nibble on my ear before coming back for another taste of my tongue. There was no doubt in my mind what I wanted out of this encounter. I was ready to be ravaged, fully prepared to give him all of me.
Then I opened my eyes and realized that I was lying in my aunt’s bed. It had all been a dream. Every single moment that I’d just experienced had been in my sleep.
I placed my hand up to my chest and tried to calm my irregular breathing. My heart, feeling like it was beating out of my chest, was racing with excitement. It had been so real, yet none of it was at all.
I stood up and walked over towards the window, seeing the trees blowing around as the lightning flashed. My clothes were still dry, reminding me that I’d not just been outside with Reed. My fingertips reached for my lips and I touched them, closing my eyes and imagining what it felt like to be kissed by him.