Her breath leaked out of her as I climbed onto the bed, admiring my handiwork. "So," she said, her voice soft. "What about this Shortcake business?"
"Well, it's a nickname." I kissed the space between her breasts. "For you."
"That much I figured."
I placed another kiss along the underside of one breast and then below her rib cage. "I came out with it the first time I met you."
"The first-oh!" She jerked as I tongued her navel, clenching the covers on her bed. When she spoke again, her voice was husky as I moved down. "The first time we met?"
"Yep." I kissed the inside of her left thigh and then the right. "It was the day you ran into me outside of astronomy class-a class you need to retake."
Shortcake groaned. "Don't remind me."
I didn't know if she was talking about the class or the running into me part. "When I first saw you and your hair . . ." I paused, kissing her between her legs. Her soft gasp brought a smile to my face. "All I could think was that Strawberry Shortcake . . ." I paused once more, running my tongue the length of her. "That Strawberry Shortcake had run me off."
She laughed as I lifted my head, prowling back up so that we were eye level. "Wow. I don't understand how your brain works."
"You love it."
"I do." She slid her foot along my calf. "So you've been calling me Shortcake in your head all this time?"
I nodded as I settled between her legs. "I might have . . . a few times."
"And you never slipped until now. Wow. That's kind of amazing." Her eyes danced with humor. "And it's kind of cute."
"It's definitely cute. It's-" I groaned as she rolled her hips up, joining us together. "Well then . . ."
She giggled and then neither of us were laughing or talking . I let out a ragged moan at the tight fit. I lost sense of everything except her body and I wanted to be deeper, closer. We moved together, our bodies flushed and straining. It was crazy, but I couldn't get enough of her. It appeared the same for her. My mouth closed around her breast as I thrust into her. She matched me move for move until she arched her back, crying out.
Her release slammed into me. Gathering her close, I sat up, keeping her in my lap. The new position had lust zinging through me. I couldn't last. Not when her little teeth scraped over my neck.
Minutes went by where all that could be heard was the sound of our ragged breathing. I was still inside her. There was a peace in this completion. And I held everything in my arms.
Later, much later, we sat on the bed with the plate of chocolate cookies between us. A tiny smudge of chocolate ended up on her lips and I leaned over the plate, kissing it away.
And well, I kissed her for real.
I kissed her, and it was like kissing her for the very first time. The initial zap, the shock of our lips together hadn't faded. Dumbly I realized that love made it that way, making sure that a simple kiss never dulled, never lost its luster.
My chest swelled as I pulled back and stared into her warm eyes and my heart did that crazy, stupid jumping thing. Something I also knew would never truly go away.
Shortcake placed her small hand on my cheek. "What?"
At first I didn't know what to say. I . . . I had waited for Avery-I had waited for her for months. Hell, I would've waited for her for years, but she . . .
Turning my cheek, I pressed a kiss to the inside of her palm. "Thank you for trusting in me."