Page 104 of Chasing Home
“What are you doing here, Johnny? Why are you standing in the rain when you could be somewhere warm and dry? I told you I wanted to be alone.”
“And you thought I’d let you wander around in an unfamiliar place on your own when you’re upset? Come on, darlin’. You know better than that.”
“So, what is it, then? You’re just a nice guy? You were looking out for me?”
I furrow my brows and drift my thumbs over her cheekbones in an attempt to bring some warmth to her skin.
“You tell me, Rory. Why do you think I came after you? Yes, I’m a nice guy, and yes, I was looking out for you. But we both know it’s so much more?—”
“I love you, Johnny.”
My teeth clack from the force I use to shut my mouth. Surprise has me staring at her like an idiot rather than a man who just had a gift laid at his feet.
She laughs so softly I nearly miss it. “I love you. And I’d love if you took me back to our hotel room now.”
I’m positive nothing has ever sounded as good—as right—as those words. They shift my entire world, making it brighter and warmer and complete. My next breath is the clearest I’ve ever taken.
I push my hand behind her head and tip it back while tangling my fingers in her wet hair. Her eyelids droop as I brush my lips over hers and bring our bodies flush. Rain drips down my nose and collects above her top lip, so I lick it off.
“Say it again,” I murmur.
She moves her head side to side. “It’s already two to none.”
“I thought it was obvious,” I say, teasing her just a bit. Fuck knows I can’t help it when it comes to this woman.
Her eyes narrow as she leans up to nip at my mouth, a hand wandering up my neck to tug at the curled hairs there. “Say it.”
“I love you, Aurora Bennett.”
“Then kiss me in the rain, you helpless romantic,” she demands, voice hoarse and breathless.
I don’t have to be told twice. Dropping my mouth, I kiss her softly before slowly starting to press harder. I guide her forward, drawing her up further on her toes to chase me. The effect she has on me is electrifying. Once I get a taste of her, I can’t stop, and once her small hands drop to my hips, I have to force myself off and away before we get a ticket for public indecency.
“Hotel,” she whispers, rubbing her nose to mine.
“Yeah, let’s go to the hotel.”
“We need to get you warmed up,” I say once we step into our hotel room and shrug our dripping jackets off.
We should pick them up and wring them out properly before hanging them to dry, but I’m already trying really hard to focus on not rutting her up against the wall, so I’ll focus on that instead.
“Shower?” she asks, flicking on the light inside the small room and peeking at me over her shoulder.
“Are you inviting me to join you?”
With a roll of her eyes, she pinches the hem of her shirt and peels the wet material from her torso before dropping it on the floor. I stretch, then curl my fingers, taking in the sight of her goosebump-covered skin and hard nipples, which strain inside her bra.
“Shower with me, Johnny. You need one just as bad as I do.”
Permission granted, I’m stepping into the bathroom behind her and cranking the dial in the shower as hot as I think we’ll be able to take. It’s a nice bathroom, with white tile and a glass-doored shower with a separate bathtub. The quality of the space means shit to us right now, though. We could be in a sleazy pay-by-the-hour motel room, and it wouldn’t matter.
“I love you,” I tell her for the millionth time since we slid into the cab outside the park.
She smiles coyly, popping open the button of her jeans and beginning to shimmy them down her thighs. “I love you.”
“You’re not leaving this bathroom without having had my mouth all over you, Rory. I’ve tasted you before, but never when you were mine. Truly mine. I want to start from the beginning all over again.”
Her jeans pool around her ankles before she steps out of them and reaches for me. I go to her without a second thought, her nails scratching my hip bones. When she starts to lift my shirt up, I work on my jeans at the same time. Her palm is so hot against my abs that I jerk at her touch. I’m cold on the outside but burning alive on the inside.