His Naughty Lessons
Chapter 149: I Want You

Chapter 149: I Want You

** Eli **

Holy shit did this girl pick up her teasing skills fast.

Eli would’ve commended her for being such a stellar student, if not for the warmth of her palm already sliding stealthily across his groin, tracing dangerous circles in dangerous places and turning the words on his tongue into a barely stifled groan. The shimmering heat he felt earlier was no longer a mere shimmer, stoked into hissing flames with every wicked touch of her hand.

If she continued any further ...

"Harper." Eli caught her hand, and it took a tremendous amount of effort to break their kiss a second time so that he could look her in the eye. He hesitated for a moment before whispering the question, "Are you sure about this?"

They both knew what "this" was, and they both knew the answer. But he had to ask. Because when she kissed him like that, touched him like that, he knew it wouldn’t be long till the familiar feeling of losing control consumed him. And today—

Today, she had already shattered his guard and left it in pieces on that beach. If they started anything now, he wouldn’t be able to stop at all.

Harper held his gaze without the slightest sway, as if expecting the question all along. Instead of answering, her hand glided up from his waist, mapping a soft and tingling path along his abs that made him suck in a shuddering breath. She grazed past his stomach, his chest, and stopped with her palm pressed flat against his heart.

"You have no idea how long I’ve been waiting for this day." Her voice was a chiming melody that completed the drumming of his heartbeat under her touch. "Don’t you dare back out on me at the last minute. I want you, all of you."

... There were no words for all the things that the confession made him feel.

For a moment, Eli was sure that his heart had stopped, and when it started beating again after a long stretch of awestruck seconds, it pounded with a rhythm so wild that he was sure she felt it under her palm.

"... How are you real?" It was all he could manage to say before crushing his lips back onto hers.

Familiar sensations crashed over him. The feeling of being pulled by gravity, falling free but steady to where he belonged. The feeling of the world shrinking and fading until there were only the two of them left. The feeling of his soul being cradled by a warm blanket, soft and fuzzy and leaving no room for any more insecurities to hide.

He knew these feelings, this power she wielded over him that lived and breathed and hummed in the very air. But what he didn’t know was the meaning behind what she just said ... Could she have been waiting for this day as long as he had? Could that mean she had felt all these same things too, perhaps even as strongly as he did?

Now, that was a new feeling he was still having a hard time grappling with. The incredible honor of receiving the unreserved affection of such an amazing, perfect girl. The surreal shock that despite everything, she believed in the person deep inside him, and she wanted him with all her body and soul.

The thought made him burn, and he didn’t hold back from showing it to her this time. Sweeping deep into her mouth, he stole her sweet breath with every brush of his tongue, every movement of his lips. His hand threaded into her hair, lacing his fingers within her locks in the same way that he wanted to entangle his whole body with her, knotted into a tight loop that could never be undone. His other hand simply followed its instinct ... and by the time he realized where it was, the top button of her collar was already undone, revealing under his fingertips the smooth touch of her skin.

Ah, what a treat that she was wearing a button-up dress today. Perfect for unwrapping her gorgeous body inch by inch, so that he could take his time to give her all the worship she deserved.

Eli sighed in giddy contentment as he trailed his lips down. With the first button out of the way, he kissed a wet path along the sensitive side of her neck before landing on her collarbones, tracing those delicate lines with feathery pecks. He reveled in the way she shuddered beneath him, the rise and fall of her chest becoming faster and faster as he dipped his tongue against the hollow of her throat.

With the pop of the second button, he continued further below, guided by the subtle scent of honey and vanilla that his dreams were made of. Her silky skin was the finest delicacy, and he breathed in its exquisite essence with every press of his mouth. When he reached the place that gradually led to the soft swell of her breasts, he nudged it gently. He loved it when her arms looped behind him in response, as if silently telling him to keep going exactly that way.

With the third button ...

He paused when the open collar revealed to him a front-clasp bra, white with floral laces, trimmed in blue embroidery.

The same one she had worn that first day when he was in her bed.

He looked up and saw Harper’s eyes fluttering open. Slowly, her lips curved into a knowing smile. "You remember it?" she asked softly, the look on her face a bit mischievous.

"How can I forget?" Eli couldn’t help but grin. She must’ve picked this particular piece to remind him of the day when they took that fateful first step ... How could he have possibly forgotten a single moment that happened between them ever since then?

"I remember all about it, Harper. And all about the pretty things hidden beneath." He winked in matching mischief, reminding her of their conversation on that same day. With a flick of his finger, he undid the clasp.