Not Without You

thirty

Leo

I respond to Aria removing my pants and boxer briefs with an explosion of activity, flinging her shirt over her head, pulling her off the mattress enough to remove her underwear and bra. And when I see her sprawled out naked on the bed, laying beside me with her dark hair fanned out across the pillow and her cheeks still a flushed shade of pink, I have to remove my shirt.

Aria grins, trailing her lips from my lower abdomen up to my torso to my chest, and then takes her sweet time across my jaw. Somewhere, in the back of my mind, I'm telling myself I should have shaved before coming here but Aria doesn't seem to mind. She kisses the corner of my mouth before our lips connect again.

As we're kissing, I run my hands smooth over her hips in long, sweeping strokes. I map her curves, her stomach, the arch of her back. I gently squeeze her biceps, murmuring against her lips how remarkable she looks. She smiles, hardening the kiss one last time before she breaks away to catch her breath. Her chest is heaving. So is mine. But that doesn't stop me from moving my mouth from her lips to her jaw, down her neck and across the collarbone. I'm hesitant, worried that I'm doing this incorrectly. Part of me wishes Aria would show me what she wants as she did minutes ago. However, the other part of me, the brave one that tends to find its way to the surface whenever she's around, enjoys the idea of exploring with no boundaries. I kiss the curve of her breast, the tip, and the valley between, extracting soft gasps from between her lips.

With the little space we have on this bed, Aria shifts her weight halfway off of me and reaches for the nightstand, grabbing the condom I brought. My cheeks begin to heat when I think back to the reason why I got it. I can't believe I actually took advice from Mom and the other two, but they had a valid point. Better safe than sorry.

Eyes filled with fascination and anticipation, I watch as Aria rips open the foil packet with her teeth and removes the condom from it, tossing the wrapper to the floor with our forgotten clothes. She briefly eyes me before rolling the condom onto me. A shiver goes down my spine as she touches me.

When she's finished, Aria pins my hands above my head as she straddles me, the outline of the muscles in her biceps glistening with sweat and shadows in the glow from the window. Our gazes are locked, heated, and I'm entirely aware of her bare thighs being pressed against my hips, of the electricity between us. Of how close she is to me.

When she leans down, she brushes her lips against mine, her hair acting as a curtain around us. I instantly melt into her, parting my lips when she strokes the seam with her tongue. She's smaller than me, height-wise, but the rest of her is muscle and strength. I can feel it in the way she touches me.

"I like this," she murmurs. "Lying horizontal and naked, with you."

Sometimes, I don't know where she comes up with these sentences, but that's what I love about her. She's unpredictable and always has the ability to surprise me. I chuckle, amused by her words, but really wishing she would just shut up and kiss me again.