It wasn't Ana's first kiss, but it might as well have been. Eric's lips sealed over hers—his tongue plundering until he'd stolen her breath away. His kiss was so fierce that it was almost as if he'd been waiting for this moment as long as she, but Ana didn't believe that for a second. They were stranded, and she was merely convenient.
And she was OK with that.
He tore his mouth from hers, and she whimpered in protest. It quickly turned to a moan when his lips slid over her throat and lapped tenderly before sucking. She felt her knees weaken, and had it not been for the arm around her waist, Ana would have slid down his body until she melted into a puddle before him. That would have been mortifying.
"Fuck, Ana," Eric said, as he lifted his head. His hands framed her face as he pushed her hair back. "I knew kissing you would wreck me."
She hadn't thought it possible, but her breath sped up. He knew kissing her would wreck him? He'd thought about kissing her? What else had he been thinking?
"Ana, I have to ask. Have you ever…"
His voice trailed off, and Ana had to gather her courage to finish his sentence. "Had sex before?" she asked in an unsteady voice.
For some reason he growled at her words. "Yes," he bit out.
She hesitated, unsure what would happen when he found out she was a virgin, not that he didn't probably suspect, but once she confirmed she hoped sex with him wouldn't be off the table…if that was where this was going. God, she hoped that was where this was going! "I…" Her voice broke, and she cleared her throat. "I haven't."
He stepped back and ran a hand through his hair. "Fuck."
She closed the distance once again, her body instinctively seeking his warmth. Her hand grasped his sweater in an effort to keep him from shifting away. "What does that matter?" she pressed. "If I want this…"
"Because this is all it will be, Ana," he informed her. "After Aspen, I'll be going back to—"
She shook her head furiously. "I don't care about after. I only care about now," she said, her voice pleading. "I just…I want this. And…I'm pretty sure you do, too."
"Of course I do!" he snapped. But she took no offense, and she didn't recoil. It was clear that despite her earlier thoughts, he had been waiting for this as long as she had. And it was wrecking him. She was wrecking him, and there were no words to describe how that made her feel.
"Eric," she whispered raggedly as she rose up onto her tiptoes and pressed her body against his. "Please." When he didn't respond, she lifted a hand to his hair and pulled his mouth to hers. "Please," she said again as her lips met his. When he still didn't react she persisted, brushing her lips slowly back and forth over his. One corner of his mouth…the other…the center of his lips…
His body abruptly surged forward, and she gasped as his hand twisted in her hair to yank her head back. He took advantage of her parted lips and joined their mouths, his tongue thrusting forth to commandeer the kiss.
He tore his mouth from hers—an annoying habit she was finding she didn't like at all—and pulled her shirt over her head to drop it at her feet. Taking a step back, he bent at the waist and pulled the cups of her bra beneath her breasts, thrusting them upward. A groan made its way from the back of his throat before his lips locked onto her nipple and sucked roughly. Ana felt a flood of warmth between her thighs and shifted uncomfortably as her hand tangled in his hair to hold him in place.
Tongue still teasing her nipple, Eric wrapped one arm around her shoulders, the other at the backs of her knees and swept Ana off her feet. It wasn't until she was lying on the makeshift and he lifted his hand to toy with her other breast that she realized she'd been missing out. Her back arched, forcing her body further into his mouth and hand. "Mmmm." Her groan filled the room as his hand left her breast and trailed down her belly until he'd reached beneath the waistband of her panties. Her body froze as his finger swept over her opening, but it didn't penetrate.
"God, Ana," he breathed. "You're so fucking wet for me."
She laughed nervously. "And…that's a…good thing, right?"
His head lifted and his mouth took hers in a swift, heated kiss. "So fucking good," he confirmed.
Pulling away, he kneeled beside her hips, then reached for the waistband of her 'luscious' sweatpants. Ana closed her eyes and took a deep breath as she licked her lips. If she lifted her hips and allowed him to take her pants of…this was it. There was no going back. OK, so technically, there would be going back and she knew without a doubt that Eric would stop if she asked him to.
But she wouldn't ask him to…simply because she wouldn't be able to. Her body craved his touch, and her mind focused on only one thing—losing her virginity to the man she'd been in love with for the last several years. So, yes. There were emotions involved. No, she would not walk away from this encounter unscathed. There was a good chance she would also end up wrecked, but it was a chance she was willing to take. Ana could admit she'd always been one to live with her head in the clouds. She'd never really had an opportunity where she knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that if she didn't take it, she'd regret it.
But she knew now. If she stopped what was happening right this very minute, she would regret it for the rest of her life. Without a shadow of a doubt.
Biting down on her lower lip, she lifted her hips for Eric. The grin of pleasure he gave her in return solidified her choice, and when his hands started pulling her panties and sweats down over her legs, she covered them with her own and shoved them down in anticipation.
Of course, her bravery only lasted a moment. When he moved between her legs and his hands tried to spread her thighs, she resisted. "You're still dressed," she pointed out.
"I am," he agreed, his eyes dancing. "I don't have to be naked to taste you, Ana."
"To…taste me?" she asked, her voice barely audible.
Eric chuckled, his hold letting up as his thumbs gently stroked the flesh of her inner thighs. "Ana, when I'm…inside you for the first time, it's going to hurt."
She nodded. "I know that."
"Ok," he said softly, then went on. "While I'm going to try like hell, I can't promise that it will be good for you the first time, or that you'll be relaxed enough to come."
Her chest heaved as her breathing picked up, and she could feel her cheeks heat. The first time? Did he mean her first time, or their first time? Would they do this again? God, they hadn't done it yet, but already she hoped there would be a second time.
"So I'm thinking if I can make you come first, then maybe you'll consent to this happening again."
"Ok," she said as she felt her breathing return to semi-normal.
He nodded. "And if I can get you even wetter, hopefully it won't hurt as much once I'm inside you."
"How wet can I get?" she asked in amazement.
The corner of his lips lifted in a sexy grin. "That's what I'm hoping to find out."
She took a deep breath and forced her gaze to his, then nodded once as she parted her thighs for him.