Abruptly, his hands circled my waist and he hoisted me over the center console so I was sprawled across his lap. I squealed in protest but it did nothing to deter his movements, and I quickly ended up with my back resting against the steering wheel, my knees straddling Bash’s thighs, and my arms draped loosely around his neck.
“That’s better.” He grinned, leaning forward tokiss the freckles on my nose. When his hands began to drift down from their hold at the small of my back to pull me against him, a soft groan slipped from between my lips.
“You’re evil,” I muttered, as his hands pushed my uniform skirt higher up my thighs so it bunched around my waist. His fingers toyed with the thin straps of my underwear as his mouth captured mine in a brief kiss.
“Are you sure you want me to drop you off? I have serious doubts that your Latin homework will be as…” His teeth scraped lightly against my earlobe as he shifted closer to whisper. “…interesting… as what we can come up with in the next thirty minutes.”
“I suppose Ms. Ingraham can wait a while,” I whispered into his collarbone, grinning. My hands locked around his neck tighter and I pressed myself flush against him, feeling a wave of desire crash through my system as his hands skimmed my back through the cottonMinnie’st-shirt. All thoughts of verb conjugations and worksheets fled as I pressed our lips together hungrily, my body moving against his in a slow, rhythmic grind. His tongue brushed against mine, my fingers traced his arousal through his jeans, and the point of turning back was quickly lost.
“I need you,” I whispered, not caring that I sounded like some cheesy romance-novel stereotype. Because, in that moment, it was the truest thing I’d ever felt — my life was falling to pieces around me, and only Bash could make it whole again. I needed to be full, complete, reassured that this life wasn’t all misery and misfortune. That love and joy still existed, and were strong enough to outweigh the sorrow or, at the very least, balance it out.
My hands tore at the buttons of his shirt and I was suddenly, achingly, desperate to feel his skin against mine. His fingers fiddled with his zipper then came up to roughly rip my panties aside, their thin straps no match for his urgency. With one swift motion, they were torn away. Sebastian’s hands wrapped around my waist, lifting my entire body slightly into the air. His gaze burned into mine as he brought me back down, ramming himself inside me with one fierce, fantastic stroke.
I cried out as he filled me, my hands bracing against his shoulders as I began to ride him. His jaw was clenched, his gaze saturated with heat as he fought to remain in control. Palming my breasts in his hands, he watched memove against him through slivered eyes. My head fell back as I began to unravel, the dizzying passion sinking my eyelids down to half-mast. The car ceiling over my head grew slightly unfocused, blurred as though I’d been slinging back shots of vodka all night.
I felt drunk — on love, on lust. Utterly inebriated by this ludicrous feeling of distorted perfection that was setting off fireworks within my body. Was this insatiable need to be joined as one — not only physically, but emotionally — a mere symptom of infatuation, of teenage lust? Or was it love, this fire burning in my veins, spinning me out of control until I felt so off balance I knew I’d never again be able to stand on my own?
“Look at me,” Sebastian gritted out between clenched teeth. I pulled my eyes from the ceiling and tilted my head back down to meet his gaze. “Do you feel that? Do you feel us, Lux?”
And I did — it was there in the air around us. A chemical reaction, an altered state of being, that occurs when two separate elements collide and change on a fundamental level — fusing together into a new, wholly unique compound. Their joining triggering the creation of entirely new matter: love in its most essential form.
“I feel it.” I gasped.
“This is real. We’re real.” His thrusts intensified to match the strength of his words.
I nodded, feeling my limbs begin to go languorous as pleasure overtook me completely. I rocked myself up and down against his length, his long strokes growing faster as we spiraled together toward delirium.
“You’re my girl. I’m not going to let anything happen to us. That’s a promise.”
I leaned forward and brushed my lips against his, feeling my heart flip over in my chest. I knew this feeling wasn’t the product of two new lovers exploring the wonders of a good fuck. This was stronger, more passionate — this was what all the songs and sonnets ever written had been about.
This was making love — literally constructing it from the union of our hearts and bodies.
“I love you,” I whispered against his lips, unable to contain the words a moment longer. His eyes widened fractionally and he clutched me tighter against him, as though he were afraid I’d somehow vanish from his arms, taking those three little words with me as I went.
“I love you more.” His fervent words were a bindingpromise.
Afterward, I lay draped across his chest, utterly spent. My forehead rested in the crook of his neck, my breaths labored and uneven as I thought about this wonderful boy, who’d seen past my rough exterior to the girl beneath. He’d taken a chance on me. It was time to take a chance on him, to trust him, as well.
“I have to tell you something.” My words were a shaky whisper, as I tilted my head back to meet his gaze. I watched as his eyes cleared of the cloudy, thoroughly-sated look, turning serious between one blink and the next.
“Anything.” His fingertip traced my cheekbone in a light caress. I listened to the light rain falling against the metal roof, remembering our first moments together in this very car, and steeled myself with a deep breath.
“It’s Jamie.”
I felt Sebastian’s body tense beneath mine, going completely still in preparation for the words he sensed were coming but could never have prepared for.
“He’s sick,” I whispered flatly. “The cancer’s back.”
There was a moment of total silence as he absorbed the news.
“He—” Sebastian’s voice cracked. Clearing his throat, he tried again. “He’ll be fine, though. He’ll get through it again.”
I nodded, my eyes filling with tears. “I keep telling myself that. It’s just…”
“Hard.” Bash finished for me, swallowing roughly. “I know. But we’ll get through it. Together.”
“Together,” I echoed softly.