Page 33 of To Regret a Raven

“Yes?”

“Will you be my emergency contact?”

She giggled, holding his arm just a little bit tighter. “I’d be honored.”

18

SHOW ME

Fisher did end up having a concussion, but it was mild, just as Drie had thought. She still demanded that he return home with her so she could keep an eye on him through the night. A worry that proved unfounded as he’d woken that morning with no lingering symptoms, but despite the disappearing act he’d pulled the night prior, he did not put up nearly as much of an argument as she’d expected.

It had been months since they’d reconnected in their park. Months of talking and study session lunches and good night texts as she went to bed alone. Months of waiting, and now, sheknewthat he had been holding out on her.

He’d seemed so adamant about taking it slow. She thought it was sweet and considerate, and it made her love him all the more. But Drie missed sex. And despite whatever it was that he thought he needed to prove to her, she was ready.

She stood when he stepped from the bathroom with a pair of basketball shorts low on his hips, heading for the bedroom door while shaking a hand towel through his wet hair. He must’ve thought she’d already left the room as he stilled in surprise when Drie sidled up behind him, grabbing his forearm to stophim from reaching the doorknob. She released her hold when he lowered his arm back to his side, running her fingertips up his back and along his shoulder, just lightly enough to make him shiver.

“What are you doing?” Fisher gritted out, letting the hand towel fall to the floor as he pressed his free hand against the door. Drie dragged her nails across his smooth skin, eyeing the muscles that rippled in response. She bit down on her lip as she teased him, the touch unintentionally having nearly as much of an impact on herself as she wanted to have on him.

She traced along his collarbone before moving down the center of his chest. “Isn’t it obvious?” she asked, brushing her thumb over his nipple. He groaned, his chest heaving under her hand. “I’m seducing you.”

“We shouldn’t—” He kept his eyes straight forward. “You asked for time.”

She let her hands drag down his stomach, tracing the ridges there before teasing under the band of his shorts as she walked around his body to stand before him, forcing herself into his line of sight. Looking up, she scanned his face, cataloging his tense jaw and pupils so blown that only the grey rims of his irises were visible.

“You don’t want to?” she teased with a faux pout, placing a hand firmly on his chest and advancing, running the hand up and around the back of his neck as her body came flush against his, relaxing into the feel of how naturally they fit together.

Fisher scoffed, and with eyes of steel fire, he finally moved, threading one hand through Drie’s hair and the other bunching her shirt at her waist. She wasn’t sure if the hold was to keep her from coming closer or backing away, but she curved into the touch with a contented sigh.

“Why are you torturing me?” he asked, his eyes blazing. “You were the one who asked to take it slow.Glacial, you said. You’re making it very difficult to respect that.”

“Well”—Drie smirked—“I’m not really in the mood to be respected right now.”

The corner of Fisher’s lip twitched, and his eyes widened, looking to be teetering on the verge of either laughing or passing out before his chin lowered, and he brushed his lips against her cheekbone in a lingering caress. “What is it that you want, then?” he asked, his voice soft and teasing against her ear.

“I want you,” she answered honestly, her breath growing shallow beneath his gentle touches.

“You have me.” His voice moved to the other side as he nibbled on the lobe. “Want to know what I want?” he asked, his voice reverent as he moved back toward her neck, sucking at the point just below her ear. “I want forever.”

“Yes.” She sighed, enjoying the way his hands tightened their hold at her immediate agreement. “You love me?”

“With every part of me,” he vowed.

“Thenshowme.”

She could see the surrender in his eyes as he pulled back, a moment before he answered her summons, meeting her with a searing kiss. She could feel his erratic pulse racing beneath her palm, and his desire served to fuel her own to new heights. She rose to her tiptoes, straining to get closer.

Warm hands dropped to the backs of her thighs, and he pulled her up to straddle his hips, pressing her into the door at her back. Vaguely, she was aware of the doorknob stabbing into her hip, but it was overshadowed by everythingFisher. The bruising grip of his calloused hands on her skin, the subtle tremble of his body, the firm evidence of his arousal pressing deliciously against the ache between her thighs. With every rockof his body, she gasped and sighed and scrambled for better purchase—to get him closer, to kiss him deeper.

It was everything she’d been missing. It was almost too much, and it was nowhere near enough. She yanked her head back, breaking contact long enough to growl, “Bed.” It came out garbled, but Fisher understood. He stepped back until his knees met the mattress and dropped like a stone, Drie landing in his lap and rolling her hips, grinding against him in a desperate search forfriction.

Her skin burning, she grabbed the hem of her shirt and jerked it up, anxious to feel his skin against hers. But it snagged, somewhere between her chin and her elbows. She adjusted her grip, but couldn’t get enough purchase with the angle of her arms. The struggle was beginning to take her out of the moment, so she stilled, waiting.

“Help me,” she gritted out as Fisher chuckled.

“Shh,” he whispered as he leaned forward and nibbled at her collarbone before quickly running his tongue over the same spot in a soothing motion. Her gasp melted into a moan, and she let her arms relax on top of her head, the shirt momentarily forgotten as she got lost in the feel of his mouth. The vision deprivation made the anticipation sharpen, every touch a spark of kindling to her sensitized nerves, threatening to send them both up in flames.

She gasped as he dragged a finger along the edge of her strapless bra, unclipping the back and pulling it down in one smooth motion, his thumb moving closer to the hardening bud with each pass of his hand, until he wasright there, and he pulled back, removing his hands from her entirely. Drie gave a shimmy in protest, and she groaned when his mouth replaced his fingers—hot and wet and demanding as he rolled the nipple on his tongue, his hands splaying around her rib cage to hold her steady. She arched into him as each suck sent a bolt of fire to hercenter, heating her blood and making her rock harder, faster, desperate for relief.