Chapter 21: Head over heels
With that Ann's mind finally caught up to what her body was doing. It replayed what Mark had said on an infinity loop, testing it for all possible explanations.
But before she could come up with anything his lips were on hers again. This time, he probed deeper, softly begging with his tongue for her to let him in. The flames inside her flared higher with every intake of air. Moaning involuntarily she opened her lips. His tongue entered her mouth, tenderly probing, exploring, trying to figure out all her secrets.
The sensation echoed in her whole body. She was wide awake and at the same time floating in a dream.
Yet the kiss had a hesitant quality, very controlled, very gentle, leaving her aching instead of satisfying. Wanting to share the burning that had spread to a roaring wild-fire, she invited him to delve deeper.
With a groan he accepted and the tone of the kiss changed, becoming harder, more demanding. His breathing was as ragged as hers and she could feel the effect their kiss had on him as his body tensed. He leaned into her, shifting her so she came to lie on her back. Circling her arms around his neck she pulled him down on her. Without hurting her, he arranged his weight so that he could go on kissing her while letting one hand wander down her side. Her back, having a will of its own, arched up towards him when his hand found the entrance into her shirt, caressing the soft skin over her ribs.
She let her own tongue wander, using his distraction of exploring her skin to become more demanding herself. Her delving into the hot cavern of his mouth was rewarded with a low moan. Every line of his body was tense with arousal now. The air between them seemed to crackle. She let her hands wander about his upper body. His groans became deeper, more guttural, almost a growl. He had lost part of his firm grip on himself, letting his passion roam, devouring her with his hot mouth.
But the need for oxygen became more pressing every second. Not wanting to break the kiss she delayed the necessary, consciously taking out some of her demand, letting her tongue play a bit, finally retreating. Oxygen probably being an issue on his side as well, he let her retreat, nibbling softly at her lip, once, twice, soothing the little bites instantly, before he broke the kiss completely.
Opening her eyes she saw him lying half on top, half to the side of her, eyes still closed. They both panted. This kiss had gotten further than common sense said it should have. As far as she could tell the same thought was crossing his mind. He was obviously working hard to regain his control. Seeing how high the fire inside herself flared she was right with him on that point.
She tucked a strand of his hair behind his ear, getting a better view of his face. He opened his eyes, looking at her. The eyes were almost black, filled to the brim with his desire. Knowing, he managed a small reassuring smile, telling her that she had nothing to fear from him. Then he let himself fall onto his back beside her, still breathing heavily.
Nothing to fear? Why didn't she believe that? It wasn't what he had meant but she had fallen head over heels. There was no going back. There was every reason to fear.