He slumped on the couch and said, “Go ahead.”
I turned it over. It was a black and white sketch with the image of a girl. Her face was shadowed by the locks of hair blowing over her. She sat cross-legged gazing into the ocean. There was a certain gloominess to the canvas but the longer I stared at the girl, she dissipated the darkness bringing life to the drawing. She was stunning. It was mesmerizing how all that could be achieved with art.
The lines of the drawing were mesmerizing. He used some sort of pencil that had a charcoal effect. Blinking, I took a closer look and recognized the setting and the girl.
It was me.
I gasped, acknowledging that I’d thought of myself as beautiful formed a lump in my throat.
The image was shielded by glass, even so, I refrained from my urge to run my hands over it, afraid to smear or ruin it. In the bottom-right corner, he wrote: When it began. Followed by the date we took our first road trip.
“When, what began?”
“The bond between us.” He smiled. “You basically admitted that your hobby was puking and self-deprecation. Instead of running for the hills, I wanted to stay.”
I didn't have the energy to think of a comeback. I couldn’t even contain the bundle of emotions gripping my chest. It was too much for one night. The feeling engulfed me and when he stood to touch my hand, I knew.
I was ready to be seen.
I intertwined our fingers and led him to my room and sat him on my bed.
Sucking in a breath, digging deep for courage, I stood facing him, raised my left arm and pulled down the zipper of my dress. I glided its straps down both my shoulders and wiggled out of it, allowing the material to fall to my feet. I reached for my back and unclasped my bra, dropping it down. Lastly, I shimmied out of my underwear and it joined the rest of the clothes.
I was naked with the bright bedroom lights on. And although I wanted to be brave, I also wanted to run into a corner and hide. He was looking at my ugliness and a part of me waited for the disappointment to show on his features.
It never came.
Instead, Ezra smiled. He stood and stroked the side of my face, his eyes looking down at me with such tenderness.
My unsteady fingers worked on the buttons of his shirt, I stood on my heels to push it off his shoulders and then reached for his belt. I unbuckled it, opened his pants and brought them down to his feet. Then I did the same with his briefs.
“You’re so beautiful,” he said, his low gruff tone forced a riot in my belly. “I can’t believe this moment is finally here.”
My eyes never left his face.
The heat in his eyes, combined with the desire coursing through me caused my breath to hitch. I watched as his face lowered to mine to capture my mouth. He groaned, pulling our bodies together. I closed my eyes, feeling the heat of his body, and the pressure of his erection, as I gave into the kiss. An unfamiliar warm sensation centered in my chest and I allowed the feeling to encompass me to a point that it was overwhelming. I wanted to cry because I’d never felt as desired or as loved as I did under his tender gaze. A single tear flowed from the corner of my clenched eyes.
Snaking my arms around his back. He swept me off my feet, I felt minuscule and safe in his arms, and lowered me to the bed. He sat back on his heels gazing at me.
With his hands, he traced the outline of my body, from my neck down to my legs. Then, in an instant his body covered mine, he dipped his mouth to my neck, nipping a burning trail down my neck towards my chest. He bit lightly on each of my nipples and I cried out from the buzz of desire. He kissed my stomach, my navel and parted my legs. With one long and warm stroke, he licked from my clit all the way to my center.
Fisting the sheets, I gasped. “Again, please,” I begged and he obeyed.
I squirmed and fidgeted unable to stay still with the intensity building between my legs. Too soon he stopped and his mouth was back on my breast.
“Ezra,” I breathed out with a gasp as he sucked my nipple and swirled his tongue around it. One of his hands found its way back between my legs. He removed his mouth and slipped to the other breast, giving each equal attention.
I was climbing to a new level of arousal I’d never thought possible. I was seconds away from climaxing and unable to control my breathing. The sensation was better than what I’d imagined. Unable to hold back any longer, I shattered, sinking my nails into his back. When I blinked and resurfaced, he was staring into my eyes with a knowing grin.
“I don’t have a condom,” he said. “I wasn’t expecting this tonight.”
“I’m on the pill,” I affirmed. His eyes voiced the question his mouth didn’t. “Yes, I’m sure,” I stated firmly.
No further persuasion was needed. My breath caught in my chest as he slipped into me as deep as he could.
“You’re fucking perfect.”
A sound erupted from deep within him. Ezra linked our hands and pinned them above my head then he withdrew and thrust into me, tightening his grip on my palms. I swayed my hips ebbing and flowing with his rhythm. His tongue assaulted mine, overpowering my senses. The scent of my arousal on his lips, the smoothness of his skin, the way our bodies moved in perfect sync swathed me in a bliss of lust. I closed my eyes, burying my soul in his.
Nothing was new, yet it all felt renewed like I’d never been touched before.
I curled my toes in response to the shockwave rippling to an unbearable level. He twitched against my walls and stiffened. The veins on his neck pulsed, then he looked down at me, his eyes locked with mine. I was unable to look away as we both were taken captive by the torrent of pleasure.
There was a lot invested in that moment, and not only my body, but also my soul. It was full and felt unlike anything that I’d experienced with the men who came before Ezra. It was incredible how different sex was, compared to intimacy. I gave all of myself to Ezra, and not just my body. I was falling into him. Falling with him. I was falling for all of him and didn’t want to be caught.
Coming down from the most intense orgasm of my life, I could barely keep my eyes open. However, I didn’t want to close them. I didn’t want to wake-up in the morning to discover everything had only been a beautiful, perfect dream.
Shifting closer to him, I asked, “Why couldn’t you see me before?”
He frowned slightly.
“All these years we’ve known each other, but you never saw me.”
“I had my eyes fixed in the wrong direction.” Tenderly, he tucked a strand of hair behind my ear. “But I won’t ever take my eyes away from you. I’ve found my north star.”
Chapter Twenty-One
Ezra
“Ihave to go,” I whispered, spreading kisses all over her face. “I’ll see you at the office.”
“It’s so early,” she protested in a husky voice. “Stay a little longer.”
“I wish I could, but I can’t. I have to take care of something.”
There was sadness in her eyes. I wanted to tell her the truth about everything that was going on, but the time wasn’t right. Or perhaps, I was afraid she would walk away from me once she knew.
“Okay,” she said quietly and it tore my heart. “I’ll see you at the office.”
I pressed one last kiss on her forehead before leaving.