Slowly, so agonizingly slowly, his forehead came down to rest on top of mine as his eyes kept boring into me. One of his hands held a firm grip on my hip as the other touched my cheek tenderly. He traced his fingers over my cheek, down to my lips. His thumb held the underside of my jaw, and he tilted my head back. I felt like I was pleading for him to touch his lips to mine.

He tucked some of my hair behind my ear. “Are you sure it’s over with him?”

My throat had swollen, so I couldn’t talk. I nodded instead.

His hand trailed down my arm, taking hold of both of my hips again, and he tugged me to the edge of the counter. My legs fell open, wrapping around his waist. Every inch of us was pressing into the other, but I wanted to get closer. I had to. Too damn long we’d been apart. His touch was like oxygen to me. I began to move against him, rubbing up and down. My lips opened, and his gaze darted down, lingering there now.

He asked again, “You’re not going back to him?”

There was no way I could do it now, not after…I knew where this was going. His hand left the counter and slid underneath my legs. He tipped me backwards, slowly lowering me until I was on the counter. Under heavy eyelids, I watched him, feeling exposed as I waited for his continued touch. We had made out and slept in the same bed, but we had never been together. His hands held my hips, anchoring me, but he didn’t close the distance.

I couldn’t taste him yet, and the need was escalating. I was beginning not to care what happened later. I needed this night.

“Bri,” he murmured, his breath caressing me again. I couldn’t talk, so I sat back up. His fingers caught my shirt and pulled at the corner while his knuckles grazed my side. “What is this?” he asked, his voice gruff. “Just sex?”

I didn’t care. I didn’t respond, but I would take anything at that moment. If that made me pathetic or weak, so be it. I just needed him. Sliding my hands under his shirt, I pushed it up until he took it off. It was tossed to the floor, his eyes glancing up once to catch mine before falling back to my lips. Then I leaned forward, just a tiny bit until my lips pressed harder against his. I waited, my heart pounding all the way in my eardrums. The hunger was so deep, and then Luke let out a breath, and I knew it was time. His lips opened over mine, claiming me, and I arched forward to meet him.

Everything went up a notch. His hands lifted me from the counter, and I wrapped my legs tighter around his waist. Wherever he was going, it didn’t matter. As his tongue swept inside, a part of me sighed from contentment. This was it. This was enough. The taste of him was everything I had missed, and I couldn’t get enough. As he lowered me to a bed, I ran my hands over him, anchoring him to me this time.

He gasped against my lips, but then reared back and ripped off my shirt. He tore the straps on my bra so it fell away. As my fingers went to his jeans, his went to mine, but it wasn’t enough. He held me in the air and pulled off my pants. My underwear was torn away like my bra, and then he stopped, his chest heaving for air, and I lay back, panting the same. My pulse was pounding all over. I hadn’t realized how strong until that one touch from him.

It was blinding.

With eyes that were almost black, he watched me. Holding his gaze, I pushed his jeans down. His boxers went next, and he sprang forward. As my hand went to him, he bent at the same time to lift me further up the bed, coming with me as he reached for a condom at the same time. Holding himself up with one hand, he gazed at me, never leaving me as I began to caress him. He was hard. His heartbeat matched mine. I could feel it from him, and I licked my lips. One taste wasn’t enough. As he bent down and touched his lips to mine, I knew it wasn’t ever going to be enough.

As he pushed inside me and began thrusting, I clung to him. My head fell back against the pillow, but I moved with him. Our hips were joined. Every inch of us touched the other. We were fused together. This was what I had been missing for so long. This was our first time together, but it had been missing from my life.

He rose above me, over and over through the night, and I knew without a doubt that I was addicted to him. There was no going back.

Luke trailed kisses up my throat, poised over me, and I tilted my head up, enjoying the feel of his lips. Hearing my own groan, I laughed and peeked open one eye. He smirked down at me. He asked, “Enjoying yourself?”

Running my hands up his back, I applied pressure under my nails, letting them lightly scratch his back. He always loved this, and when his eyes closed again, I knew he was enjoying it again. He was distracted, so I scooted down in the bed, wound my legs around his waist, above his hip bones, and pushed myself up as I used my legs to pull him down at the same time. Our positions were reversed with me on top.

Luke’s eyes opened, and he ran a hand underneath my shirt. “That was nice and smooth.”

Straddling him, I sank down on him, rubbing myself over the front of his jeans. We had come home from school earlier. We were supposed to be writing songs for the band, but that turned into flirting, and eventually all pretenses were given up. We headed upstairs to Luke’s bedroom, and for the last hour we had been sharing kisses and much more. My hand fell down to his jeans. They’d been unbuttoned earlier, but that was the farthest we had gone.

“Bri.” Luke sucked in his breath, stilling under my hand.

Feeling brave, braver than normal, I bit down on my lip, and my hand slipped inside his jeans. His hands fell to my hips, and he gripped them hard. Feeling the power my touch had over him, I wanted to do more.

The sides of his mouth were strained, but he jerked it up into a smile, remaining still under my hand. One of his hands left my hip and cupped the side of my face. His thumb traced over my cheek softly, as he asked, “What are you doing?”

“I want to.” I looked down at where my hand was between us. I didn’t say anything more, and before Luke could question me again—he was always making sure I was okay—I shifted down on his lap. Feeling him through his boxers, my hand went inside. He was already hard, but at the touch of my finger, he sprang upward.

“Bri,” he whispered.

I looked up and saw his eyes were clouded. He was enjoying the touch of my hand, so I rubbed my finger up and down. His eyes closed. Slowly, he lay back down, and I wrapped my whole hand around him, just holding him for a while.

I was enjoying this power over him.

“Luke,” I started to say. I wanted to do even more.