“You’re beautiful,” he whispered as he scattered kisses along the incision line and over to her bellybutton. When he heard her release the breath she’d been holding, he slipped his tongue inside the well of her navel. He heard her gasp again, but this time in a different way, an excited way.
Stretching out beside her, Hardy rested his weight on one arm as he hovered above Miracle. He raised his hand and rubbed the backs of his fingers over her jawline. “I want tonight to be perfect for you. Just know that it’s already been perfect for me.”
He saw her eyes fill with tears just before he lowered his mouth to hers and began the dance that would awaken her body to the fire, to the passion that they felt for one another.
The kiss that began as sweet quickly turned to breathtaking, as it so often did between them. Her hands were in his hair and clutching at his shoulders as his fingers explored her smooth skin.
Tearing his mouth away from hers, Hardy kissed a trail down her neck and chest to the valley between her br**sts. Slipping his fingers inside the band of the silky material, he released the front closure and leaned back to take in the treasure he’d just revealed.
She was perfect. More perfect than he’d imagined. Reverentially, Hardy brought his hand up to touch her. He thrilled at the chills that spread across her chest and tightened her ni**les. Lowering his head, he had to taste them.
After worshipping her with his lips and tongue, Hardy left Miracle’s br**sts to continue his exploration of her body. He nibbled his way across her ticklish ribs and the curve of her hip to the edge of her lacy panties. He slowly slid them down, kissing along behind them until he’d been to her ankles and back again.
When he brought his lips to hers once more, Miracle was moaning and writhing beneath him, softly begging him to touch her, to make love to her.
Hardy felt her arousal. He gritted his teeth against an ache, a physical need greater than any he’d ever known.
Rolling smoothly to his feet, Hardy quickly dispatched his own clothing, hating to have robbed Miracle of the chance to undress him, but too far gone to take the time.
Next time, he reminded himself, opening a tiny square package as he moved to kneel between her feet.
Obligingly, Miracle parted her legs to accommodate Hardy as he stretched out on top of her. He could feel the heat and moisture of her touching him, teasing him at his most sensitive point. Supporting his weight on his forearms, Hardy cupped Miracle’s face. He kissed her long and slow and deep as he moved his body against hers. When he leaned back to look into her face, he gave her one last chance to change her mind.
“Are you sure you want to do this?”
He thought he might die if she said no, but he loved her enough to honor her decision, whatever it was. It would just mean a few more cold showers in his future.
Miracle raised her fingers to Hardy’s mouth, trailing the tips across his lips. Her eyes were shimmering pools of emerald he thought he could drown in and die the happiest man alive.
“I’ve never wanted anything more in my life,” she said softly. “If I died tomorrow, being with you, like this tonight, will have been the best night of my entire existence. And it’s not because of a stupid bucket list; it’s because I love you.”
Situating his body at her entrance, Hardy eased a fraction of his length into Miracle. “I love you, Miracle,” he whispered. “You’re mine,” he said, inching his way forward a bit more, “and I’m yours,” he added, moving further in. “Forever.” And with that, he pushed his way quickly past the obstruction, making Miracle a woman. His woman.
He heard the breath hiss through her teeth and saw her squeeze her eyes shut. He paused to give her time to accommodate his size, scattering tender kisses across her face until he saw her relax. When she began to move beneath him, he flexed his hips a tiny bit as his lips found hers. Within seconds, their passion returned and rose to fever pitch, as it always did.
Hardy held onto his control with gargantuan effort as he moved slowly inside Miracle. He felt her short fingernails digging into the skin of his back, which only served to further inflame him. He groaned when she sank her teeth into his bottom lip and lifted her hips to meet his thrust.
He increased his tempo, driving his body more and more deeply into hers. He heard the soft purring in the back of her throat and felt his control slipping. When Miracle nipped at his earlobe and whispered to him, “Now,” it was Hardy’s undoing.
Ravaging her mouth with his, Hardy took them both to the edge of oblivion. He felt Miracle’s muscles clench as she tipped over it. It was more than he could bear. Abandoning himself to the most intense pleasure he’d ever experienced, Hardy followed her over the cliff and melted into the sweet waves of their joint climax.
********
A loud banging woke Hardy the next morning. Someone was knocking on his door—hard—but despite the rude awakening, he felt himself smile. He was still on cloud nine.
Crawling out of bed, he went to answer the door. Wayne Bradford stood on the other side, seething. Hardy could read rage in every tense line of his face and body.
“What did I do now?” Hardy asked, rubbing a hand across his face and turning to sit on the edge of his bed until he was fully awake.
“I got a call from Dean Wittison yesterday evening. Imagine my surprise when I learned that you’d withdrawn from their football program.”
Hardy could’ve screamed. “He wasn’t supposed to say anything.”
“Oh, so you were just going to hide it from me? For how long, Hardy? Did you think I wouldn’t find out?”
Hardy stood. “I knew you’d find out eventually. I’m not stupid and neither are you. I was going to tell you. I was just waiting for the right time.”
“And when was that?”
“When I’d gotten a job and enrolled in community college.”
“Community college?”
“Yes, Dad. Community college. What’s wrong with that?”
“What serious football player has ever come from a community college?”
“Cam N—”
“That was a rhetorical question,” he snapped, interrupting Hardy. “Besides, it doesn’t matter. We had it all planned out, Hardy. Even after you nearly ruined it, I managed to get some good schools interested in you. How could you do this?”
“You take this so personally, Dad, like I’m doing it to you. Well, it’s not your life. It’s mine. And this is just something I’ve decided I want to do.”