THOSE SUMMER NIGHTS

[41]

I moved towards her and once I was close enough, she let out a breath. "Nothing is working. My hair won't stay the way it is. My makeup feels weird on my face. I can't find my black heels. My head hurts so fucking bad and I–"

"Hey, hey," I shushed her, taking her face in my hands and making her meet my eyes. She let out a quick, nervous breath that seemed to taper off to normal breaths as I ran my thumb over her cheekbones. "What's going on? You're okay."

She visibly swallowed, shaking her head, "I feel like I'm going to throw up and my body is shaking like crazy." And she was. Under my fingers, her body was vibrating and shaking with nervous energy.

I pulled her towards me, fitting her body against mine and brushed her hair back as she rested her face against my chest. Her arms wrapped around my torso and she held me close, breathing in and out and in and out. Her shaking body seemed to calm after a long while.

She took in a deep breath, "You look really nice,"

A small smile pulled at the corners of my mouth and I nodded softly, "So do you, my love."

She pulled back, blinking up at me for a moment before running her fingers against my cheek and down my jaw. My senses and nerves seemed to burn brighter and more alive under her touch. I starved for moments like these and I hoped she knew.

Her smile faltered a moment as she glanced at herself in the mirror. I gently pulled her face back to mine, "You almost ready?" I asked.

She shook her head, "Almost,"

I nodded and let her pull away from me, watching her turn around and baring her back to me. "Can you zip me up, please?"

I sucked in a breath through my nose and moved my hands to her back, brushing her hair to the side and letting out a sigh at the jolt that crackled under my skin at the contact with her back. Eden visibly took a stabilizing breath and I was happy to know that I wasn't the only one feeling it.

My fingers skimmed down the length of her back and my body grew hot at the action. When my fingers gripped the thin zipper at the very end of her back, I placed my other hand on her hip. A shiver ran down her back and goosebumps littered her skin. Just to see how she'd react, I brought my lips to the burning skin of her shoulder, trailing my way up her neck.

A heavenly sound that could've been both a gasp and moan escaped her lips as she trailed her hand up my neck, pulling me impossibly closer. The blood in my body roared in response to the way she pressed her body to mine. With each agonizing moment that passed, I pulled her zipper up an inch.

Her voice barely above a whisper, her hand pressed over mine, she sucked in a breath, "Atlas,"

An embarrassing, trivial feeling was released in the pit of my stomach and I held back every urge to strip her to nothing and memorize every inch of her body. Finally, I placed a slow kiss on the soft skin by her ear and pulled away. "We'll be late," I said, my voice thick with lust. I quickly cleared my throat.

She nodded and as she added the finishing touches to her face and outfit, I looked for her shoes. When I had finally found them strewn under the dresser, I moved towards her and showed her the shoes. Her eyes lit up and I moved to my knees, placing her feet in the shoes and tightening the straps around her ankles. Her silence and deep breaths stirred a deep need inside of me.

I moved to my full height and smiled at her, watching her take her bottom lip between her teeth. I took her chin in between my fingers, brushing my thumb over her lips. Her lips pulled into a small smile, "Thank you, Foreman."

I smiled, winking at her, "Always, Firecracker."

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