Found (Lost and Found #2, New Adult Romance) (Lost & Found) (2 page)

“No, probably not. Why?”

“Then dinner can wait,” I whisper, and I push him down on the bed.

My mouth crashes into his in a passionate kiss so intense, so full of longing, that even I’m surprised. Our eyes meet and I feel as if I’m being drawn into his gaze. I could stare into those beautiful gray eyes forever. An incredible, fiery desire erupts inside me and wrests control from my mind, giving it to my body instead.

My lips find his again, tasting him, telling him with their burning touch all the desires that I couldn’t possibly find words for. I need him. I need him right now. His arms are around me before I realize it, and he pulls me down against him.

I can feel how excited he is, and somehow, knowing that I have this effect on him makes my mind sing in delight and throws even more kindling onto my fire. I couldn’t do this with anyone but him. The idea is unimaginable and almost terrifying to me. How am I even here? How did I rise from the ashes like this?

I straddle Owen, being careful not to hit his cast, and I lean in for another kiss. Soon his cast will be gone, and with it, so will the past. I pull the comforter at the foot of the bed up and over my head as I kiss him, and between the heavy blanket covering us and Owen’s hands running up my back, my body feels like it’s on fire. I’d get rid of the blanket, but it isn’t for me—it’s for him, to hide his scars.

“Can I take off your shirt?” I whisper in his ear, nibbling playfully on his earlobe as he holds me close. I’m sure he’ll say yes, but I know how sensitive he is about his scars. It’s only right that I ask, and I’m stunned at the longing I hear in my own voice. I never dreamed that someone could affect me like this. I want to share myself with him, to explore his love in a way I never dreamed I’d be able to.

He nods nervously, and I kiss him as gently and lovingly as I can. I want him to feel comfortable with me. I want him to be able to trust me, to be able to relax and enjoy being with me.

“You don’t have to take it off if you don’t want to,” I whisper, “but I love every last bit of you, even your scars.”

“I don’t deserve you,” he whispers back, and he gently takes my hand in his and lowers it to the hem of his shirt.

“Yes, you do,” I tell him, planting my lips onto his as I slowly lift up his shirt, only releasing him from the kiss when his shirt reaches shoulders. “You deserve more than I can ever give you.”

He pulls his shirt the rest of the way up and over his head, and then he tosses it down somewhere outside our blanket cocoon as I run my hands down his chest. I don’t care how many scars he has. They’re a part of him and so are the countless horrible ways he received them. Someday, I want to know the stories behind all of them, like he knows the story behind my scars.

His hands find my breasts through my brown tee shirt as I press myself against him, and his touch is like electricity to me. How he does this to me even with one hand in a cast is beyond me. His touch clouds my mind and sends incredible, indescribable feelings coursing through me. I feel like I’m floating outside myself, watching my overpowering feelings for him spill out. I love him more than I can even describe, and that’s why I’m so happy that I can be like this with him—that I can show him the love that I’ll never find words for.

He kisses me softly and slips his fingers beneath the hem of my tee shirt, looking up into my eyes inquiringly. I nod to him, my mind and body too excited even to
think
about objecting, and he slowly lifts my shirt up.

“You still doing okay, Maria?” he whispers as my shirt comes off. I nod excitedly and brush away a hair clinging to my face. I’m more than okay—I’m so turned on that I’m starting to sweat.

“I couldn’t be better,” I answer, drawing in a sharp breath as he shifts his weight on the bed, reminding me through both our pairs of jeans just how excited I’m making him.

“Don’t let me do anything you’re uncomfortable with,” says Owen, and his voice so low and full of desire that it only makes me want him even more. I’m more comfortable with him than I ever imagined I could be with someone. I kiss him so hard and with such fervor that I almost bite him by accident.

I love kissing him, feeling his body against mine, feeling the love and care radiating from him... I could do anything with him and it’d be okay tonight. He helped me get past the nightmares and start to recover. All my good memories of the new me—the Maria who owns her body and can live her own life—are with him. I’d do anything for him now.

I’m whole when I’m with him.

My mind is so clouded with desire that I’m not certain when, exactly, my jeans came off. They’re at the foot of the bed and I don’t care at all. I can hardly remember to breathe, let alone worry about pants I was going to take off anyway. Every breath comes in a sharp, almost panicked gasp as my body finds its own rhythm, rocking slowly against him as I kiss him with more emotion than I knew I had inside me. The feeling of his body against mine, his hands touching me and finding all the right spots, is so wonderfully intimate that I can barely think straight.

Darren can’t hurt me when I’m with Owen. I’m not scared anymore.

“I love you, Owen,” I whisper.

“I love you too, Maria,” he whispers back, and he kisses me again as my heart does a cartwheel.

I catch his good hand in mine and slowly guide it up my side and around to my back, holding back a shiver as his fingers brush delicately against my skin. I place it upon the clasp of my bra and then let go. He knows what I want him to do next. The bra falls away my back and hangs loosely from my shoulders, and I smile tenderly at Owen as I let the thin, sheer fabric slide slowly down my body. His eyes are wide and filled with longing. My mind should be screaming in terror as he rolls me over on the bed and kisses my breasts, but instead it’s singing in ecstasy.

His fingers brush against me through my underwear, first softly and then with greater and greater pressure, and my hips instinctively roll with him to match the motion of his fingers as an incomparable feeling of ecstasy wells up inside me. My eyes roll back in my head and I groan in pleasure as his touch sets me on fire. I want to cry out in delight but all that comes out is a delicate, delighted whimper.

“I want you,” I gasp, clutching at him and trying not to lose it completely as he leans down, kisses me softly on the neck, and then slides his hand down beneath my underwear. His fingers move down, down, closer and closer, and then he finally touches me. The feeling of his fingers against me is more than I can handle. I’m so sensitive that I can barely breathe, and I writhe uncontrollably and claw at the sheets as he drives me wild.

“I’ll be right back,” he whispers, and he plants a playful, ticklish kiss on my neck before ducking out from under the blankets and leaving me gasping for air and giggling with delight. I listen excitedly to the sound of his jeans falling to the floor outside the blanket, imagining him undressing, baring his slim, scarred and yet somehow still perfect body, and driving myself crazy with desire while he’s gone.

“You still okay?” he whispers as he lies beside me again, naked except for a condom. As I nod excitedly and run my hands down his smooth chest, he quietly adds, “I want you too, Maria. I want you so much.”

“I’m yours forever,” I whisper back breathlessly. I don’t know where the words came from, but I know that they’re true. He’s everything I need and everything I want. I tremble in anticipation as he slowly slides my underwear down my legs and lets it drop to the floor somewhere outside the warm dome of our blanket.

I’m still a little scared, but it’s easier this time and doesn’t hurt as much. I feel like I’m burning up from desire, and the sheets cling to my skin from sweat as he eases into me, caressing my face and kissing me gently the entire way. I pull Owen’s face to mine and kiss him, sharing my passion in a desperate, muffled moan as powerful feelings build up inside my body, and my mind soars higher and higher.

Owen’s fingers entwine with mine and the room falls away around us. None of our fears exist when we’re together. Nothing does. We’re all that’s left of the world, and together, we don’t need anything else.

I’m so glad we finally found each other.

––––––––

“S
o when were you planning on telling me that you could cook like this?” I ask as I rinse my plate. Steam rises from the sink and clouds the kitchen window, trickling down in long, winding streaks toward Owen’s windowsill garden.

“As soon as I was sure you liked my cooking,” Owen answers, and he kisses me softly on the cheek as he passes to put away a pot. “It’s not exactly anything fancy, though.”

“Are you kidding me? It was fantastic! I might never eat at home again.”

Owen made baked ziti with a thick, tangy vodka sauce, tiny shrimp, and enough melted mozzarella to choke a camel. If camels were inclined to eat mozzarella cheese, I mean. The meal was deliciously decadent already, and then he brought out the cannoli for dessert.

“Well, I’m glad you liked it. I wanted to do something nice for you for once instead of always mooching off of you and Tina.”

I finish rinsing a glass, put it down on the counter next to the sink and then turn to him.

“You weren’t mooching off of me,” I tell him, putting my hands on my hips. “You couldn’t afford food because of medical bills. What was I supposed to do? Let you starve?”

“Just because I hurt myself doesn’t mean that I deserve...”

I cut him off with a kiss before he can take the conversation down that path. I can’t believe his father hurt him like this. His father made him believe that he’s worthless, that he doesn’t deserve even the simplest things like food... that he doesn’t deserve to be loved. He deserves more and better than I’ll ever be able to give him, but at least this kiss is a start.

I put my arms around him both out of desire and also to keep him from backing away from me. He stiffens as I run my hands up his back but I don’t let go of him. Tonight is for us, not for his horrible father. I’m not letting those memories ruin the evening for him. He finally relaxes and puts his arms around me, returning my kiss.

“You’re amazing,” I whisper when our lips separate again, and I softly run my fingers through his hair. “You really are.”

Owen smiles radiantly back at me, almost blushing from my affection. He’s not used to feeling like anyone loves him, is he? I kiss him again just to drive the point home.

“If you feel like you need to make it up to me for feeding you,” I say, winking at him, “you can always pay me back in dances.”

“I’ll keep that in mind for the next time the grad union...”

“No, I mean like right now, right here,” I interrupt with a grin. I kiss him again, this time moving from his lips up to his ear and nibbling playfully. I love that I can be like this with him. It’s like I’ve found the way out of my cage and can finally spread my wings.

“Seriously?”

“Sure, why not?” I answer. “There’s nobody here to make fun of us.”

Before he can say anything else, I gently take his cast-bound hand in mine and position my right hand on his shoulder. He laughs and kisses me softly, and then we begin our awkward swing dance around the tiny kitchen. It’s not as fun and exhilarating as when we went out together, especially since we barely have room to move, but I still feel like the luckiest girl alive as his beautiful gray eyes catch mine and draw me into them.

Owen sends me out for a spin, and I laugh and go along with it. My socks squeak on the linoleum as I spin away from him, but as he reels me back in, my hand catches something on the countertop. I glance over my shoulder and watch as a glass wobbles back and forth and then finally topples off the counter.

It shatters as it hits the floor and I stop dead in my tracks as glittering glass shards scatter everywhere.

“Oh god, I’m so sorry,” I stammer, feeling my face flush in embarrassment. “I didn’t mean to—I just accidentally hit it when...”

I look up at him and suddenly realize that he hasn’t heard a single word I’ve said.

He’s staring down at the floor and his eyes are wide and dark with panic. The color drains from his face as his breath comes in short, tight gasps, and I carefully tiptoe through the minefield of broken glass and wrap my arms tightly around him.

I’ve been doing better these last few days, but Owen’s nightmares are still close at hand.

He nearly jumps out of his skin at my touch but then quickly relaxes and leans into me as I hold him close. He raises his hand to the long, white scar on his jaw and runs a finger down its length. Whatever terrible, dark place the broken glass took him to, he’s back now.

“It’s over, Owen,” I whisper, leaning my head against his chest. I can hear his heart racing, pounding in his chest in terror.

“Is it?” he asks weakly, still staring down at the shattered glass around us. “How can it be over when I still might have to go back there?”

“You’re
not
going back there,” I insist, squeezing him again. “You’re going to get into your doctorate program and live your own life now. He’s never going to hurt you again. I won’t let him.”

“What if they reject me?” he asks, his voice trembling. “What if I don’t get in and have to go back—“

“They won’t,” I interrupt. “Everything will be just fine. I’m here with you no matter what happens and I always will be.”

He leans his head on my shoulder and hugs me tightly. I run my fingers through his hair and look down at the broken glass littering the floor around us.

“Since you’re still wearing shoes, can you go get the broom, please?” I ask him.

He nods and makes his way cautiously across the kitchen to the cupboard before returning with the broom and dustpan. I follow behind him as he sweeps, wiping the floor with a damp paper towel to catch anything he misses. I can take care of the mess myself—I’m the one who broke the glass, after all—but I know he’s trying to take his mind off of his flashback. I wish I could talk to him more about his nightmares, but I’m still scared to ask. He’s told me a lot, but I know I’ve barely scratched the surface. I’m scared that I’ll hurt him and that he’ll shut me out if I dig too deeply into his fears.