Winning the Heir Who Bullied Me Chapter 63

I’ve heard many tales of first kisses. I’ve heard it can be disappointing and uncomfortable and clumsy. Louise said hers was during Seven Minutes in Heaven, and it was awkward and sloppy.

If I’m to add my experience to the list of tales. It’s all-encompassed into one word.

Explosive.

It feels like my world explodes into a million tiny bright atoms swirling around me in dizzying intensity. It feels like I explode with it, all my nerves and cells dispersing into starlight. It feels like I’m floating away in a million tiny pieces, and the only thing that grounds me to earth is Nathan’s lips against mine.

The kiss is slow and sweet. Nathan’s lips are just as soft as I imagined they’d be. When he pulls me closer to him and deepens the kiss, something inflates in my chest that threatens to suffocate me with the intensity of my own emotions.

My hand slips from his cheek as I wrap my arms around his neck and press closer, trying to eliminate every iota of space between us.

I don’t even know if I’m kissing right, but in this moment, there’s no room for my self-doubt and insecurities.

All there is is sensation and intensity, and *Nathan.* The scent of him, the warm solidity of his body, the sparks of electricity his touch ignites in me. I’m drowning in the whirlpool that is Nathan Ashford, and I have no desire to ever get out.

It’s like the kiss unlocks something inside me—that box where I stuffed all my feelings and reservations so I would never be blindsided by hurt. The box bursts open, and the feelings that rush out are like a flood threatening to sweep me under if Nathan isn’t holding me up.

Too soon—too fucking soon—Nathan breaks the kiss. I blink rapidly, stunned at the sudden loss of sensation. My heart is pounding hard in my chest, and I’m so close to Nathan that I can feel his heart pounding through my thick sweater.

He leans down and presses his forehead against mine. His eyes are dark and intense, and they pin me in place as he pants.

“You’re not safe or familiar,” he breathes, and his warm breath fans against my lips, which still tingle with sensation. It takes me a while to remember that he’s referring to what he said earlier about trying to kiss me during Truth or Dare.

Nathan’s hands slip from my waist and cup my heated cheeks. My face is so small between his large hands that his fingers slip into my hair. “You’re dangerous and new and wild. Every time I’m around you, I can’t think quite straight. I worry that I’m too cold or too hot or I’m saying all the wrong things and…*fuck*.” He closes his eyes. “You drive me crazy, April.”

“Well,”—my voice sounds strange to my ears—“if it’s any consolation, you do a damn good job at hiding it.” I think of all the times I couldn’t tell what he was thinking behind his blank and maddeningly polite expression.

Nathan’s chuckle reverberates through his chest and into mine.

He leans in and stops when his lips are a hair’s breadth from mine. “I want to kiss you again,” he says softly, and the words feel like a caress.

“Please,” I whisper.

This time, when his lips touch mine, it’s not slow. He kisses me with an intentionality and intensity that makes my legs go weak.

Nathan grips me tight around the waist, holding me up. I feel his tongue gently caress my lips, and instinctively, I open up for him. He wastes no time in sliding his tongue into my mouth, and I would be embarrassed by the loud moan that escapes me if I wasn’t so fucking occupied right now.

Tentatively, my tongue snakes out and strokes his, and he rewards me with an approving growl. As our tongues tangle together, I think I might drown in the taste of him, in the feel of him.

His hand slips underneath my sweater, and a shudder runs through me at the sensation of his warm hand against my heated skin.

“Is this okay?” he mumbles against my lips as his hands explore the expanse of my back, stopping just beneath my bra.

As an answer, I pull back ever so slightly, and, our eyes still locked, I grab the hem of the sweater and pull it over my head in one swift moment.

Nathan’s eyes widen ever so slightly, and if I were a cartoon, you’d be able to see my heart literally beating out of my chest.

The look in his eyes as he takes in my heaving chest blasts whatever insecurities that might have formed at being half-naked before Nathan Ashford.

“Equality, right?” I try to joke as I run a shaky hand over his bare torso.

He shudders under my touch and leans forward, capturing my lips in his kiss.

I revel in the feeling of skin on skin, of my breasts pressed against his chest. Of the giddy realization that I’m making out with Nathan *freaking* Ashford.

We kiss for what feels like forever, but still not enough.

I feel Nathan’s hands slide from my waist and grip my ass, pressing me hard against him, and my following moan is muffled by his lips.

Nathan thrusts his hips forward, and I feel *him*—hot and hard and big.

*If you need condoms, just knock.*

My eyes fly open, and before I can process what I’m doing, I tear myself away from Nathan.

His eyes fly open, and it takes him a second to come down to earth and understand that I pulled away.

“Wha—”

“I’m sorry,” I pant, feeling like the room is boiling around me. “I just—”

I glance down, and my mouth dries up. Because the sweatpants are a little tight, you’d need to be blind not to see the huge tent Nathan is pitching. Something warm twists in my lower belly, and I unconsciously bite my lip.

Nathan follows my gaze and curses softly. He covers the area with his hands, and my cheeks redden. “Sorry,” he groans. “I—”

“You’re not seriously about to apologize for being attracted to me,” I cut him off.

He pauses, then a small chuckle falls from his lips. “Right.”

I hug myself, suddenly feeling exposed but having no intention of covering up. “It’s just—” I sigh. We’ve already trusted each other with our deepest secrets; what’s one more?

“That was my first kiss, and I’ve never…I’m a… I mean—”

Nathan moves closer, gently cups my face, and kisses my forehead tenderly, effectively shutting me up.

He tilts my head up so our eyes meet. “Wanna go to bed?”

My eyes widen. “T-together?”

He chuckles and reaches down to pick up my sweater. He lifts my arms and fits them through the sweater. Then he takes my hand and pulls me towards the bed. He lays down first and tugs only a little before I climb in next to him, tucking myself into his side.

Nathan’s arms come around me, his chin resting on my head as I bury my face in his warm chest.

I feel him gently stroke my hair. “April?” he says softly.

“Hmm?”

“I don’t want to go home.”

The idea of going back to the estate after all this is like waking up just when a dream is getting good.

I place a small kiss on Nathan’s chest. Morning is still hours away, so for now, I’ll dream a little longer.