Melody of the Heart Read online

  Shivering at his words, I said, “I can’t wait either. I know it’ll be good. Everything you to do to me is good.”

  He gave me a sheepish grin. “I’m not sure I know exactly what I’m doing.”

  I shook my head. “I wouldn’t want you any other way.”

  “And I want you, Lily. I want all of you.”

  “I know. I want you, too. Just not here in the backseat of your car. I want our first time to be special.”

  “So do I.” His expression grew serious. “But I don’t just want to fuck you. I want to make love to you.”

  My thumb ran across his jawline. “And I want to give you everything I have, mind, body, and soul.”

  His brows lined while his jaw clenched and unclenched. I knew he was trying to find the way to say something important to me. Finally, he whispered, “I…I love you.”

  I gasped. “What did you say?”

  “I said, I love you.”

  “Oh Brayden,” I murmured.

  “And I didn’t say it just because I want to have sex with you. I said it because I mean it.”

  Tears filled my eyes, and I couldn’t help letting them overflow my cheeks. “I love you, too. And I know you would never tell me you love me just to get me in bed. You have too good a heart for that.”

  “My heart is all yours.” He then grimaced. “Am I sounding like a dopey sap?”

  I giggled. “No, you sound pretty amazing to me. But I promise whatever you say to me will go no further than here.”

  “What happens in the Challenger, stays in the Challenger, kinda thing?”

  “Yep. That goes for you especially when you’re buddies want to know if we’re hitting it.”

  Brayden rolled his eyes. “Trust me, Mitch is on me all the time wanting to know if we’ve lost our V-cards.”

  “Ugh, he’s such a jerk.”

  Brayden laughed. “I know.” He dropped his head to nuzzle my neck. “So to answer the jerk’s question, when are we going to lose our V-cards?”

  I smacked his back playfully. He jerked his head up to grin at me. “I thought it was a good time to ask while we were on the subject.”

  “Of course you did.” Brushing the hair out of his eyes, I whispered, “Soon. I promise.”

  “You really think you’re ready?”

  “Even though I probably should want to wait until I’m a little older, I always knew I wanted to have sex when I was in love. I know I love you, Brayden, so there’s no reason not to.”

  He groaned. “God, you’re killing me.”

  “Would you rather I said no?”

  His eyes bulged as he shook his head furiously back and forth. “Oh no, I’m good. I swear.”

  I couldn’t help laughing at him. “So where would we go?”

  “Hmm, let me think.” Brayden remained contemplative for a few seconds. “I think I have an idea of a place that is private. I’m not sure how romantic it is.”

  “I’m sure it would be better than a hotel room.”

  “Maybe.”

  “Why do you sound skeptical?”

  “Well, it’s just an old tree house behind my grandparents’ house. My Papa built it for us grandkids. The only reason I thought of it is because it’s private.” He glanced sheepishly at me. “I’m not sure if it’s nice enough for you.”

  I gave him a lingering kiss for his thoughtfulness. “Anywhere with you will be nice enough.”

  He quirked his brows at me. “Except in the backseat of this car?”

  I laughed. “Exactly.”

  “Then the treehouse?”

  “Yes. But when?”

  “Next weekend?” At my hesitation, Brayden said, “Two weeks?” When I still didn’t respond, he laughed. “Hmm, I’m thinking it’s going to be never.”

  I nudged him playfully. “Next month is your birthday, isn’t it?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Then we’ll do it on your birthday.”

  He grinned. “That’s a helluva gift.”

  “I hope it will be.”

  “Oh, I know it will.” His brows lined. “Do you think it’ll be too cold in November in the tree house?”

  “Won’t you keep me warm?” I teased.

  A gleam of desire flashed in his eyes, causing me to shiver. “Oh yeah, you don’t have to worry about that one bit. I’ll keep you nice and warm,” he replied, his voice husky. He made me feel so loved and so desired all with one look. And given how hot I felt just from what we’d been doing and talking about, I knew he would indeed keep me warm.

  Reaching between us, I felt the hardness in his jeans. “I think it’s only fair I take care of you since you took care of me.”

  He sucked in a harsh breath before giving me an erotic smile. “I won’t argue with that at all.”

  BRAYDEN

  THE PAST

  Glancing down at my watch for probably the millionth time in the last hour, I once again surveyed the time. Lily was late. Five minutes to be exact. As I paced around the inside of the tree house, I began to worry she had second thoughts and decided to back out. I sure as hell hoped she hadn’t for many reasons. The first being I was never more ready to have sex in my entire life than I was with Lily. Before I met her, I thought I wanted it, but it wasn’t until I was with her, kissed her, and tasted her, that I knew there was no one else in the entire world I wanted to lose my virginity to.

  The second reason was the fact I had gone to a hell of a lot of trouble transforming the old tree house into something romantic. I’d dragged up a queen-sized inflatable mattress and made up the bed. I’d also lit a ton of candles. For the final romantic gesture, I’d gotten a ton of silk rose petals and scattered them across the worn floorboards. I had to admit it looked pretty amazing. It wasn’t some classy hotel room, but it was a hell of a lot better than the backseat of my car.

  “Brayden!” I heard Lily call from outside.

  I opened up the hatch in the floorboards and peered down at her. “Hey,” I said, lamely.

  “I’m sorry I’m late. I didn’t think my parents were ever going to go to sleep.”

  I smiled. “It’s okay. Come on up.”

  She started up the ladder. When she got to the top, a cloud of her sweet perfume filled my nose. “Hmm, you smell good.”

  With a giggle, she replied, “Thanks.” I helped pull her up the last step and into the tree house. As she fell against me, we just stood there, staring at each other. Unable to stop myself, I placed my hand over her heart. I could feel it beating fast.

  “Don’t be nervous,” I whispered.

  “Aren’t you even a little bit nervous?” she countered.

  Ducking my head, I replied, “Yeah, a little.” The truth was as much as I wanted to have sex, I was still petrified. With both of us being virgins, neither one of us knew what we were doing. I sure as hell didn’t want to ruin Lily’s first time by being totally inept.

  “Tell me what you’re thinking,” she urged. Because of the love and understanding in her eyes, I told her everything that had been running through my head. “Oh Brayden, you could never ruin my first time. The very fact that it’s with you—the man I love—means more to me than anything in the world.”

  I laughed nervously. “You can say that now because we haven’t done anything yet.”

  She smiled. “It doesn’t matter.” Dropping her gaze from mine, she then took in the tree house. “Oh my God…” she murmured.

  I winced. “I’m sorry that it’s not what you were thinking it would be.”

  Shaking her head furiously, Lily replied, “It’s so amazingly beautiful. And the fact that you did it to make it better for us, well, that makes it even more special.”

  “You really like it?”

  “Yeah, I do.”

  A broad smile curved on my lips. “I’m so glad to hear that.”

  We then stood around rather awkwardly. Neither one of us sure who was supposed to make the first move or what that first move should be. “Uh, I brought my CD player wit
h me. Let me put on some music,” I said, before I went over to the rickety table by the mattress. Thankfully, I’d remembered the batteries or we would have been out of luck. I switched on the mix CD I had made for the occasion, and U2’s All I Want Is You came out of the speakers. I turned back to smile at Lily before I went back over to her.

  “Want to dance?” I asked.

  “Sure,” she said, softly.

  I drew her to me, wrapping my arms around her waist as her arms went around my neck. We swayed back and forth to the music for a few moments before Lily started giggling uncontrollably. “What’s so funny?” I asked.

  “I was just thinking how everything was so romantic except I’m here in a T-shirt and my sweatpants.”

  I laughed. “Well, you had to have a get-away outfit. It wasn’t like you could come here naked under a trench coat.”

  She cocked her head at me. “Is that what you would have wanted?”

  “No, I mean, it would have been cool if you had, but you look great just as you are.”

  She gave me a teasing smile. “I have on something underneath this—something I thought you might like.”

  My brows shot up so far they probably disappeared into my hairline. “You do?”

  “You want to see it?”

  Considering my mouth had run dry, I could only nod my head. Lily stepped back from me. Her hand hesitated at the hem of her shirt, so I reached forward to gently pull it over her head. I got an eye-full of her breasts that were pushed up by some lacy, white number. It was like what women back in the day wore. A corset or something.

  Lily kicked out of her shoes and shimmied her sweatpants down her legs. When she stepped out of them, my heart shuddered to a stop and then restarted at the sight of her. White lace stockings came up her legs and stopped mid-thigh. Above them a pair of frilly, white panties met the corset. I don’t how long I stood there staring at her.

  “I guess you like it, huh?”

  “I-It’s amazing.” I swallowed hard. “You’re amazing.”

  Her cheeks flushed, and she ducked her head. “I asked my sister, Melanie, to help me with something to wear. You know, for my first time and for your birthday.”

  “She won’t tell on you, will she?”

  Lily shook her head. “No, our secret is safe.”

  I smiled. “Good.”

  “Now it’s your turn,” Lily said, as she stepped forward. Her fingers gripped the hem of my Georgia Tech T-shirt and then lifted it over my head. Her hands then smoothed over my chest. I closed my eyes at the feel of her touch. I sucked in a breath as her fingers went to waistband of my sweatpants. She dropped down onto her knees as she tugged them down. I wasn’t wearing any underwear, so my aching hard on sprang free.

  Taking me in her hand, Lily stroked me up and down before sliding me into her warm mouth. It was probably only the third or fourth time she’d given me a blow job, but fuck, she was so good at it. She seemed to pick up a new move to drive me wild, each and every time. Just as I got carried away, I gently tried to push her away. But unlike all the other times, she didn’t let me go. Instead, she kept bobbing up and down my length. “Lils, if you keep that up, I’m going to come,” I groaned.

  She still didn’t let up at my warning. I gritted my teeth and jerked my hips forward, as I came into her mouth. That was certainly a first since I had pulled out all the other times, but Lily didn’t seem to mind. When I finally finished convulsing, she rose off her knees. “Why did you keep going?” I asked, my mind still hazy from the amazing blowjob.

  She gave me a shy smile. “Melanie said it would be better if you…well, you know, if you came once before we started to do it. Like it would help you last longer when we were together.”

  Crossing my arms over my chest, I asked, “You told you sister I was a virgin, didn’t you?”

  “Maybe.” When I huffed in exasperation, she reached out to cup my cheek. “I’m sorry if I embarrassed you. Her first time was with a guy who was a virgin, too. Well, that guy is her husband now, but that’s another story. She just thought the tip would help.”

  Deep down, I knew it was stupid to care if Melanie knew I was a virgin. I already owed her one for getting Lily the sexy-as-hell lingerie, and I’d probably owe her more in the morning. “I’m sorry for being stupid about it.”

  “It’s okay. You were just being a guy.”

  I laughed. “An over-sensitive guy about my virginity, right?”

  She smiled. “Maybe.”

  Pulling her to me, I kissed her lips. “Now it’s your turn. I think you need to come before we get started to.”

  “Okay,” she replied.

  Easing us down on the mattress, I stared into Lily’s blue eyes. “You are so beautiful.”

  “Thank you,” she whispered.

  I pushed her onto her back. Then I bent my head to kiss around the frilly lace where her stocking ended on her thigh. I eased one down her leg and off her foot, and then I went to the other one. Lily kept her eyes on me the entire time.

  My hands came to her top. I couldn’t help saying a silent prayer of thanks that it was laced up, rather than me having to work with the clasps like on her bras. Gently, I untied the ribbon, and then tugged it through the holes. The sides came apart, revealing Lily’s gorgeous tits. I couldn’t keep my hands or mouth off of them for one more moment. I took one breast in my hand while I began to suck on the other. Lily’s fingers came to run through my hair. Taking my time, I went back and forth between her breasts. I knew I had to get her ready to take me.

  Skimming my hand down over her abdomen and between her legs, I began to stroke her over her frilly panties and then under. Panting, Lily opened her legs wider. When she did, I slipped a finger inside her already wet walls. Damn, she felt so good and so tight. If her mouth around my cock had been enough to make me come so quickly, I couldn’t imagine what being inside her hot walls was going to be like. I was already hard just thinking about it. Shit. My lips came to hers, and I flicked my tongue inside her mouth the same as I did the finger inside her.

  Usually she came easily when I touched her, but I knew she was nervous. So I abandoned her mouth to trail kissed down her chin, her neck, over her breasts and stomach, and then between her legs. I eased her panties down over her thighs and then down her legs. Tenderly, I kissed up her legs and thighs until I once again reached her pussy.

  My tongue lapped long strokes up and down her wet slit. With her legs trembling, Lily began to raise her hips against my mouth, her fingers gripping the sheets. When my tongue began to thrust rhythmically inside her, she came apart, calling out my name.

  Wiping my mouth, I then kissed a trail back up her stomach and over breasts. “Feel okay?” I asked.

  She gave me a lazy smile. “I feel amazing.”

  I grinned. “I’m glad I could help.”

  I brought my lips to hers. After kissing her passionately for a few minutes, I pulled away, surveying her expression. “Are you ready?”

  “Yes. Make love to me, Brayden,” she urged.

  I didn’t need any further persuading. Instead, I reached for the packet of condoms I had placed on the nightstand. Taking one, I tore into the foil. I didn’t dare tell Lily that I had practiced putting one on, so I wouldn’t look like an idiot tonight.

  After slipping the condom on, I positioned myself between her legs. As I stared into her beautiful blue eyes, I couldn’t believe this was actually happening. Both of our chests rose and fell with heavy breaths, and our bodies both trembled with nerves and need.

  Slowly, I began to slide into her. “Are you okay?” I whispered.

  “I’m fine,” she murmured.

  When I pushed all the way in, she sucked in a harsh breath. “Still okay?”

  She nodded. “Just a little sting…a little pressure.”

  I furrowed my brows. “I thought it was supposed to be horrible for a girl.”

  With a grin, Lily replied, “Would you rather I be screaming and clawing at you to get off of me?�
�

  “No, no, of course not. I guess, I was just afraid I was doing something wrong.”

  “Oh, babe, you’re doing just fine. Athletic girls like me usually have easier times. Something about the stretching or something.”

  “Really?”

  “Yes, really.” She raised her head to give me a kiss while one of her hands slid down my back to my ass. She gripped my cheek, urging me on. I didn’t stop to check on her anymore. Instead, I began to pump in and out of her. It was instinctual, and I simply couldn’t help the need to thrust inside her. Her warmth and wetness – it was so inviting. Pinching my eyes shut from pleasure, I concentrated on the flexing of my hips. She felt so fucking good, so warm and tight around my dick. I could see now why Melanie thought I should come before. I wouldn’t have lasted a second inside Lily had I not come before.

  “Mmm, Brayden,” Lily panted, her hands gripping my shoulders. With her words spurring me on, I thrust harder and faster. Even though I wanted it to last forever, I felt myself tightening up.

  And I then with a mumbling of “Fuck yeahs!”, I came. Collapsing onto Lily, I buried my face in her sweet smelling hair. We lay there panting hard, our bodies even a little sweaty in the cold. “That was amazing,” Lily murmured.

  “You really think so?” I asked, when I pulled my head up to look at her.

  She grinned. “Oh yeah.”

  “I thought it was pretty amazing, too.” Nuzzling my head against her neck, I added, “I can’t wait until we can do it again.”

  Lily’s laughter warmed my heart. “You’re insatiable, huh?”

  “Oh yeah.”

  “We’ll have to see when I’m able to go again.”

  “Think you’ll be too sore?”

  “Maybe.”

  When I slid out of her, Lily winced. “Okay, maybe we need to wait until tomorrow.”

  “I don’t mind.” I kissed her cheek. “I don’t want to do anything to hurt you.”

  “My Prince Charming and Knight-in-Shining-Armor,” she mused.

  “Whatever,” I muttered, although I did kinda like being referred to so highly. When Lily gave a resigned sigh, I asked, “What’s wrong?”