Lost Heartbeats (Alexander & Maya Book 2) (6 page)

Before I could come to a conclusion, he reached to his left and turned off the light, letting the darkness fall upon us.

“I’m so tired,” he sighed.

I didn’t respond. I was happy exactly where I was.

He curled into me again, this time the arms around me a tighter band, keeping me close to his body. I wouldn’t have it any other way.

“Can I stay with you for a few days, Maya?”

I swallowed, trying to get rid of the thick lump that appeared as soon as I heard the words ‘a few days’ spilling in a hushed whisper from his lips.

Slowly, the tension in his body melted away, and I heard his breath even out. I knew he’d fallen asleep. After hearing everything he’d been through in the last few days, not knowing what my reaction would be to seeing him here must have only added to his worries.

Could I even blame him?

Just a few months before, I’d been the one breaking apart in his arms as he tried to keep my heart in one piece. I owed him everything for that.

Trying not to move too much and wake him up, I looked up at his face from where I lay half over him. Reaching out, I gently ran a finger over the black circles under his eyes, and then followed an imaginary trail to his stubbled chin.

Had he even gotten any sleep these last few days?

I was scared of the depth of my feelings for him, but if it meant he would find peace while he was near me, if it meant he trusted me enough to scare his demons away, I would gladly take the pain I knew would break me when he had to get back to his own world.

Hours, or maybe just minutes later, I blinked up at the ceiling, my surroundings still pitch black. For a minute, I forgot where I was, my mind going back to the time I had spent with Alexander in New York, specifically those last few days where I’d opened my eyes wrapped up in his arms, feeling strangely safe and at home. Then everything rushed back to me.

Leaving him at the airport… My struggles… The shock of seeing him in my café…

His touch.

His kiss.

His own heartache.

My chest tightened under my heavy emotions, and I closed my eyes.

I knew Alexander was still asleep; my face was still pressed against his rising and falling chest as his arm cradled my neck. It must have been useless by now if we’d been lying in that position for hours.

Spending a few more minutes listening to his deep, even breathing, I savored the raw pleasure of having him lying next to me. Who knew how many more days I would get to touch his skin this freely, how long it would take him to forget me completely after he went back to his own world.

Trying to be careful not to wake him up, I moved away from him to study his handsome face. I had been yearning for this man for months, and now that he was in my bed, sleeping peacefully, I was afraid that the yearning would never go away. That he would always have a piece of my heart, whether he knew it or not.

Gently lowering my legs down from the bed, I went into the kitchen.

Checking the clock on my way, I noticed it was around 4:00 AM, so that meant I’d only gotten around five hours of sleep. If I wanted to function tomorrow, I knew I needed to get back to bed and try to get some more shuteye.

Making myself a relaxing hot cup of tea, I leaned my shoulder against the wall and stared out my window to look at the sky. I loved that it was dark enough to let me see the stars in the night sky.

I heard his footsteps long before he reached to me. When I sensed him stop just out of the doorway of the kitchen, I had to force myself not to look. He was a constant prickle against my skin. Someone I couldn’t ignore.

After a few seconds, he gave up on waiting for me to talk.

“What are you thinking, Maya?” he asked in a soft voice.

“Nothing specific.” I smiled, finally turning my head to look at him.

He was back in his boxers, his chest still naked and still just as sculpted and lick-able. He lifted his arm and ran his hand through his hair, making it stick out all over the place. He looked younger like this. More carefree. But when you looked close enough you could almost see the heavy weight on his shoulders, worries I didn’t think he was sharing with anyone.

“I shouldn’t have fallen asleep on you,” he said quietly.

“I believe I was the one who literally fell asleep on you, not the other way around, Alexander.”

I silently watched him walk over to me, and his arms closed around my waist as he rested his chin on my head. I relaxed against his body and gazed outside.

“You know what I mean,” he murmured.

“You needed it. You were up in the air for hours, and then there is the train ride. You shouldn’t even be awake right now. Did I wake you when I got up? I tried to be careful, but I guess I’m noisier than I thought.”

He gave my waist a quick squeeze. “Something felt wrong. I woke up because you were gone, not because you were noisy. Do you even know how much I simply missed holding you? And to think that I only did it for a few days…”

“We shouldn’t have missed each other, should we? We didn’t know each other long enough to actually have something to miss.”

“Apparently it doesn’t work that way because I had plenty of things to miss, and it looks like you did some missing of your own too.”

“How would you know?” I asked with a smile in my voice.

“I can see it in your eyes when you look at me. Especially when I first came in tonight. Yeah, you were shocked, but more than that, you were excited. Your body was practically humming when it recognized me.”

I chuckled, my body shaking against his. Other than missing his body, I missed this side of his personality too, where he broke through that unyielding shell and showed me a different side of him—a side I was almost sure he didn’t share with everyone he came in contact with.

At that moment—his arms holding me close to him, his heart beating strongly against my back—I wished I knew him better than anyone. Maybe if that were the case, it would be harder for him to let me go.

“Glad to hear one of us knows what my body is saying then. I wasn’t even aware of the humming,” I said, still amused.

“I love your body. Not that you asked or noticed obviously, but my body was humming to get close to you too.”

“Huh, you learn something new every day,” I said.

He stayed silent for a moment, his thumb gently caressing the sensitive skin under my breast over my shirt.

“I didn’t come here for that, you know.”

“For what?”

“To make your body hum. To have sex.”

“Don’t worry. I’m perfectly aware of the fact that you have tons of options to choose from in New York. And it’s not like I’m anything special in bed either.” He tried to cut in, but I raised my voice over his. “I’m not trying to insult myself. I know it’s more than good between us in bed, but it would be a stretch to say I’m the most experienced person.” He made a huffing noise I chose to ignore. “I know you are here for something else, but I’m not sure if you know exactly for what either. I can’t be the only person you could think of to—”

He placed his hand over my mouth, this time silencing me more effectively.

“Maya, you being the only person or not doesn’t change anything for me. You were the
first
person I could think of. And for your information, yes, you are the only person I want to be with right now.”

He removed his hand from my mouth and we both fell silent. The only light in the room was coming from the moon and the stars, so I let my head fall against his shoulder and closed my eyes, trying to commit it all to my memory.

His lips touched my neck. “You look so beautiful right now,” he whispered, his voice sending shivers down my spine.

“I think my body is humming for you again.”

“See, you’re starting to learn.”

In one move, he lifted me up in his arms and strode out of the kitchen. “Let’s get you and your body back to bed so I can give it the attention it’s begging me to give.”

“Oh, now there is begging involved?” I asked innocently. Begging wasn’t out of the question. Not by a long shot.

“I wouldn’t mind begging you for certain things.”

“And those certain things are?”

“You’ll have to learn my body on your own, baby. Just like I learned yours.”

He gently lowered me down onto the bed and crawled between my legs as I tried to scoot up and away from him. He stilled my movements with a hand on my waist.

“Like how I know you love it when I have my hand on the small of your back,” he murmured.

His hand slipped under my waist, causing me to arch my back as he dragged me higher up in the bed.

“Or, like how I know you will start to squirm under me if I kiss you with just the right amount of pressure and deepness.”

Dropping his other hand right next to my shoulder, he loomed over me and nuzzled his nose against mine. Finally, his lips lowered onto mine, gently nudging them apart. As soon as I tangled my tongue with his, he groaned and pressed my body deeper into the soft sheets. My excitement intensifying, I ran my fingers through his hair and held on. He was right; I loved the way he kissed me. The way his lips worked my mouth always ended up tugging an imaginary thread that was connected to my heart.

Too soon, he softened the kiss, then licked my lips before stopping altogether. His lips lingered over mine as we breathed heavily, our eyes closed. I was starting to believe that I needed him just as much as he claimed to need me.

He slid his face to the side of mine and softly said, “Or, how your body trembles when I whisper into your ear.” My body did exactly what he’d said it would do. “There is also the way I trail my fingertips along your body, the way I suck your neck, your nipples… Do you want me to go on?” he whispered.

When I opened my eyes, I found myself gazing right into his vividly blue irises.

“Sounds about right,” I said breathlessly.

“What? No argument? No snarky comments?”

“My body is loving what you are doing right now, so it would be cruel of me to deny myself your touch.”

His eyes warmed as his hand slowly trailed up and under my shirt until he reached my bra and gently tugged it down.

“It would be cruel to both of us sweetheart. I never want to stop touching you.”

With those words, he leaned down, pushed my shirt higher, and gently licked my nipple, slowly making it peak. Closing my eyes, I gave myself to the sensations running through my body. When he closed his mouth around my nipple and gently sucked on the tip, we both groaned.

Once again, I tightened my hands in his hair. Arching my back, I pulled him closer. Feeling the delicious scratch of his stubble against my sensitive skin did nothing but spur me on.

His mouth still on me, he pushed my arms up and slid the shirt off of me. “Look at you, all naked and ready for me.”

Before I even knew what he was doing, he slowly pushed aside my panties and pressed two of his fingers inside me. Gasping into his mouth, I closed my eyes and forced my body to relax around him.

“I’m gonna take my time with you, Maya. You’re either going to be full of me,” he ground his hard erection against my thigh, accentuating his words, “or you’ll have my mouth on you. I want you trembling under me, sweetheart. I want you moaning, shivering, gasping, burning for me. I want you to give yourself over.” His fingers picked up speed and my breathing quickened, already feeling my juices dripping from his fingers every time he pushed in and out, twisting his fingers in, exploring every inch. “Do you understand me?”

Another twist of his wrists and he added a third finger, filling me up. Knowing his cock would force its way into me any time now only added to the pleasure he was giving me, and biting my lip, I moaned for him—just like he wanted.

“Do you understand, sweetheart? Give me your word,” he repeated when I couldn’t find the strength to put the words together for him.

“Yeah,” I moaned involuntarily, grabbing on to his forearm so he wouldn’t dare stop. “I understand. I want all of that too, so yeah, don’t stop. Please,” I added, just for good measure.

He captured my lips and we both groaned at the same time. I wound my arms around his neck, trying to pull him down on me. Before I could get everything I needed from him, he pushed up and looked down at me, his eyes darkening further.

Admiring his face, I touched my palm to his cheek. “You have no idea how happy I am to have you here right now,” I whispered.

He looked down to his fingers that were still working me and gave me a sexy smile.

“Oh, I can feel your happiness baby, it’s already dripping all over.”

I flushed and he chuckled, giving me a quick kiss on my neck.

Pulling his fingers out of me, he smeared them over my nipples, and his lips started on a new wet trail. His big hands burned the flesh on my thighs as he pulled my panties down and forced my legs to open wider. Keeping his hands on my thighs, his thumbs made slow circles on my skin.

When he finally captured my nipple in his mouth, I don’t even know which one of us groaned louder. I became restless under him, arching and squirming. He never slowed down, never stopped sucking and licking rhythmically. As soon as he was satisfied with one nipple, he licked his way over to the other, laughing when my shaky hands gripped his hair harder.