“What do you mean?”
“There used to be a thing that my older cousins believed in called the Justice Curse. If you fall in love with a woman and marry her, she dies before the age of thirty. There’s some facts to back up the superstition. No Justice woman has survived past the age of thirty since 1920.”
“None?” Maria nearly shouts in shock.
“Not a single one. They’ve died from natural causes, lightning strikes, car accidents, or, in my mom’s case, childbirth. I think it’s just a coincidence, but my oldest cousin, Calder, really believed in it. He refused to even look at women until Birdie came along, and now, despite Birdie having a few close calls, he’s going to marry her anyway. And Tucker’s going to marry Cam. Hell, I even thought they’d brought you here for us to hook up. Ain’t that funny?” I force out a hearty laugh and then stop when I realize she hasn’t joined in. I sneak a look in her direction, but I can’t tell if her feelings are hurt or she’s still ruminating on the curse.
“Is that why you were mean to me? Because you thought they were trying to force you to marry me?”
For a half second or more, I consider denying it. I blow out a long breath. “Maybe. The thing is, I have plans. I’m going to college this fall. Like you, I want a chance to breathe away from my family. Don’t get me wrong; I love my cousins. I love this land, but it’s all I’ve ever known. I want to…” I fall silent. What had she said? “Go to parties. Have fun. Travel. Make—”
“Mistakes.”
She says it at the same time as I do. “Exactly.”
And I know precisely the mistake I want to make at this moment. I reach over and thread my hand through her long hair and tug her close. “Let’s make our mistakes together.”
She lets me reel her in, slowly and gently. I place my mouth on hers and test out the softness. Very soft. Cotton balls, marshmallow, pillowy-soft. I run my tongue along the seam of her lips. She parts for me, and I slide in. Her taste is addicting, sweet and fresh like a cool spring. I could drink from this well all day long and never tire.
CHAPTER 10
MARIA
He’s kissing me. I let my eyes fall closed and let him. I even part my lips to allow his tongue to slip into my mouth, getting my first taste of him. I didn’t know something could taste masculine, but he does.
“Kiss me back.” His words come out thick.
“I’ve never been kissed before,” I admit. He groans and slips his tongue back into my mouth again. I never imagined it would feel this good.
“Kiss me back,” he says again. This time it sounds more like an order. Heat pools in my stomach as my nipples harden at the firmness of his tone.
I do as he orders, my tongue meeting his, matching his movements. Another growl rumbles from him, and he pushes me onto my back before rolling on top of me. My legs spread to make room for him as he settles in between them, his mouth never leaving mine.
The kiss starts to deepen and grow faster. My hands begin to roam over his back and sides until my fingers make their way up under his shirt to touch his bare skin.
“Sterling.” I moan as my hands continue to explore him. His mouth leaves mine. It’s not that he stops kissing me altogether but moves on to my neck. I gasp at the sensation, digging my fingers into his neck when he nips at my ear.
“You’re so damn soft,” he whispers.
My hips lift off the bed on their own, seeking any kind of friction they can get. It’s hard to feel him with the blanket between us.
“I can’t feel you,” I whimper.
My nipples are starting to ache. The warmth I’d felt in my stomach has traveled all the way down between my thighs. My panties are now soaked through from only a few kisses. What is happening to me? This can’t be the normal reaction to kissing, can it?
“Tell me you want more.”
“I want more,” I blurt out instantly.
Sterling is in as much of a rush as I am. He yanks at the blankets, pulling them from between us. The second he gets us free, his mouth is back on mine. His hands begin to travel up my night dress, causing goosebumps to break out along my skin. My whole body is so sensitive to all of his touches.
He may look pretty, but his hands let me know he’s no stranger to hard work. I love how rough they feel against my smooth skin. He’s so different from all the other men I’d ever thought I might call my own. Not that he will ever be mine.
The reminder of that jolts me back to reality. “What’s wrong?” He lifts his mouth from me. “Fuck, did I scare you? I thought—”
“I can’t have sex with you,” I blurt out. I felt the heat rush to my cheeks as soon as the words left my mouth.
“We can stop. Shit, I got carried away.”
“I don’t want to stop.” I grab his hand when he starts to slip it out from under my night shirt. “I just can’t do that. I’m saving myself for…” I trail off.
“Marriage?” Sterling fills in for me.
“I suppose. Yes.” I wanted to say for love, but I’m not sure that is what I’ll get in the end. Sterling’s hand that is now on my hip grips me tighter. “We can do other things, no? Make other mistakes together,” I tease.
“Touching and kissing you is the furthest thing from a mistake, darling.”
“Darling?” I smile up at him. “I like that.”
“I want to kiss you everywhere, darling.” He smiles back at me, but for some reason it doesn’t seem real.
“If you don’t want to, we can stop. I’m sorry. I ruined the moment.”
“Do you want me to kiss you again?” he asks.
“Yes.” I nod my head. “Everywhere.”
That’s all he needs to hear. His mouth comes back down onto mine. He nibbles at my bottom lip before his mouth starts to travel more down my body as he pushes my shirt all the way up past my breasts.
“So damn perfect,” he whispers before he sucks one of my nipples into his mouth. I gasp at the sensation. His fingers play with my other nipple until he switches to give them both the same attention. It’s too much but just right at the same time.
“Sterling,” I moan, having had no idea my nipples would cause me so much pleasure.
“I’ve got you,” he says as he releases my breast, his mouth continuing to travel down my body. I can’t pull my eyes away from him as he settles in between my thighs. I can feel his warm breath through my panties. The thought of what will come next causes the ache to grow.
“Please,” I beg. “It hurts.” I swear I can feel my heartbeat between my thighs. The throb is unlike anything I’ve ever felt before.
“We can’t have that, now can we?” He dips two fingers into the side of my panties, pulling them to the side. I hear him suck in a deep breath. If I wasn’t so turned on, I’d die right now.
The first swipe of his tongue has my hips coming off the bed. He reaches up, his forearm coming down over my hips, pinning me to the bed so that he has control. Then he buries his face between my legs and goes to town like a starved man.
The first orgasm hits me out of nowhere. I cry out his name as pleasure roars through my body. I’m almost embarrassed at how fast I went off. Not that it matters. He keeps going. He keeps me pinned to the bed as his tongue licks and sucks at my clit.