The Test by Ava Claire Page A

Crawford made everything else fade to nothing except the
stomp of my heart. I was so rapt, so freaking sensitive, that even
the slightest touch from him would send me spiraling into
bliss.
    I let out a tiny gasp as his fingers combed
through my windswept hair and all of the dark strands spilt over
one shoulder. The goosebumps along my exposed neck stood at
attention, waiting with bated breath for what came next. I squeezed
my eyes shut and prayed for strength that evaporated as soon as his
lips pressed against the nape of my neck.
    "You smell delicious," he breathed into the
sensitive flesh, sinking right to my bones. His fingertips were
rough and possessive as they drug across my abdomen and pulled me
back until I met a solid wall of muscle and the hardened length of
his arousal.
    My lips parted slightly and ‘you too’ was
left unsaid as I felt his cock raging for freedom against the
contrast of his steady breathing. I was dialed to a hundred,
dangerously close to begging. The earthy notes of the woods mixed
with his warm, exotic scent, creating a heady mixture that was as
hypnotic as the breaths that went straight to my core.
    His fingers wrapped around the last button on
my blouse, freeing it. A second was loose. A third. It wasn't until
there was only one button holding the fabric together that I
finally spoke.
    "W-what are you doing?"
    "Do you know what hearing you say that word
does to me?"
    A moan rose in my throat at the urgency in
his voice. The white hot need. "Chance-"
    The button slid through the sliver of a hole
and I glanced down, watching his hand spread across my pale flesh
like caramel. His fingers were trembling, like it was a battle just
to keep it together.
    "Don't tell me to stop." Those forceful
fingers were pulling the two sides of my blouse outward, over my
shoulders. "I don't think I can. Not with how beautiful you look
tonight."
    Beautiful . Another familiar word. He'd
used it before, but never like this--never like he had to have me,
body and soul.
    I spun around, staring into his handsome
face; the cheeks like chiseled stone, the sharp nose, thick lips
and those amber eyes that burned as bright as the stars in the
midnight sky.
    "Say it again." My voice was so small, a
pleading whisper that was almost carried off by the wind.
    He cupped my cheeks like I was precious,
something that needed to be cared for to keep it from shattering
into a million pieces.
    "You are beautiful , Cassandra."
    His fingers hooked under my chin and tilted
it upward. I knew he was only mere seconds from pressing his
delicious mouth against mine, but I didn't close my eyes. I wanted
to see the emotion that flickered across his face and hold onto it
forever.
    The kiss was soft, his lips caressing the
contours of mine. I opened my mouth to taste more of him and his
grip tightened. I took his bottom lip between my teeth and grazed
it, an erotic fire lighting in me. He growled and the tenderness
became a hungry need as his fingers entwined in my locks and he
crushed his mouth onto mine. Nothing had ever been so
simultaneously sweet and savage as our tongues dueled, swirling and
fighting for more. The cool night air whipped around us and our
hands were caught in the cyclone as I ran my fingers up and down
his back, raking my nails down his spine.
    The kiss ended abruptly but I made no
complaints because he was leading me back to the car. The sooner we
got back to his place, my place, someplace , we could fulfill
the unspoken promises of our bodies.
    But he didn’t slide behind the wheel of his
car. Instead, he pulled off his jacket and laid it on top of the
hood like a blanket.
    I hesitated, confused as I clutched my blouse
in my fist. “I thought we’d-”
    His eyes glinted mischievously. “I’m not
waiting twenty minutes to have you, Cass.”
    I balked, futilely bringing my crumpled
blouse to cover my chest. “Here? Someone could drive by at any
second!”
    “Then you better stop wasting time.”
    As his eyes bore into