Stay tuned over the next few days to catch even more previews. Hope you enjoy!
Don't forget to add Following You to your Goodreads TBR! It helps me a ton!
Following You - Chapter 1
Available on January 9th!
A deep breath escaped her as her back arced even further. Huck's hips pressed even deeper between her legs. Every part of him was big, from his broad shoulders and thick arms down to what was digging into her. Sarah’s legs spread even wider as his hips pressed further in. His tongue lashed inside her mouth. Her arms wrapped even tighter around his body, pulling him close.
A tiny sensation rolled through her, making its home in the deepest places between her legs. The sensation was one that had been completely foreign not too long before, but was now becoming more familiar. The first time she'd felt it had been a startling event. It had scared her and her sudden reaction to it had scared Huck, too. But the two worked through it, and became more comfortable with it. Now it wasn't entirely scary, even though Sarah still wasn't as comfortable as she would let Huck think. She did her best to hide it.
Huck pressed even tighter into her body. Sarah's legs couldn't go any further apart. His breathing was hot and heavy on her neck as he kissed ever inch of her exposed flesh. The big muscles in his shoulders rippled as he sucked at her ear lobe, and her fingers dug in along the ripples in his back.
Everything was so quiet. Too quiet. Sarah wasn't used to being this alone with him--they were still kids, after all, and kids didn't get a whole lot of alone time in their small, country town.
"Maybe we should turn on some music, or something?" she said, between soft whimpers. Huck nodded into her shoulder, but his lips didn't stop their gentle touches. "Please Huck, maybe turn on a CD or something?"
"Alright, alright," Huck said. He pushed himself up and stumbled over to the dresser where they'd set up his stereo earlier that morning.
A smile spread across Sarah's lips. She knew she could be difficult, but Huck never complained. That was one of the things she loved about him--he was always willing to give her what she wanted. She watched with soft eyes as he fumbled to turn the stereo on, and jumped when it started playing an AC/DC song entirely too loud.
"Dammit," Huck said as he started pressed buttons on the stereo, trying to get it to stop. Sarah let out a laugh. Finally, Huck got the mood set just right, with Tim McGraw's voice playing at just the right volume.
"That's much better," Sarah said, as she pulled Huck back on top of her.
His grin was wolfish as their lips came together again, their tongues dancing and playing with one another. Soon, his full weight was on her, and their bodies were moving and pressing into one another. At first, the soft music helped keep all of Sarah's worries at bay. Her eyes rolled back as she pulled Huck's body even more tightly against her own.
His hand slipped down her side, sending tingles up and down spine. His touch was soft, too soft considering his strong hands. He was always so gentle with her, so attentive, so caring. Sarah bit her lips as she thought about everything they'd been through together. She couldn't stop her back from arching even more as his hands wrapped around to the front of her belly, his fingers gliding, soft and smooth.
Then they dipped even further along her belly, tracing their way along the edge of her denim shorts. A new tingling sensation went rifling up her spine as the tip of one of those fingers dipped beneath the shorts and found the edge of her panties.
“Did you hear something?” she asked, pulling her head away from his.
“It’s nothing,” he said. It was a nonresponse--he might as well have said nothing.
“Are you sure? I thought I heard something.”
"The door's locked. Don't worry."
Huck never pulled his head away from her, but instead continued kissing down her neck, but his fingers didn't dip any lower. Sarah glance back at the door, as though to make sure they were safe.
"What about your roommate? Won't he be back soon?" she said. He kissed down to her collarbone, but instead of it feeling good, it made her feel even more nervous. "Huck, please, I'm serious."
Huck blew out a sharp sigh and pushed himself off of her. The warmth of his body disappeared in an instant and the coolness settled over her. His eyes were fierce and hungry, but something else rose to the surface--annoyance?
"You heard him when he left--he said he wouldn't be back until tonight," Huck said.
"What if he forgot something?" Sarah said.
Huck studied her, his eyes darting between hers, and down to her lips, then his face softened.
"He left over an hour ago. If he was going to come back for something, he would have done it already."
"I know... But, what if?"
"You need to stop worrying about things. You're really killing the mood..."
Sarah closed her eyes and gave a soft shake of her head. Huck was right. He was being so sweet to her, and she was ruining everything.
"You're right, I'm sorry. My brain just does crazy things, sometimes." Sarah's lips stretched into the most alluring smile she could manage. "You should keep kissing me."
That wolfish grin returned to Huck's face, and Sarah's smile spread even wider, in turn. He dipped down and kissed her, their lips parting wide as their tongues met. She wrapped her arms around his neck and held him tight.
Huck was right, she knew that. There was no reason for her to be so nervous. It's not like they hadn't made out countless times before, it shouldn't feel like something so new and terrifying. She pulled him back on top of her while they kissed, feeling a sense of comfort as his weight pinned her to the bed. This was Huck, her boyfriend, the love of her life.
The only thing that had changed in the last few days was that they weren't back home in Green Falls. Their lives and their relationship was taking the next step. They weren't high school kids, anymore. They were adults, and they could make their own adult decisions.
But the whole adult thing was still too new to Sarah. Huck sunk into her, his hips pressing his hardness between her legs. His hand slipped to the front of her shorts, again--this time with even less hesitation. Her muscle tensed as his finger slipped below the shorts and found the edge of her panties, again. Her hips eased away from him, unconsciously, as his hand stretched and turned to sink even lower.
That was when something occurred to her--they were totally alone. There wasn't going to be anyone walking in on them, no parents coming home early to stop them.
The pressure of it all was almost too much to bear. As Huck's fingers sunk further and further beneath her shorts, beneath her panties, she knew she was about to panic. But she couldn't panic--she'd only be making more of a fool of herself. They'd been together for over a year--why couldn't she get over how scary sex was?
With an effort, Sarah scooted from underneath him. Huck rolled onto his back and looked as though he were waiting for her to climb on top of him, and she was too nervous to not follow through.
“You know what I like,” he said, his voice low.
She rocked back and forth, letting her weight rest on him. Being in control put her at ease, even if the feeling of the thing in his pants threatened to drive her wild with lust. She'd learned quickly that she liked being on top of him, she liked the way it felt, and she liked knowing that, no matter how much bigger than her he was, she could still take control.
“Like this?” she cooed, letting herself get more into it.
Sarah rested her palms on either side of his legs, leaning back to spread her legs even wider. A wild desire went through her when she saw him looking at her, looking between her legs as she spread them. She knew he could see her panties when she did that, and she knew it was driving him wild.
“Yeah, like that," he said, his voice even lower than before.
She swirled her hips in small circles, round and round, digging into him even harder. Her neck went limp as pleasure flittered through her. She was coming dangerously close to the brink, to that point where she knew she could lose control. Huck must have sensed something in her, something primal--he didn't hesitate to exploit her desire.
Huck's chest and abs rippled as he pushed himself up. His strong hands wrapped around her lower back, pulling and grinding her hips into his manhood even tighter. He pulled her in until their bodies were pressed fully into one another. His lips found the sensitive part of her neck, the part he knew would drive her wild. Hairs on her arm prickled with excitement as his tongue slid down to her collarbone.
They were all alone, and Sarah could feel her resolve slipping away from her. With every kiss on her neck, every gentle tug and pull at her back, every little thrust of his hips, Huck was wearing her down. But they were adults, and this is what adults were supposed to do--right? So just roll with it, go with the flow, it's not that bad.
Truthfully, it wasn't bad at all. Sarah loved having Huck that close to her, feeling his body tight against hers, feeling his desire to take her. But there was something that held her back, something that stopped her from going all the way.
Huck pulled away from her, his brow pinched tight. His crystal blue eyes studied her intently.
“Is something wrong?” he asked.
Sarah bit her lip, then shook her head.
“Everything’s fine,” she said.
“You’re shaking.”
“I’m fine.”
His eyes fell along her, taking all of her in. She studied him, trying to read his thoughts, but his the look on his face was neutral. The unease in her chest didn’t settle, and when he pulled her closer, her stomach twisted into a tight ball.
But Huck didn't say anything. They sat on the bed, their arms and legs twisted and wrapped around one another, and just looked at each other. A minute passed. And then another. Slowly the tight ball in Sarah's gut began unravelling, and a smile even crept across her face.
It was moments like this that made her fall hopelessly in love with Huck. It was like they had some kind of connection that didn't need to be spoken--he could just read her every little movement, all of the subtle things she did that let him know she wasn't comfortable with something. He wasn't like most guys when it came to those things. He wasn't like most guys at all.
Huck rubbed her back, his hand sliding along the soft grooves of her spine. His fingers slipped under the back of her shirt, and her eyes closed as she let herself get carried away in his touch. A secret little part of her wanted him to keep going, wanted his fingers to keep exploring the rest of her body just the way he was doing. But it was that secret little part that she kept tucked away in a hidden place.
When his fingers reached the lining of her bra, she knew he would stop. Huck's fingers traced a small little line along the bottom edge, near the clasp, and Sarah let her head sink forward until it rested on his chest. She wrapped her arms around his muscular back, snuggled her nose into his neck. She just wanted him to hold her, to remind her that everything was going to be alright in this new mysterious place they found themselves.
But, Huck's fingers had something else in mind.
He slipped them under the clasp of the bra and began working it with two fingers. Huck had never been very good at getting the clasp off, and this time wasn't an exception. The ball of tension appeared in Sarah's stomach again when she realized what he was trying to do. He wasn't trying to cuddle with her, like she wanted, he was trying to take things another step. He'd seen her topless before, it wasn't a big deal, but she just wasn't in the mood for it right then.
“Wait,” she said.
Huck’s hands didn’t stop. They still fumbled with the clasp.
“Huck, wait,” she said, her tone more rushed.
He must not have heard her. Sarah was crushed into his chest when he reached around with his free hand. Now, he fumbled with the clasp with both hands, making no progress while Sarah squirmed in his grasp.
“Huck, stop,” she said.
She gave him a sharp shove, twisting away from him and crashing back onto the bed. They stared at one another for a long, tense moment. Huck’s chest rose and fell with each deep breath he took. His muscles twitched as he steadied himself. His eyes bounced back and forth along the bed before settling on her. There was confusion in his eyes, an uncertainty that mixed with frustration.
“Did I do something wrong?” he said.
Sarah shook her head.
"No. It's just that..."
What could she tell him? For some reason, the truth seemed to scary to mention. They'd been dating for over a year, and she still wasn't completely comfortable with the idea of being naked with him, of being too vulnerable with him. She wasn't supposed to feel that way after a whole year, was she?
"My parents are supposed to come by sometime this afternoon," she said. "I don't want Mom to get the wrong impression if she sees that I haven't unpacked anything."
It wasn't a lie, but it wasn't the real truth, either.
“Just tell them you've been helping me get situated. I'm sure they won't mind."
Sarah squirmed, despite herself.
"I'll feel better once everything's put away I'm all settled in," she said, and that part wasn't a lie. Everything in her life was changing so quickly, she just needed to get her arms around something and make take back some kind of control.
Huck’s lips pinched together and there was a flash of something in his face. It’s not like she was trying to annoy him, it's just that things had been moving so fast ever since they'd left Green Falls.
“We have all year to be together, there's no reason to rush anything,” she said.
"Promise?" he asked.
A smile spread across her own face, and she nodded.
"Promise."
Sarah smiled at him, and leaned forward to give him a kiss on the cheek. He nestled his chin against her as she did. She was so happy that she'd been able to go off to college with him--so happy that he hadn't ended up going to Brown like he'd planned. Things happen for a reason, is what her dad always said. Maybe that meant that she was supposed to be with Huck forever.
Forever was a long time, though, and she really wasn't in a rush to get there. Looking into his soft eyes, she was just happy she could be with him whenever she wanted, happy that he was all hers.
What more could a girl want in her life?
