All This Time // H.S. // A.U.

Chapter Thrity-Seven

RILEY

Harry was frozen.

Panic started to fill me as I realized that I might've made a mistake. Maybe he didn't want this anymore. We hadn't really talked about it, and he would be kissing me back, right? He had never hesitated before.

Completely freaking out, I backed away quickly. My face felt hot, and I couldn't look him in the eyes, but I felt his on me. I slipped away from him, saying, "I'm so sorry! I don't- I, uh, I didn't-"

I covered my face with my hands, taking a deep breath, muttering, "Fuck, I can't believe-"

Peeking up at him, I see him staring at me, confused, still a bit frozen from his stance from before. I watched as he exhaled, shoulders relieved of some tension. Then with a blink, he stalks towards me. My own feet move, backing me against the wall.

My eyes widen when his hands flatten against the wall on either side of my head. He towers over me, eyes focused entirely on mine, dark and stormy, sending my stomach in a crazed flutter. Silence resonated around us, only the sound of the wind outside filling the air. The gentle rock of the boat sent me into a trance, my eyes never leaving his.

Finally, he says, voice hoarse with emotion, "Did you mean to do that?"

"Uh..." I reply dumbly.

His jaw flexed, "Riley, did you mean to do that?"

"Yes."

My voice came out in a whisper, but the moment it left my lips, they were covered by his. Rough, yet soft. Hunger and desperation and pure passion flowed out of him and into me. The power behind his kiss was astounding, nearly making my knees buckle underneath me. A pathetic whimper crawls up my throat, urging him on.

My skin burned as he moved his hands, one curling around the back of my neck to tilt my head back further, the other squeezing my hip and slinking behind me and up my shirt to hug me closer to his body. I don't think a single inch of me that wasn't on fire. I stood on my tiptoes, flinging my arms around his neck to get as close as possible.

It wasn't enough, though.

It had felt like a century since I had tasted him, felt him. My senses were screaming when his fingers curled in and his blunt nails grazed down my spine. Nibbling down on my bottom lip, he practically growled against me, sending shivers throughout my body. I opened my mouth, tongues meeting in the middle as the air around us crackles and sizzles.

Never had I felt anything like this, nor did I remember kissing Harry felt like this. This was something else entirely, something I didn't realize existed. I never wanted it to stop. In fact, we only separated for a few seconds to gather our breath, noses nudging, before we were embracing again.

Nothing could stop us, and I felt so... free, powerful, like together we were unstoppable. Weeks of heartbreak and hurt, faced with trials people are age rarely deal with made our bond stronger. To a point where it had changed the power behind something as simple as a kiss.

I squeaked out in surprise when Harry moved quickly to pick me up, fingers searing into my bare thighs, and he leads me to the bed. Gently, he lays me down, hovering over my flushed body, both our chests heaving. His eyes searched mine, shaky breaths escaping his parted lips. Silently and softly, I lift my hands to cup his cheeks. My thumbs graze his skin slowly, and time ceased to exist.

The way he was looking at me, and the way I was touching him, made it clear that neither of us had anything to fear anymore. We had broke past the barriers that held us back before. This time I wasn't worried about when this would end, or how we would make it work.