Free Sweet Contradiction by Peggy Martinez Page A

against him, my arms wrapping around his neck as I reached up on my tip toes to murmur against his lips.
    “I don’t mind a little spanking every now and then.” I nipped the bottom of his lip with my teeth and then flicked my tongue out to lick it. He tasted of sunshine and summertime—two of my favorite things. His arms tightened around me and we both crashed to the blanket in a tangle of lips and limbs. His body molded to mine, fitting me perfectly. His hand caressed my thigh, my side, the expanse of my stomach. I quivered, my body on fire, my need to be consumed by him driving me.
    I reveled in the way my body responded to his, I was lost to his tender caresses, the way his tongue demanded me to respond to his passion. When he was finally inside me I knew in that moment that I never made love before. Had sex? Yes. But made love? Matt was my first. I wrapped my legs around his waist as he took his time moving in and out of me, his mouth trailing kisses down my neck and across my collarbone. When his mouth closed around my nipple I gasped, nearly coming unraveled. His gaze captured mine as his rhythm began to quicken. We both traveled to the edges of our desire, our bodies and souls joined as one as we reached the pinnacle of our passion. My body arched into his as my orgasm fractured me into a million pieces before slamming me back down to earth and into the arms of the man who’d just stolen a portion of my heart and soul.

laid in Matt’s arms under the shade of dogwood tree with fragrant blossoms all around us and sighed in contentment as he ran his hand in small, soft circles on my lower back. Then the realization of what I’d just done and with whom came crashing down too soon and too harshly. I moaned and rolled away from Matt to search for my clothes.
    “Jesus, Matt. I’m sorry. I didn’t think this through very well.” I shimmied into my panties and began fastening my bra.
    “What is there to think about?” Matt stepped up behind me and placed a kiss on my shoulder. I shivered, knowing I was one more strategically placed kiss away from ringing the bell for round two. Instead, I shrugged him off as gently as possible and grabbed my shorts and shirt off the ground.
    “There’s a lot, actually,” I snapped a bit too harshly. Matt’s mouth straightened into a flat line as he pulled on his jeans and shirt. My body turned towards his to comfort him without even thinking about it. I frowned and stopped myself by pulling my hair back and clipping it up. I felt physically taunt, ready to snap at the least provocation. What was the most disconcerting was the fact that it wasn’t Matt I was angry with. It was me. I hated that I let myself feel so much for someone like Matt. Was it some kind of sick joke that I was falling in love with someone who was religious. My face tingled as the blood rushed from my face. Was I already falling in love with him? I clasped my arm around my waist, trying to sort through all the emotions I was feeling.
    “Hey, you okay?” Matt placed a hand on my arm. I pulled my gaze from the ground and stared directly into his eyes and felt as if the earth had tilted on its side. I’d begun to fall in love with someone who could hurt me more than I’d ever been hurt before, with someone who I had no business being with. If he knew how I felt about religion …. I gasped and stumbled backward a step.
    “I’d like to go home now,” I whispered, stunned. Matt studied my face with a look of confusion and hurt on his face for so long that I glanced away, unable to stand the pain I’d caused him.
    “Okay,” he clipped off. He began gathering all the stuff off the ground and we walked back to the truck in silence. The truck ride back into town was as tense as it was silent. I knew if I said anything I would burst into tears, and the last thing Matt needed was a female who had just weirded out after sex to start weeping ta-boot. The silence was worse than if he had just blown up and