Free Vaalbara; Visions & Shadows by Michelle Horst

breath; then the soft kiss turned harder, more desperate - a kiss born from passion and fire, and a need I could understand.
    Ryan’s hand moved from my cheek to the small of my back, tenderly pressing me against him, his lips now forcing mine apart. The minute his tongue slipped over mine, my heart soared. I had never in my life felt something so intense. I knew I was lost. Forever.
    His other hand rested softly on my side, while parts of my body that I never even knew I had begun to wake up under his touch. Apparently, my hormones had come together in a chorus that praised the name, Ryan.
    I didn’t want to think about ten minutes from now. I didn’t want to think about our friendship, or that I might be leaving him behind when I left this town eventually. I just wanted to touch him, taste him, and inhale him.
    When the kiss ended, he rested his forehead against mine. I took quick breaths while trying to regain my composure, or at least what was left of it.
    “We…we need to sleep now,” he said, as his hands massaged the bare skin of my back.
    “Uh-hum,” was all I could get out. I wasn’t going to be able to sleep now. There was no way.
    “We really…” His lips were moving closer again, not even an inch from mine. “We need to…” Ryan didn’t get any further than that. I pulled him into me. Apparently the ‘cougar’ was a part of my soul after all.
    My hand reached under his shirt, gliding over his muscles. It set Ryan into motion as he pulled the shirt off in one swift movement with one hand. This time a moan did escape my lips when I saw the beauty of his bare chest. He lowered himself back down, covering me with his well-built body.
    I was treading into unfamiliar territory and there was no denying him now. I didn’t have a clue as to what Ryan was expecting, nor as to what I was supposed to do. I kept on kissing him with everything I had; feeling the heat of his skin under my trembling hands was a dream come true.
    Ryan’s strong hand moved up my side, and my breath caught in my throat. His hand gripped my ribs just below the curve of my breast. I couldn’t think clearly anymore. All my senses were completely stunned by him. It was both scary and exhilarating at the same time.
    Ryan inched my shirt up, and my arms must’ve been co-operating on their own, because the next thing I knew my shirt was on the floor next to the bed. He didn’t give me any time to feel self-conscious about it, as he once again lowered himself on top of me.
    I was nearly undone when he started kissing my neck. Sparks shot through my body, my back arched, eagerly meeting his exploration.
    Confusion flared up in me as a groan escaped his throat and Ryan quickly pulled away as if I’d burned him. “I am sorry. I apologize for my behavior. I should not have… I—” He sat up on the edge of the bed with his hands in his hair.
    I didn’t know what to say or do, so I grabbed for the blanket and just lay there in the dark. Sid, what have I done? Was it just the heat of the moment for him? I wouldn’t be able to look him in the eyes again. I could feel a lump forming in my throat the size of a bloody basketball. How could I have let myself get so carried away? Stupid! What would he think of me now?
    “Aislinn?”
    “Yes.” I croaked. So much for a future in acting. “I’m sorry.”
    “No, Aislinn, please…do not.” He held me again. “I should not have let it get out of hand. I should have controlled the situation better. You have been through enough and now I have added to it. It is just that you…are…so—” A faint smile appeared on Ryan’s lips for a split second, before he turned and looked at me with such care that I could barely breathe. “You are so beautiful.”
    He kissed me tenderly. “Are you alright?”
    “Yes.” I began to feel pretty self-conscious now, and I couldn’t get my head around the idea that he thought I was beautiful. “But—.”
    “No buts.”
    He pushed me away from him so