Under The Painted Sky (O/O CLOSED)

Eden curled up against him, humming softly. She couldn’t imagine Sterling smothering her. At least, not in the way she’d been oppressed before. She hoped it wouldn’t come to that. One abusive relationship had been enough for her. Another one would be…

“I will,” Eden rubbed slow circles on his chest, eyes slightly closed. “How was the math test? I haven’t had the chance to take it. I’m supposed to after school.”

“I’m sure you’ll do fine,” Eden stifled a yawn, his actions making her too peaceful. She shifted a little, moving so she was sitting on his lap sideways. “Tell me about yourself.”

“That would be a good start,” Eden looked up him. “Your favorite things.”

As he talked, Eden lifted her hand and traced his features again. From his jawline to his nose to his lips and anywhere her fingers could touch. When he reached the part about the red pandas, she chuckled.

“I figured that, actually,” she lightly scratched his cheek with her nail. “At the zoo. You wanted to see them first.”

Eden leaned up until their mouths were barely brushing. She knew he’d close the distance, but she just wanted to see what he would do. It wasn’t like she was teasing him, either.

“Are you saying I’m deadly?” She murmured, caressing his cheek.

Eden shivered at the look in his eyes, and then at his actions and words.

“You think I’m the death of you?” She murmured, their mouths brushing against each other.

Fireworks exploded in Eden's stomach when Sterling pressed their lips together. She wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling herself upward a little to kiss him better.

Eden decided she really, really liked doing this with Sterling. She liked the way his lips molded in hers. She loved how they moved against each other. Gathering her courage and pushing away the fear, Eden pressed their lips together harder, fingers lacing through his hair.

A small sound erupted from Eden's throat when Sterling deepened the kiss a little. Her toes curled, warmth flooding through her at his action. She liked the gentle way their lips moved against each other. She liked how she could feel his mouth against hers and taste him. She shifted a little, mouths still attached and adjusted herself so her legs were on either side of him. Her hands left his hair and cupped his face, the kiss at the same pace.

Eden shivered when his hands gripped her waist and held her gently to himself. She positioned herself higher on her knees, wanting to deepen the kiss but being afraid of remembering and then offending Sterling. His hands on her felt as gentle as his kiss. He didn't hold her possessively. He held her like she was something precious, something that needed to be treated right and Eden loved it.

She pulled away from his mouth, breathing heavily, eyes still closed, lips tingling and burning.

"I like it when you kiss me like that," she murmured, keeping her eyes shut.

Eden smiled, opening her eyes to see his swollen lips. Were hers as swollen as his, or were they more?

"Again?" she looked at him hopefully. "Kiss me again?"

Eden immediately kissed him back with the same force as he kissed her with. This time, it was harder than the last. Eden wasn't complaining. She liked it. It was soothing, this feeling. She knew she couldn't handle a tongue in her mouth–not yet, at least–so she was glad he hadn't taken that turn.

Finally, Eden pulled away from Sterling and rested her head on his shoulder. She took both his hands and wrapped them around her as best as she could, making herself comfortable in the position she was in.

"This is nice," she swallowed. "Extremely nice."

Eden relaxed in his hold, exhaling through her nose. “How about never?” She muttered. “Really don’t want to go back.”

“After lunch,” Eden finally repeated, sinking in his embrace. Her fingers reached to his hair to play with it, twirling short strands. “But that would be missing three classes. And I think we have PE last block.”

“I need to take the test after school, remember?” Eden sighed. “I’ll need to go back, anyway. And I’m not terrible at sports. I just don’t care.”