Page 84 of Defend Her Heart

“Hey, I want one!”

She reaches in again and grabs one, but instead of handing it to me, she holds it up in front of her. “I’m gonna make you work for it. Open up.”

Lord, you have no idea how badly I want to do just that.

Shaking away the dirty thoughts, I drop my jaw and create a target for her. Avery closes one eye and does a few practice motions like you do when you’re preparing to throw a dart. Finally, she gets set and counts down. “Three, two, one.” She launches the chocolate chip at me and it smokes me right in the eyeball.

“Oh my god! I’m so sorry.”

My eye stings and starts to water. I can’t see shit so I don’t notice she’s in front of me until I feel her hands on my cheeks. “Let me see.”

The sting is dulling by the second the longer her hands cradle my face. I open the eye that escaped the assault, and the moment I do I forget how to breathe. Avery’s green eyes peer into mine and then she’s blowing lightly on my eyelid that remains squeezed shut. Her breath ghosts over my skin, soft and careful. It’s the kind of gentleness that shouldn’t undo me.

But it does. All of my focus is on the shape of her mouth and the way it lingers so close to my skin. My heart kicks hard in my chest and I don’t want this moment to slip past us again.

“Hey,” I say quietly.

She doesn’t answer. She doesn’t even move. So I do.

I reach my hand up to her cheek and slowly caress it with my thumb. Finally, she forgets about my watering eye and moves her lips so they’re directly in front of mine.

Slowly, I inch closer. And when my lips are a breath away from hers, I simply say, “I’m going to kiss you now.”

“Yes,” she says on a breathy exhale.

The kiss starts soft, as if we’re both unsure this is actually happening. There’s so much history here between us, years ofunspoken emotion desperate to be released, I swear I can feel every sigh and moan deep in my bones.

I can’t believe this is really happening.

Our tongues explore each other’s in careful, almost tentative, restrained strokes. Like we’re both relearning something we both knew by heart. Knowing I could’ve had this through all the years I lost makes my chest ache.

And then something shifts.

Maybe it’s the sound I make when she pulls me closer. Maybe it’s the way my hands slide into her hair like muscle memory. Whatever it is, the restraint between us finally snaps.

This kiss is no longer careful. It’s wild and urgent and so fucking perfect. It’s like we both remember exactly how good we were together. I kiss her hard, and I swear the world tilts beneath my feet. Every touch, every sound, feels familiar in the most dangerous way. All of the old chemistry between us comes roaring back to life and I needmore.

Reaching behind her, I grab her with two hands and lift her so she’s sitting on my lap. Our mouths break apart but this is far from over. My lips find her jaw and I kiss my way up to the shell of her ear.

“You taste even better than I remember.”

She whimpers and grinds herself against my rock hard cock below her.

“That’s it, baby. Don’t hold back.”

Avery moves in slow circles on my lap as I continue to kiss every inch of skin I can find. I pull her shirt down to reveal a black lace bra and groan. “Did you wear this for me?”

She nods. “Yes. More, Connor.Please.”

I nip at her nipple through her bra which causes her to scream out. “Oh god, yes!”

I sit up and swallow her scream with my mouth. This feels so good. Too good. We’re moving together now, my hands on her hips as she continues to move over me.

Avery pulls back but keeps her hands on my shoulders.There’s no stopping me now, so I push up into her warm center and she throws her head back. “I’m so close.”

“Then let go, Aves. Let me hear what you sound like now when you come.”

She starts rotating her hips over my hard length, this time faster as she builds up to her own relief. I’m not too far behind, but I refuse to come before she does. I pull down her shirt one more time and, this time, I pull the cup of her bra down with it. My mouth finds her nipple, and after a few flicks of my tongue Avery cries out.