Page 63 of One Last Thing Before You Go

“I’m going to make you scream.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

LOTTIE

“Ohmygodyesplease.” I moan, barely coherent now.

I sit up, working the straps of my shoes, only to have him stop me with a hand around each wrist. “Leave them on.”

I smirk at him. “You have a shoe fetish I don’t know about? Because it’s fine if you do.”

“No. Just a Lottie-naked-in-these-heels fetish.” He laughs, pulling his white t-shirt over his head in one fluid movement. My mouth waters, taking in every muscle, every ripple and valley of this man’s chest, eyes tracing the ink so carefully drawn over his taut, tan skin. “How often do you work out. My god.”

“Never.” And I believe him.

“Ah, to have a twenty-seven-year old’s metabolism.”

Knox rolls his eyes at me with a smile before ducking to kiss me. He pulls away and cups my face in his hands. “You’re beautiful.”

For a moment, we don’t speak. We just stare into each other’s eyes, his glacier blue, yet warm at the same time.

The way his gaze roams over me, a combination of heat and hunger and something else, has my pulse racing even quicker, my breathing coming in even shallower. I want him, yes, but more than anything I crave his closeness, the feel of him. It’s not the orgasm I find myself chasing, but the chance at connecting with him once again.

Suddenly overwhelmed by this unnamed emotion, I pull him down and over me, his body covering mine. Quickly, we move to pull down his pajama bottoms and underwear all at once, watching with awe as he springs free. Almost immediately, though, he pulls away, sitting at the edge of the bed despite my protests.

“Shit.”

“What? What’s wrong? Come back.” I don’t care if I sound like I’m begging. The way I feel right now, I’d happily do so.

“I—shit—I don’t have anything.”

“You don’t have anything of what?”

“I don’t have anything.”

“Okay, that still doesn’t say⁠—”

He looks at me like I’m dense, and maybe I am, but there’s very little my brain can process when he’s naked like that.

“I don’t have a condom. I used everything I had that night we spent together. Haven’t purchased any since.”

“You’ve been flirting with me shamelessly for weeks, but never thought to purchase a box of condoms just in case?”

“Didn’t want to jinx it,” he says bashfully. “For the record, I’m clean, haven’t slept with anyone since you or anyone for a long time before that. But…” He drops his face into his hands, groaning in frustration.

“Oh, I—” I swallow, considering my options. “I haven’t had sex without a condom since my ex and I separated, and I’m good. I went to the doctor recently and…” I cough a little, suddenly feeling a little embarrassed. But we’re adults, goddamnit. “And, well, birth control wise…” How do you tell a man you’re about to sleep with that you can’t have children? Situationally, it’s good news. But in reality, it’s a freaking bummer, right? I don’t want to ruin this night by bringing it up. This thing between us, it’s not meant to be permanent at all. Which means he doesn’t need to know that I can’t do the one thing women are supposed to do. That I’m broken. “You don’t need to worry about the birth control part. We’re good.” It’s the best I can do without getting into it.

He turns to look at me, eyes wide. “Yeah?”

“Yeah.”

“You sure?” I can tell how hard Knox works to maintain his self-control, but the mask drops as he licks his bottom lip, his eyes dropping to my chest, my legs. He reaches out and runs a hand over my calf, travels up over my knee toward my inner thigh. His light touch sparks the heat inside me once more, the possessive squeeze he gives my legs just inside my thighs running an electric current through me. “Because we could also just do other things.” The look in his eyes, starved, predatory, has me melting atop his bed as he hooks his fingers into my lace thong and gently, so slowly, pulls it down.

“How about we do those other things and more?” I sit up and pull his face to mine, kissing him, running my tongue over his lower lip.

“Yeah,” he whispers against me. “Yeah, that sounds good.” “Good.” I grin, looking up at him.

His eyes darken and his hands come to my shoulders in one quick movement. “Now be a good girl and lie back while I taste you.” I gasp as he pushes me back, my body shivering with the sound of his commanding voice.