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She bit down on her bottom lip, eyes smiling. “So you have.”
She reached for the bottom edge of his T-shirt and then lifted it over his head before tossing the shirt somewhere behind the couch. Her palm pressed against his chest, a hot brand of skin-to-skin contact.
A flash of insecurity went through him. In the past, he’d been proud of his body, working hard to keep in top shape for the fire department, but he didn’t look how he used to. He had scars from the fire, places where hair would never grow again, raised pink stripes where the edges of a burning wooden beam had landed on him.
But when he looked up at Andi’s face, the sharp edges of self-consciousness softened. He never claimed to know a woman’s mind, but right now, Andi’s poker face was nonexistent. That wasn’t the look of revulsion or pity. It was the look of a woman who wanted things. Who wantedhim.
***
Andi had been prepared for the scars. She’d gotten a brief look that day she’d surprised Hill at his house, but what she hadn’t been prepared for was the full-body kick of arousal that shot through her at the sight of him without his shirt. She was already running hot, the feel of his erection pressing between her legs about to drive her mad. But now she wanted to touch him everywhere, kiss him everywhere, see all of him.
However, even in the haze of arousal, she knew she wasn’t ready for that step. She’d made that mistake the last time she’d tried something physical with a guy. She’d rushed, trying to outrun her anxiety, but it was faster and more cunning than she’d given it credit for. She needed to be careful not to go too fast too soon. If she got spooked, she could ruin this whole thing and set herself back.
That didn’t mean she couldn’t dosomethings, though.
She let her fingertips travel down the solid muscles of Hill’s chest, over the smooth, raised patches of scars, and then lower to the ridges of his abdomen. His belly flexed beneath her fingers as he hissed out a breath. “Andi.”
She loved the ache in his voice, the need. She liked knowing that she was getting to him as much as he was getting to her. And the fact that he hadn’t touched her, had kept his hands at his sides, gave her a burst of confidence. She reached down and pulled her top over her head, tossing it to the side, and leaving her in her lacy purple bra.
Hill’s gaze ate her up as he groaned softly. “Jesus. You’re perfect.”
His voice was pure sex. She could imagine it against her ear as he stretched out on top of her, pushed inside her. But the image was too much right now. If he lay on top of her, she’d panic for sure. So instead, she reached down and took his wrist in her hand again. She lifted his hand, her heart beating like a hummingbird’s wings against her ribs, and pressed his palm against her lace-covered breast. “You can touch me here.”
His eyes flared with heat, and he cupped her breast, the warmth and weight of his palm waking up every nerve ending there. His thumb brushed across her nipple, and her flesh tightened and pushed against the lace, sending a shudder of need through her.
“Can I kiss you here?” he asked, his voice a soft rumble.
Andi swallowed past the knot in her throat and nodded. “As long as you promise to stop everything if I say stop.”
“Always.” His gaze bore into hers, his liquid brown eyes reflecting the lamplight. “I mean it. You say stop, slow down, back off, I’m going to listen. Nothing happens that you don’t want to happen, okay?”
She rubbed her lips together, the words winding their way through her, and she nodded. “Okay.”
“Come ’ere,” he whispered, bringing his other hand to her back and gently easing her forward. “Let me make you feel good.”
She let him guide her forward, pushing up on her knees and putting her breasts at eye level for him. Her heart was ready to pound out of her chest, but Hill started off gentle, brushing the tip of his nose against her skin, kissing her lightly along her collarbone, making her nerve endings strain for more. He kept his other hand loosely against the small of her back, giving her the ability to back off if she needed it, but that was the last thing she wanted to do in this moment. He murmured her name against her skin, his breath tickling her, and she arched against him, seeking more.
When his mouth closed over her lace-covered nipple, sensation sparked through her and she gasped, her fingers threading into the hair at the back of his head, holding him in place. His mouth was hot and wet around her, the pressure sending tendrils of arousal straight downward. “Hill.”
He tugged gently, and it felt as if he’d touched her everywhere, her whole body going sensitive and hungry. Without thinking, she reached behind her and unhooked her bra. She needed more of him, skin to skin. Hill lifted his hand without pulling away and slid her bra strap down her shoulder, freeing one arm and exposing her fully to him. She was trembling. She didn’t know if it was fear or anticipation but probably both.
However, when his tongue stroked against her bared breast, any fear trying to break through vaporized. “Holy shit.”
Hill hummed against her skin in clear approval and teased her nipple with his mouth, while cupping her other breast and stroking with his thumb. His beard tickled her skin, just the right amount of soft and abrasive to set her nerve endings aflame. Her head tipped back, and her body rocked against him, pressure building deep inside her. Yes, yes,this. Colors danced behind her eyelids, and her pulse felt as if it was pounding between her legs.
It’d been years since she’d been touched by someone else and never like this, never with this much focused attention. Hill wasn’t just kissing her body as a means to an end or a journey to the big event. Thiswasthe event. He made wherever he kissed the center of the universe. Like if that square inch of skin was all he had to work with, by golly, he was going to slay it.
“Hill,” she panted, the pressure building hot and urgent, “I need…but…God.”
He pulled away for a moment and looked up at her, his lips shiny and his pupils black with lust. “Do you need to come, Andi?”
Yes. Yes. Yes.Her throat tightened. “I’m not ready for sex.”
“That’s not what I’m asking,” he said, voice full of confident promise. “I can help. You don’t even have to take your jeans off, but you’d have to trust me to touch you.”
She considered him, her body aching for what he was offering, and finally nodded. “Okay.”
“Thank you.” He took her face in his hands and kissed her gently, soothing some of the nerves that were trying to surface. When her body relaxed again, he let go of her face and kissed down her chest. She was dizzy with arousal, trying not to overthink things and get in her head. But she didn’t have to worry long because while his mouth was occupied with her breast, his hand slid down, and he pressed the heel of it between her legs over her jeans. The simple pressure shouldn’t have been intense with a layer of denim between them, but lightning streaked down her thighs as his hand put pressure against her clit.
