His nostrils flare as I reach out toward him hesitantly. My hand hovers halfway between us, and he nods.
I move closer until the pads of my fingers make the lightest contact beneath his ribcage.
He sucks in a sharp breath that I feel all the way to my toes.
His eyes never leave me as I stroke him slowly, tracing each crease and mark that’s been made where he’s healed. I follow them up and up. Over his torso, all the way to underneath the base of his neck, and then down his left arm to his wrist.
“You were burned.” I force air into my lungs, past the bowling ball-sized lump that has formed in my throat.
“I tried to save them.”
A sob bubbles in my throat. “My god…”
“Ssh,” he coos, cupping one side of my face. He lowers his forehead and rests it against mine. “Don’t get upset.”
“I’m sorry. Just knowing what you went through. Everything that you’ve…”
I kiss beneath his collarbone where the scars begin. He sucks in a ragged breath, his chest expanding beneath my lips.
“Is this okay?”
“It’s okay, Hallie,” he rasps in a thick voice.
I take my time kissing down his torso. When I get to the area below his ribs where the scarred skin ends, I move to his wrist and kiss my way up his arm, back to where I started.
“Baby girl.” His hand tangles in my hair and he pulls me to him, screwing his face up and kissing me in desperation.
I cling to him, our kisses growing deeper and deeper until his hands fall to my hips and he pulls me against him with growing urgency.
“Sterling,” I moan.
My mouth doesn’t leave his as I reach for his belt and slowly undo it.
His grip on my hair tightens as I drag his zipper down, the hard length of him pressing against the back of my fingers.
“Take them off,” I whisper.
He kisses me again before rising from the bed. His eyes fix on mine as he pushes his pants and underwear to the floor and steps out of them.
My mouth goes dry.
Each defined muscle in his lower abdomen and legs scream with strength as he stands with his legs apart. His cock juts out, solid and thick, the slit at the end glistening with beads of pre-cum.
He takes a step back toward the bed and his balls swing heavily behind his dick. I can’t help but stare. It’s as though they’re taunting me, knowing they’re about to pound against my skin.
And that I’m going to love every second.
“You okay?”
I gaze at his face, speechless.
He grazes his lower lip with his teeth before rolling his tongue over it. “Take off your panties, Hallie.”
Arousal swims in my core at the way his eyes heat. I hook my thumbs into the sides of my panties and slide them off.
“Jesus Christ, you’re beautiful,” he chokes out hoarsely.
I shuffle on my knees to the edge of the mattress. His skin is hot where I run my palms down his shoulders and over his chest. When I reach his hips, his cock jumps against my skin, smearing me in hot liquid.
