He let them into her apartment and shut the door behind them.It was early evening.The sun was still up, and the bar hadn’t even hit its stride.
She dropped her purse on the floor and sagged back against the breakfast bar.“I was so stupid.”
“Not stupid.”
“I let myself get invested in something that wasn’t even real.”
He braced his hands on the countertop, bracketing her.“You let yourself hope.”
He bent his head down so he could peer into her eyes.“There’s nothing wrong with that.”
Even with puffy eyes and splotchy cheeks, she was the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen.Not even her sisters compared, because he saw through the tough exterior to the fragile center.She was unlike anyone else, the yin and the yang.
He kissed her gently.Her lips trembled, which was unlike her, and something inside his chest twisted.He kissed her more firmly, mouth open against hers.When her hands slid under his jacket and clenched him at the waist, he knew he had her.
He cupped the back of her neck.Her hair felt like silk and her skin was even softer.He felt himself hardening.He wanted to make things better for her, he really did.
“I’ve always been so angry about it,” she said quietly.He nuzzled at her neck, and she leaned into him.“But when things went so well with Lexie and Maxie…”
She’d started to dream about the perfect ending.
He wanted to tell her that could still happen, but he wouldn’t lie to her.Not even to make the sadness go away.Instead, he cupped her face and made her look at him.“Baby, did you ever think about what would have happened if you hadn’t ended up in foster care?We would never have met.”
His voice went rough.“And I needed you, Roxie.”
A soft sound left her throat.
He leaned his forehead against hers.“You pulled me back in.”
He’d been going down the wrong road before she’d showed up with her angel face and sassy attitude.
“Billy,” she said softly.Going up on her tiptoes, she pressed her mouth against his.
The heartfelt kiss nearly toppled him.
Holding onto her tightly, he backed them towards the bedroom.
In the dimming light, their breaths sounded as one.Sensuality settled heavily over the room as they kissed and touched, not wanting to break contact.This desire was different.Deeper.The pleasure was there, but the need to connect was so much stronger.
Roxie scooted onto the bed once he’d stripped her, but Billy didn’t follow when she reached for him.
He had other plans.
Moving to the end of the bed, he took her foot in his hand.It was cold.Palming it, he tried to warm her up.
There was something about seeing her barefoot that ruined him.She went shoeless all the time around the apartment, but out in the big, bad world, she was always protected with shoes that killed.Those damn old boots had done more than hurt her feet.They’d made her seem vulnerable and tentative.
And that wasn’t his girl.
“Here?”he asked, pressing against the ball of her foot.
Her toes curled.
He stroked her arch.“Or here?”
“There.”Her moan was a blend of pleasure and relief.Sitting up, she pulled the comforter over herself and watched as he massaged away the ache.
Billy’s concentration focused.If there ever was a woman like a high-performance racing engine, she was it.Wrapping his hand around her heel, he played mechanic.Using his touch, he sought out the aches and pains that had been plaguing her and fixed them.By the time he started up her Achilles’ heel, she was a shuddering hot mess.
