“I feel safe in your arms. Cared for. Desired.”
“Do you feel my desire for you right now?” I thrust my hips against her ass.
“Yes.”
“Do you want to know what I see when I look at us?” She nods. “I don’t see our age difference, not our power dynamics, nothing outside of you and me. I see you, Bree. The woman I met in a bar on a random night in November. I see you in the blue dress with your lips wrapped around a straw, dancing to the beat of the music.”
“I still see you too. The white T-shirt in the corner. The only man I’ve ever had a one-night stand with. The only one who’s ever made me let go and take what I want.” She stares into my eyes as she affirms what I knew.
“I see your heart. A woman who cares so deeply for her friends. I see someone who gave me a second chance when I didn’t deserve it.” My hand touches over her heart. Her silky-smooth skin a contrast to my callused hands from baseball.
“That’s not true.” She laces her fingers through mine and brings my hand up to kiss it.
“It is. I was an ass and made things harder on you. Angry Gabrielle is hot as fuck, so it’s hard to be sorry about that part.”
Her shoulders shake against my chest as she laughs. “You’re hot all the time,” she says, a cute little smirk appearing on her face.
“Glad you think so.”
She clings to me when she says, “It’s not just the tats, ripped muscles, and stupidly hot smirk. It’s the way you made me feel, even then. I think it’s why I was so mad after the showdown in the conference room. I didn’t want to feel anything for you, and then you went out that night and I couldn’t help thinking you went out to get laid.”
“Did that upset you? The thought of me with someone else?” Now we’re getting somewhere.
“Yes, and it was stupid because I had just told you we couldn’t be together. There are all these reasons this can’t work.”
“You know what else I see? A woman who cares too much what other people think.” She drops her chin and breaks eye contact. “Look at me.” I raise her chin with a hand until she looks back at me. “Their opinions don’t matter. Neither one of us has great experience in relationships, but I wantyou. I want to keep trying because when I look at us together, we fit.”
“Do we?”
“Hell yes, we do. Do I need to show you how well we fit together?” I’d planned to all along by bringing her in front of the mirror, but it doesn’t hurt she’s asking for it.
“I’m a visual learner.” Her lips twitch as she teases me.
“Sounds like you just want to watch me.” A surge of adrenaline hits my blood at the idea of her watching me claim her.
“Maybe.”
“I can work with that.” Instead of diving straight into sex, I start small. “See the way your head fits perfectly under my chin? The way your body leans into mine and your back aligns with my chest? The way my arms hold you here?” I palm her stomach and pull her deeper into me.
“Your dick is poking me in the ass.” She arches her back, grinding against my length.
I smirk. “Right where it’s supposed to be.”
“In my ass?”
“Well, if you insist.” I rock against her, both of us panting with need. “I bet if I touched you right now, you’d be wet for me, wouldn’t you, Princess?”
“Why don’t you check and find out?” So much for starting small. Bree threw my plan right out the window.
“Don’t know if I should. Teasing you is much more fun.” My fingernails scratch against her stomach, and she shivers. “Look at you, so responsive to my touch. Show me your tits.”
“I can’t reach the clasp with you so close.”
“Don’t take it off. Pull the cups down and show me.” Slowly, she reaches up and runs her hands over her chest, up to her collarbone and then back down again where she traces the tops of the cups covering her, teasing me, before she tugs the fabric down, revealing her rosy nipples.
“Good girl.” I bite my lip, salivating at the need to taste them.
“Touch me, please.”
