The moment of truth.
Her eyes widened.
As much as he wanted to believe she was impressed by his cock, his scars had her full attention now. He shouldn’t worry. Did he want her any less for the nasty ribbon that cut across her ribs? Hell no.
Still, she was the first woman to see him naked outside of a hospital. What if his scars sent her running for the hills? Heaven knewheavoided them whenever possible.
“How long were you in the hospital?” she asked, scooting to sit on the edge of the bed, posed like some kind of X-rated pinup.
Despite the stellar view, his erection softened at her question, and he sighed. “Almost a year.”
She gasped.
“My femur was broken in several places. Plus, the burns… And I needed a lot of physical therapy.”
She bit her lip and looked up at him. “May I?” she asked, waving her hand at his pelvis.
He nodded, mesmerized by the sight of her elegant fingers so close to his gnarled skin as she moved in closer.
Her touch was so light he couldn’t even feel it. She glanced up. “Is that okay?”
“Yeah. The nerve endings are pretty much destroyed.”
She traced the lumps and tendrils of skin with slow, deliberate strokes and then placed her palm flat over top of the worst scars and gripped his hip. Something in her demeanor shifted, and her silken breath caressed his penis.
“I’m so glad you survived,” she said, her voice hoarse.
His dick twitched and came to life again, and he nearly groaned in embarrassment. Great timing. He made to step back, but Valerie wrapped her fingers around his renewed erection. His pulse tripped.
“Make love to me,” she said, her gaze steady, resolved.
“Why?” The word came out before he could stop it, but if this was a pity fuck— What? He’d say no?Yeah, right.
She released him as she leaned back on the bed resting on her elbows and—thank you, Jesus—spread her legs, giving him a glimpse of the treasure hidden beneath her dark curls.
He turned painfully hard.
“Because I’ve wanted you for days and I don’t want to wait any longer.” Watching his face, she lay flat out and raised her arms over her head. “Make love to me, Scott.”
Valerie shivered in anticipation as Scott kneeled carefully before her. Every five seconds she wanted to cover her midriff, hide the ravaged skin that marked the worst day of her life, but the hungry expression on his face—like a wolf on the prowl—reminded her that he didn’t care.
In his eyes, she wasn’t damaged.
Logically, she knew that. His scar didn’t change her opinion of how sexy he was, so it should be the same for her, right? But that hadn’t been her experience with men in the past. They either treated her with too much care, or were turned off. Either way, the scar interfered.
But not today, not with Scott.
He ran his rough palms up her thighs, massaging as he went and following the trail he blazed with hot, openmouthed kisses that made her body tingle and yearn. And made her thankful that she’d shaved her legs with one of the razors she’d found in the stash of toiletries. He tugged her closer to the edge of the bed and slid his hands under her buttocks, lifting her slightly, bringing her closer to his mouth.
Her face heated—she’d never done this with the light on—but then he licked her in one long, powerful stroke and she forgot about the light, her scar, being on the run, and everything but the warm, electric pleasure rippling from her core out to her limbs. He kissed and licked and suckled, sometimes diving into her with his tongue and then returning to lavish the most sensitive part of her body with loving attention, his beard rasping against her thighs amping up the onslaught of sensations.
She tangled her fingers in his soft hair and held on for the ride, forgetting to breathe as he snaked a hand up her body and caressed her left breast. Eyes closed, she arched up as everything within her came together in a single, shining point of light and then burst apart like a supernova, showering her with stars, like glitter raining down from above.
A noise escaped her, half cry, half moan, and she fought for air as he eased her down with butterfly kisses on her stomach.
Putting his right knee on the bed, Scott moved over her and gave her a smoldering grin. “You are the hottest thing I’ve ever seen in my life.”
She laughed, suddenly shy. “You did that.”
