JASON STOPPED BREATHING when the stingy white towel he’d thrown around Emma in the shower pooled at her feet. God, she was beautiful. Curvier but also more muscular than she’d been in college, all that skin just begging for his touch. He wanted to worship her from her dark brows to her shimmery purple toenails. No more apologies, no more doubts. He wanted her like he’d never wanted another woman—not evenherbefore—and he wasn’t fool enough to refuse this gift.
He must’ve waited too long to react because she frowned and bent to grab the towel. Reaching out, he intercepted her hand and drew her forward. “Come here,” he said, his voice low and scratchy.
Tentative now, she stepped between his knees and gripped his shoulders, looking down at him with a question in her clear blue eyes, the spray of freckles above her right eyebrow in stark contrast to her paler-than-usual skin.
“You’re sure?” he asked. He wanted to be more than just a comfort fuck or a way to forget the horrors of the past day, but there wasn’t a chance in hell he’d walk away, regardless of her motives.
At her nod, he combed his fingers into the damp strands of her dark hair, gently urging her closer and stretching up to meet her mouth. The touch of her lips sparked an electric sizzle across his skin, triggering goosebumps down his back and arms, and making his dick stand at attention. Well,moreat attention.
When he’d woken to her sobs, he’d rushed into the bathroom, heart in his throat, to find her curled in a ball on the floor of the shower. Concern had crowded out thoughts of her naked state, and he’d mostly been able to maintain a clinical mindset, even as he held her in his arms. But then she’d looked up at him, red-rimmed eyes full of desire. The instant she’d touched him, a switch flipped and he’d become acutely aware that only a thin towel lay between them.
Now, sliding one hand up her torso, he cupped and caressed the underside of her breast while palming her backside and drawing her closer to feast on her mouth.
She moaned and tugged at his hair.
“You’re the sexiest damn thing I’ve ever seen,” he said on a growl, coming up for air to kiss his way down her throat, tasting her sweet skin before closing his mouth around her nipple.
She jolted and arched her body, dropping her head forward on a lusty sigh that shot straight to his groin. “Take this off,” she said, tugging at his undershirt.
Reluctantly, he released her long enough to grab the shirt by the back of the collar and tug it up and off his body. Tired as he was of being objectified, he still had an ego, and the appreciation in her eyes as her gaze skimmed his torso made him grateful he’d used the gym to work off his frustrations during the last year.
And, honestly, he was too far gone for her to care if she was here for his brain or his body. Maybe he’d regret it later, but right now he’d take her however he could get her.
She trailed her hands across his chest and down over his abs, her soft touch lighting his skin on fire. Gripping her hips, he tugged her closer and she nearly knocked him over in her haste to straddle his thighs.
“I won’t hurt you?” she asked, already settling on his lap.
“Not a chance.” Right now, he wasn’t sure he’d notice even if she did. Ready for something more comfortable than the cold, hard wall of the tub, he urged her to wrap her legs around his waist and stood, carrying her carefully through the doorway.
In the main room, he tugged back the messy covers and lowered her to the mattress, following her down as she kissed her way across his collarbone. “Is this okay?” he managed to croak.
Emma laughed against his skin. “More than.” She tongued his nipple and then gently bit it.
He jerked in surprise and pleasure, the feel of her mouth going straight south. Her hand followed that lightning path, diving into his boxers and stroking him hard.
“Jesus.” He pushed up onto his hands and looked down at her in the morning light that crept through a crack in the curtains. Her hair had begun to dry, creating a little halo around her face even as damp strands clung to her neck. Her soft lips were slick and red and so fucking tempting.
“Is this okay?” she mimicked with feigned innocence, her hand continuing to light him up.
He smiled. “More than.” Balancing on one hand, he pushed his boxers down until he could kick them off. Part of him couldn’t believe he was here, naked with her, being touched by her. Keeping most of his weight on his good leg, he leaned in and kissed her hard, using his free hand to caress her breast. “I missed you,” he whispered, nipping at her earlobe. “Not just this.You.”
He hadn’t realized how much, hadn’t let himself think about her for such a long time, but it was true.
A soft sigh escaped her lips. “Me too.” She turned her head to meet his lips again, pulling him into a hot kiss that left them both breathing hard. “I want to fuck you,” she said. “Now.”
Christ, this woman was going to kill him in the best possible way. “I’m fully onboard for that.” So, so much. More than anything right now. “But I don’t have a condom.” Disappointment rolled through him like a tidal wave.
Her hand stilled and she met his gaze in the dim light. “Really?”
He nodded, not sure if he should be offended by her surprise. “Hooking up hasn’t been my thing for a long time,” he said, trying not to sound defensive or self-righteous.
Something flashed in her eyes. “Me either. But Idohave condoms in my bag.”
“Thank Goddess.”
She giggled, and his heart leapt at the sight of her smiling, the color back in her cheeks.He’ddone that for her, given her something to smile about. It made him feel like he could conquer the world.
He let her up to rummage through her bag, and she returned to the side of the bed seconds later. The sight of her, naked and eagerly tearing into a small box of condoms, really, really did it for him.
