‘Astute observation.’
‘Jesus Christ, Ava. Please tell me you didn’t walk down my mum’s hallway with your pussy bare.’
‘Okay. I won’t tell you that.’ I keep kissing his neck, over the tendon where his pulse batters, tasting salt and clean sweat.
He lets out a harsh breath. ‘I’m trying to be a gentleman, but you’re making it very fucking difficult.’
‘Good. I didn’t come here for a gentleman.’
‘What did you come here for?’
‘You, of course.’ I lean in, raking his ear with my open mouth. ‘Doing ungentlemanly things to me.’
I rock into his lap. The damp friction wrenches a gut-deep sound out of him; one I feel in my deep tissue.
‘These were clean this morning, Ava.’
‘I’ll buy you a new multipack.’
He grounds out a laugh that turns into a growl. Then he flips us, and the world inverts. I’m on my back; he’s settled over me. For a fraction of a second, my muscles brace. Part of me anticipates the breathless panic of being trapped. But the panic never comes. His weight isn’t a cage; it’s an enveloping heat that silences the buzzing in my head.
Scottie’s forearms cage my head, and his steely girth settles hard against my core through his boxers. A promise I need him to keep.
I bridge up to meet him, but he pins me to the mattress.
‘Patience.’ He shimmies the hem of my shirt up, baring my stomach, then higher over the curve of my chest. ‘Are you sure you want to go there with me?’
‘First of all,’ my palms frame his stubbled jaw, ‘we’re already halfway.’ I pull him in for a slow kiss because I can’t get enough of him. ‘And if you ask me that one more time, I’m going to scream. I don’t care if it wakes up your family.’ My bare heels shift up the sheets, dropping my knees wide. ‘Stop being noble and put your mouth on me.’
‘Where?’
‘Wherever you like.’
‘Jesus, woman.’
His broad hands catch the hem of my T-shirt. I lift my arms, and he peels the fabric over my shoulders. Cool air hits me, but his eyes lick over my skin like fire, keeping the blood running hot.
He goes quiet. ’You’re so fucking beautiful it actually hurts to look at you.’
‘Good that it’s dark in here then. I don’t want you to be in pain right now.’
He lets out a chuckle. ‘Shut up, Ava. I mean it.’
The sincerity in his voice obliterates my sarcastic shield. Under his stare, I don’t feel scrutinised for flaws. I want to cover myself, to hide the messy, broken parts of me he is looking at as if they are gold. But I don’t. Not with him.
He skims up my body, the rasp of hair and muscle against my flesh, and captures one nipple. The suction arrows deep, and I fall open wider. He flicks, and I arch so hard I nearly buck him off. His hand finds the other stiff peak, tugging it gently until my clit throbs in sync, untouched and furious about it.
‘More.’ The word comes out strangled. ‘Please.’
He lifts his head. ‘Please what?’
‘Touch me. Touch me where I need you.’
He drags a single finger along my inner crease, close enough that my hips hitch toward his hand. ‘Here?’
‘You know where. Don’t be a tease.’
The first brush against my centre has us both hold our breath.
