Her features softened. “Were you always this charming?”
“Not even a little. But then… I lost you, and everything changed.”
Her bottom lip trembled as she leaned closer. “I’m sorry I put you through that. That I didn’t tell Gus to shove his opinions up his ass. That one decision will haunt me until I die.”
He pressed into her touch. “Give me the next fifty years, and we can let it slide.”
She shuffled closer, her face a breath away from his. “Make it sixty, and you’ve got yourself a deal, soldier.” She stared at his mouth, looking as if she wanted to devour him whole before she brushed her lips across his. “It’s later, Coulter. And my senses are right where they belong. Focused on you, so...”
She trailed a finger down his chest, then back. “If your ribs aren’t killing you, I believe it’s your turn.”
His pulse kicked up, the warm, sweet scent of her crushing any doubts. “Are you sure? Because once I get a taste…”
He’d be lost.
Neve smiled. “You promised to pound me into the bed. About time you kept it.”
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Silence.
No witty comeback or reason why they needed to wait, just her sitting there, staring at Coulter, wondering if she’d ever seen eyes that blue. If she’d ever wanted anyone the way she needed him.
A breath.
Rough. Loud.
As if he’d been holding back a scream and just the air had leaked out.
His chest heaved once, then he moved, sliding his hand through her hair, dragging her that last inch as his mouth crushed down hard on hers, his tongue dipping inside. Neve moaned, giving herself over to the kiss as he ravaged her mouth, releasing her just long enough to move down her neck and across her shoulder before working his way back up.
He trailed a finger along her skin, frowning at the bruising she knew had blossomed while they’d slept. “I should have gotten to you faster.”
“Oh, baby, your timing was perfect.”
“If it had been perfect, you wouldn’t have gotten hurt.”
Neve sighed. The man was nothing if not stubborn.
She brushed her thumb along his jaw. “Make this last for the next few hours, and you’ll be forgiven.”
A twitch of his left eye, then a hint of a smile. “Careful, sweetheart. That sounds like you just double-dog dared me, and you know I can’t let that slide.”
“Do I look scared?”
“You look perfectly desperate, and I’ll take that challenge.”
He drew his finger along her collar bone, dipping down to circle her breast. “I believe you mentioned something the other night about my head wedged between your legs for an hour.”
She swallowed, hard, the image making it difficult to do anything other than moan.
Coulter took that as his cue to get serious, both hands cinching her tee. “Afraid I’m gonna need this back.”
She inhaled as he tugged the fabric over her head, tossing it on the floor before his breath caught, and he stared at her as if he’d never seen her naked. She shifted under his gaze, fighting the urge to grab the corner of the blanket to cover herself when he exhaled, tracing patterns along her skin.
He smiled, a low hum sounding between them. “Christ, you really are stunning. I can’t believe I made you wait this long.”
The words came out low and gravelly, the rough timbre sending goosebumps along her skin. She closed her eyes when he cupped her breast, rubbing his thumb across her nipple.
