Theo opened his mouth and then shook his head. “Hot is the wrong word, actually. Beautiful is more like it. Maybe stunning. Jaw-dropping.”
Holy shit.
Now my cheeks were hot.
At least we had matching blushes.
I lifted my hands to let them trace his tattoos, but paused an inch away.
“Piper, you okay?” he asked. “Is it too much?”
For once, I didn’t want to stop, but I needed to.
I shook my head. “No. I would love to touch you, but I want permission. You got overwhelmed last time. I want you to be in the right headspace for this.”
It was different for me to want to touch someone and hold back, but I didn’t mind it. I would take my fill of seeing Theo like this and give him the time he needed.
Even if I swore heat was filling his gaze.
“You can touch me,” he murmured, and my skin erupted in gooseflesh. “It’s fine.”
My eyes met his as my hands finally found their mark. His muscles tensed under my hands, but he held my gaze.
“What other parts do you wanna memorize?” he whispered.
“Everything.” I inched closer to him, propping up on tiptoes. “Is that okay?”
“Anything you want is okay.”
There was no need to hesitate when I pressed my lips to his, but my heart skipped a beat when I did it. Theo was safe, and he wouldn’t do anything I didn’t want, yet all of this had been a dream for so long that my mind still struggled to comprehend what was happening.
I heard him suck in a sharp breath of air. And I stayed still.
Both of us needed this moment.
I wasn’t sure who moved first, but when the dam broke, it brokehard.
Theo’s arms wound tightly around me, pulling me into his body. I wrapped my hands around his neck to pull him closer.
Every inch of him pressed against me and it made me want this more. I was torn between focusing on the way his lips moved against mine and the way he gripped the small of my back to keep me close to him.
But he pulled away.
“Are you okay?” he asked.
“So okay.” I ran my hands up his chest and he shuddered. “What about you?”
He nodded. “It’s been a very long time since anyone touched me like this.”
“I’m sure a lot of people wanted to.”
“I didn’t want them to.” His eyes met mine. “I only want you.”
He kissed me once more, and I was figuring out how to climb him like a tree when he pulled away again.
“What if you regret this?” he asked softly.
“Regret this? Why would I regret anything?”
