Page 70 of A Matter of Time

“Pretty?”

“Gimme a break,” he muttered, his gaze returning to his laptop screen. “You know what you fuckin’ look like.”

“Do I?”

“Go back to sleep.”

“I don’t wanna.”

He grunted.

“If I’m so pretty, why don’t you kiss me?”

“Don’t irritate me, you’re hurt.”

“Slight concussion,” I baited him. “You said.”

He lifted his head as if he was going to say something, but I was smiling at him, and the way his breath caught made me smile more.

“Don’t tease,” he warned me.

“Who’s teasing? Come here and kiss me.”

“I don’t wanna hurt you,” he rasped, looking pained.

“Why would you hurt me?”

“I’m not as gentle as I should be sometimes.”

“Who asked you to be?”

Moving slowly, he stood up, put his laptop back down on the chair he’d just vacated, then bent over me. I lifted my chin for the kiss, my hands on his face, and he meant to simply brush his lips over mine, but I caught his bottom lip gently between my teeth.

His breathing sounded ragged, and I smiled before I kissed him soundly, devouring his lush lips, sucking and licking, my tongue tangling with his.

He broke the kiss, panting. “Jory, baby, you need to be careful of me.”

“Oh yeah? Not domesticated? A wild thing?”

“It’s not funny.”

“It’s a little funny,” I assured him. “Get in bed with me.”

“You need to rest and⁠—”

“No, Sam, I just need you.”

“I—”

“Now.”

Long sigh then. “I want you so bad.”

“Good.”

He straightened up, eased the covers off me, took hold of my thighs, and slid me to the edge of the bed. Even though he had the sweats off me in seconds, he was being very gentle. Leaving me for a moment, he went into the top drawer of his nightstand and returned with lube. When he lifted my knees up, I couldn’t contain my laughter. He froze, staring down at me.

“What?”