Page 29 of The Last Good Man

“Melody…” he murmurs, resting his hands on my waist while my arms close around his neck.

His voice carries a pang of warm sincerity for the first time since I met him.

Everything else has been polite, dull, and empty, and now I realize how much I crave something real.

‘Like that man last night,’a voice teases in my head, and I mentally slap it away.

Thomas brings his eyes to mine, his enthusiasm for me not dinged in the slightest, and for a second there, I think he’ll go for a passionate kiss.

It doesn’t happen.

He brings his hand to the back of my hair and resumes kissing my neck, which I like. I even get tingles from it, but it can’t pull me out of my head. And for sure, it can’t make me forget that we are two strangers about to have sex without a genuine connection.

Adjusting my expectations, I simply go with it.

“Do you have condoms?” I ask, practical and eager to get to the point.

“Of course,” he says, relief tinging his voice, confirmingagain that he and I will never be more than this.

Two adults scoring some points with each other.

He pivots toward the nearest nightstand while I remove my heels and slide under the covers.

Smiling, he unbuttons his shirt and tucks it out of his pants while retrieving a few foil packets from the drawer and tossing them onto the nightstand.

He likes what is about to follow, and I try to share his sentiment despite feeling like I’m in a boardroom meeting.

Moments later, we lie next to each other, facing one another. His lips are on my neck again, never going near my mouth, while my fingers splay over his shoulder.

He works out,hardmuscles grinding beneath his skin.A mix of weight lifting and jogging, I suspect.

Nothing outrageous, though.He doesn’t have much definition, not that I believe it’s been his goal.

More silky hair covers his abdomen and arms. It tickles me, which makes it hard to stop thinking about it.

Between the music playing over the speakers and him pressed against my body, I can’t get into the moment.

He has his boxers on, his hand gliding to my back to unfasten my bra, mine going down his happy trail, when a loud noise makes the windows shudder.

Several car engines rumble outside, tires screeching, and annoying laughter drifting from behind the windows.

Men and women.

Exhaust fumes spread through the air.

The man facing me begins to harden, producing an erection I am eager to touch when the noise gets louder.

Sweat lines his skin while he mutters something under his breath.

“Does it bother you?” he asks.

“No,” I say in a clipped voice.

I know that feeling when you’re about to get what you’ve always wanted, and something ruins itfor you.

I’m probably less anxious than he is since I’m not as aroused as he is, but I’m willing to get there with him.

For a different reason, though.

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