Page 63 of Unbreakable Love

“I don’t. I didn’t.”

“But it hurt.”

“To know the best thing to ever happen to me in my life might be the reason I never found a partner? A wife someday? Yeah, that sucked, Penny.”

She leaned closer, pressed her palm to my cheek, and like earlier, that fervent need bloomed hard and fast. “You’re a good dad. A really great one, especially for protecting Josie from the opposite. I hope you know that.”

I did, but maybe not to the extent I now understood about how differently I could have chosen to live my life. Penny had, for all intents and purposes, been a Josie, and her life had gone so differently.

“Thank you,” I murmured and dropped my head. I hadn’t meant to go for a kiss, not really, only comfort, but she turned and this time, Penny was pressing her lips to mine.

It was soft, tentative, but as my mouth opened, hers responded with a quiet hum of pleasure and then her hand on me was pressing with more force. She kissed me back as we gained confidence in what each other liked, and soon, I was leaning toward her, pushing her back into the couch. I was hard beneath my sweatpants, and I tried to be a gentleman, tried to keep that part off her, tried to give this time, but it’d been so long since I’d felt the touch of a woman like this, felt this desperate need inside of me that had nothing to do with the erection straining against my boxer briefs.

This was deeper. Went far beyond the physical pleasure I received from her as she took from me.

She scooched down on the couch, and I followed her until I was braced on an elbow, leaning down and kissing her. My free hand went to her side, rested at her ribs, and as my thumb brushed against the soft, exposed flesh of her stomach, the most glorious whimper fell from her lips.

Yes, give me more. More of those sounds. I wanted to say, but instead, I kissed her harder. Showed her how much I liked what I was doing to her, what she was giving me with my tongue, mouth, and hand that I forced not to wander too high or too low.

I pulled my mouth off hers, drawing back far enough to see her eyes flutter open. Her cheeks were flushed, lips wet, and her eyes glazed over with a desire I knew had to match mine. She leaned up for more, but I brushed my lips over hers before changing direction.

I wanted to memorize every inch of her with my lips and my hands, but I focused on her jaw. The soft column of her throat that smelled like her sweet, floral perfume, and then back to her ear. As soon as I scraped my teeth over her ears, she bucked up against me.

“Oh,” she whimpered, hips moving, curling, arching. Her hands were at my hips, running up my sides and to my shoulders before her nails dragged back down my sweatshirt.

Next time we did this, I’d be wearing a thinner shirt so I could feel that better.

I took a risk, brushed my thumb along the waistband of her pants, and then slipped my fingers beneath.

She froze instantly and flinched.

I leaned up on my elbow. “You don’t want that.”

It wasn’t a question, but a statement. Her reaction was obvious and as I pulled my fingers out and slid them back to her hip, she wrapped her hand around my wrist.

“It’s okay, Penny. It’s okay not to want that right now.”

“You should know something.” She bit her bottom lip. I tugged my gaze off that and back to her eyes that were now swirling with a mix of desire and nerves.

“What? It’s okay.” I went to push off, to give her more space, more room, but she held me right where I was with her hand at my wrist and her other still at my back.

“No, don’t go. I just… I need a second. But I like this. You here.”

Okay. Her gaze dropped to my throat, to the space between us where her breasts were barely brushing against my sweatshirt.

“I’ve never done this. Well, I mean… I’ve never…”

I twisted my hand that was in hers and slipped it off her waist to cup her cheek. I shoved up on my other arm to my hand, so I was hovering over her, more space between us.

“You’ve never made out with a boy on his couch?” I teased, only to lighten the moment, erase those nerves growing in her sky-blue eyes.

“Um… no, actually, I don’t think I have.” She huffed a laugh and grinned. “But mostly, yeah. I mean, I’ve kissed a few boys and there was some awkward fumbling and touching, but that’s it.”

My head dropped and I brushed my nose over hers. “You’re a virgin,” I guessed.

She swallowed and a whispered, “Yeah,” escaped her. “I never wanted to be my mom.”

That I understood. Completely. “Come here, Penny.”

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