Page 42 of No Man Left Behind

He played and tweaked until he needed more, and then he eased the t-shirt over her head. Her simple, plain bra was the prettiest thing he’d seen. So far.

When he leaned down to suck a breast into his mouth through the bra, she leaned back to give him access. Then she reached behind her, jutting her breasts toward him. When the bra dropped to the floor, he breathed out her name. “Elina. You’re gorgeous. I need a taste.”

He boosted her onto the counter to put her at the perfect height to devour. While he tasted and nipped and licked, she ran her hands under his t-shirt and sent it flying. Her fingers traced over his chest and abs to his biceps and back. His entire body was wired. Ready. He doubted he’d ever been this turned on in his life, and they were still half-dressed. Everything about Elina turned him on, and he wanted to see her fly over the edge. Wanted to watch her give in to the desire raging between them.

She wrapped her legs around him and pulled him closer so that their cores were lined up. He was surprised the layers of denim didn’t simply sizzle right off. “You’re potent, Elina. I’m losing my mind here.”

Her throaty chuckle turned into a gasp when he lowered his head again and sucked a nipple into his mouth. Her heels dug into his ass and brought him in closer yet.

Then her hands moved to the button on his jeans. “Less clothes.”

Hell of a good idea.

He lifted her off the counter and onto her feet, then moved his hands to her jeans.

She patted his hands. “I’ll do these. You do yours. We’ll be faster.”

He grinned and kissed her again before following orders. That’s when he remembered his leg. He needed the other prosthesis for the shower. Damn it all. Nothing said sexy like switching out your artificial limb.

Elina shucked her jeans and looked up at him, eyes wary. “What is it? What’s wrong? Did you change your mind?”

She grabbed for a towel, and he realized she thought this was about her, about him seeing her naked. He was an idiot.

Reaching forward, he stilled her hand on the towel rack. “Sorry. I went into panic mode for a second.”

Her frown deepened. “We don’t need to do this. It’s okay. I’ll just?—”

He stepped forward and wrapped her in his arms. After holding her for a moment, he framed her face with his hands. “That was a momentarymeproblem. I remembered I needed to switch my prosthesis. This one can’t go in the shower but I’ve got another one there. I worried about breaking the mood by taking the time to switch it out, but I ruined the mood by being an idiot.”

Her serious eyes studied him. “That’s the truth?”

He nodded.

She studied him for a moment, allowing him to see the moment she believed him and relaxed. “I thought I’d done something wrong. Or there was something wrong with me.”

He cursed. “Hell, no. You’re perfect, and I’d like to spend a few hours studying all that perfection.”

She smiled. “Hardly, but I like the idea of us studying each other for a few hours.”

“Yeah?”

She ran her hands over his abs and chest. “Yeah. And while I think the prosthesis is very cool, and I’d like to know about the differences in your various prostheses, those aren’t the things I’m most excited about studying right now.”

He laughed. At least he hadn’t totally screwed it up. He slipped off his jeans, then moved to sit on the closed toilet seat. He switched out the gear as quickly as he could, then stood to find Elina watching intently, with desire evident in her gaze.

She smiled. “You always move with competence and grace. That was sexy to watch.”

His eyebrows shot up. “That’s the last thing I expected to hear.”

Elina brushed her lips over his. “It’s true. You’re a very sexy man, Marcus Ramirez.”

His body revved right back up to full speed at the honesty in her words. Not everyone could handle a guy with a prosthesis. “You’re one hell of a woman, Elina.”

She laughed. “How about that shower?”

Once they’d cleared the air, Elina loved that Marcus hadn’t been shy about removing the prosthesis in front of her. It was part of him, and she wanted to know more about it all. She wanted to know everything.

But not now. Now, she wanted to feel and touch and taste. The man was magnificent from the inside, all the way through to the surface.

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