Page 75 of Hero's Heart

He stepped down the stairs, leading her to the side of the house where a bouquet of flowers lay on the ground, petals scattered.

“You say I never panic? I bought these for you on my way home, but then when I started thinking about the state of the porch, I freaked out and tossed them to the side so I could throw them away later.”

She reached down and picked up the bouquet, wiping away the dirt, cradling it against her chest as tears welled again. “Why did you freak out? Because you didn’t want me to have them?”

“No. The opposite.” He grabbed her upper arms gently. “Because you deserve so much more than flowers from someone like me who hasn’t done romance in so long that he can’t even remember how to do it properly.” He shook his head. “And whose porch is woefully under decorated.”

She made a face. “Yeah, well, maybe you deserve someone who doesn’t nearly burn that under decorated porch down.”

He laughed, and she loved the sound. “How about we call it even?”

She smiled up at him. “If I can keep these. No one’s ever brought me flowers before.”

His eyes darkened with something she couldn’t quite name. “Then I’ll have to make sure it happens more often. How about if we order that pizza or make those chicken nuggets?”

She rose on her tiptoes, pressing her lips to his. “How about if we let that wait for a little while and do something else instead?”

He threaded his hands into her hair. “Oh yeah? What did you have in mind?”

“Something I wanted to do in Moldova but didn’t get a chance.”

“Oh yeah?” He wrapped his arms around her hips, strong and steady as he lifted her effortlessly. Her legs instinctively circled his waist, and she wrapped her arms around his neck, bouquet still in her hands. He carried her back up the porch steps and inside.

His steps quickened as she nipped along his neck and jaw. “I want to feel you in my mouth.”

His guttural groan brought a smile to her lips. That’s what she wanted. He’d always been so careful and considerate with her.

Tonight, she wanted him to lose control.

Even the chaos of the kitchen couldn’t force her attention away from what she had planned. Cleanup would have to wait. She wanted this man too much.

When he dropped her on the bed, she immediately peeled off her shirt then reached for his and did the same.

“These have to go.” She grabbed for his belt and unbuckled it, pulling down his pants and boxers at the same time. Then shegot off the bed and spun him around until he was sitting and she could kneel between his legs.

He threaded his fingers through her hair. “Angel, you don’t have to do this. As sure as I am that your hot little mouth will have me coming apart in an embarrassingly short amount of time, I don’t want you to feel like I expect it.”

She licked her lips, a smile of feminine confidence lighting her features. “I want to do this. You’ve tasted me multiple times. Now, I want to taste you.”

She loved the groan that fell from his lips as she wrapped her hand around him. Loved the feel of the silky length of him.

“Are you sure?”

“Definitely. The only thing I’m not sure of is if I will do it right.”

He let out a strangled chuckle. “Just save your teeth for your smile. Beyond that, there’s not much wrong you can do. Explore away.”

That was all the encouragement she needed. She darted her tongue out to lick around his head, exploring, learning, playing. Every groan was an incentive. She wrapped her hand around the base of him and licked him like he was her favorite-flavored lollipop.

“Fuck, Sloane.” She loved how he gently fisted his fingers in her hair. “I’m not going to last long if you continue this.”

“Good. I don’t want you to. I want you to lose control like you make me do all the time.”

She wrapped her lips around him and moved her head up and down, taking him as deep as she could into her mouth. Soon, his encouraging words stopped, but she knew it wasn’t because she was doing anything wrong. His breath was sawing in and out of his chest, and both hands were in her hair now, guiding her head up and down.

She peeked up at him and loved what she saw—his head thrown back, completely caught up in this moment with her.

She felt like the most powerful woman in the world.

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