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“Oh, Johnny—” Unable to stop myself, I hitched my skirt up so I could clamber across the console. Climbing onto his lap, I placed a knee on either side of his body before gently lowering myself down, careful not to hurt him. I was met with a wall of thick, unrelenting muscle. There was nothing soft about this boy. With the exception of his face, he was hard all over.

Johnny sat straight up, his hands automatically moving to my hips, tugging me closer. “What are you doing?” he whispered, watching me through hooded eyes. He swallowed, his Adam’s apple bobbing in his throat as his hands drifted to my bare thighs, fingers flexing into my skin every time he drew in another breath. The heat from his hands caused a delicious shiver of warmth to roll through me as he trailed soft circles over my bare flesh with his callused fingertips. “Shan?”

“I’m here for Johnnythe boy,” I told him, cupping his face with my trembling hands. “Not Johnnythe rugby player.” Exhaling a shaky breath, I leaned closer and pressed a kiss to the corner of his mouth before pulling back to look in his eyes. “I’ll stay for both, but I’m only in love with one.”

He shuddered and closed his eyes. “You mean it.” It wasn’t a question. “You really don’t care about it.”

I shook my head slowly, forcing myself to keep his gaze. “It’s not what I see when I look at you. It’s not what I haveeverseen. I only want it for you becauseyouwant it for you,” I added, voice hoarse. “But I’m here either way—rugby or no rugby—if you want me to be.”

“Christ, Shan, you’re killing me,” Johnny groaned, tugging on my hips so that we were chest to chest. My heart fluttered wildly, the feel of his chest rising and falling against mine too much to take. “If I make it, it won’t change a thing for us.” Exhaling a low growl, he buried his face in the curve of my neck and inhaled deeply. “It won’t changeme,” he added, voice muffled, as his fingers trailed up and down my rib cage. “Or how I feel about you.”

“Really?” I breathed, moving my hands to rest on his broad shoulders. “You promise you won’t forget me when you’re a big star?”

Lifting his face to mine, he nodded slowly and whispered, “I promise.”

Unable to bear the aching need inside of my body a second longer, I snaked my hands into Johnny’s hair and dragged his face to mine. He came willingly and our lips crashed together, setting alight a burning trail of heat between my legs. With a low growl of approval, he clamped his hands around my thighs and thrust his tongue between my parted lips, taking the air from my lungs and setting my whole body onfire.

I could feel his erection straining against the fabric of his school trousers, pressing hard against me. Desperate for more contact, I arched my back and rocked my hips against his. “You’re so perfect,” Johnny growled, lips brushing against mine as he spoke. “Your skin is so fucking smooth.” Nuzzling my neck, he pressed a trail of hot, wet kisses up my neck, his tongue sweeping out to taste me as his hands roamed over my legs. “I’ve wanted you for so long.” Moaning, I sagged against him, rocking my hips and arching my neck into his face, shivering and shaking all over. “Fuck!”

I gripped his hair and tugged him closer, nails clawing and retracting like a kitten as the need inside of me blossomed and burned. God, I loved his hair. It was cut tight around the sides and back, leaving a messy pile of unruly, disheveled brown hair on top. It was usually styled in some fantastic way, but now that it was wet and I’d run my fingers through it half a dozen times, it looked even better.

Claiming my lips again, Johnny fell back on his seat and pulled me down with him. My school skirt rose up to pool at my stomach as we rocked and rubbed our bodies together in a frenzied sort of unison, but I didn’t care. Not one bit. All I cared about in this moment was keeping him with me.

I didn’t know what the future held for me, and I wanted to make the most of every moment I got to spend with him. In two months, he would be gone. In two weeks, I could be gone. The tangible fear of the unknown was what catapulted me into action. If my dad came back…No!

Don’t think about it, Shannon.

Just be here in the moment with him.

Just absorb him.

His lips were soft, his smell addictive, and the feel of his body rubbing against mine in all the right spots was making me feel incredibly reckless. I felt like I was at the point where I didn’t know where I began and he ended. My heart was beating so hard I was sure he could feel it as we pressed our bodies together. With my heart racing wildly in my chest and anxiety threatening to overwhelm me, I reached for the buttons of his shirt.

“Wait, wait, wait—” Breathless, Johnny craned his head back to look at me. His eyes were so dark there was hardly a hint of blue. Snatching my hand up, he held it to his chest and said, “What are you doing?”

I don’t know.

I have no idea.

“Please just let me,” I whispered, shocked at my own forwardness but not taking it back.

“Shan—” His voice broke off and he groaned. “We talked about this…”

“I know,” I agreed, breathing hard and fast. “But I just… I want to see.”

“Just see?” He was breathing hard, his heart racing almost violently against his chest as he drew in short breaths. “That’s what you want?”

Nodding, I sat up and placed my hands on his stomach. “I just want to see.” With trembling hands, I reached for my shirt and fingered the buttons nervously. “Doyouwant to see?” Feeling skittish, I unbuttoned the top three buttons of my shirt. “I’ll show you, too—”

“Of course I want tosee,” Johnny groaned, snatching my hand away from my shirt. “But if I see, I’ll take,” he choked out, jaw clenched tightly. “And I can’t be taking, baby, so please don’t fucking show me.”

“I don’t mind,” I breathed, heart racing violently. “I want you to see.”

“Fuck!” Inhaling several calming breaths through his nose, Johnny released my hands and dropped his hands to my thighs. “Go ahead.” With a stiff nod, he added, “Take what you need.”

Releasing a ragged breath, I moved to unbutton his shirt, only to fumble over the first button.

Johnny remained perfectly still beneath me, with his blazing hot eyes burning holes in mine, and his chest rising and falling against my fingertips.

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