Page 71 of Tattered Edges

“Do what?”

“Laugh.”

Stunned, I felt my smile slip as I whispered, “You do?”

Rather than answer me, he shook his head slightly as he continued carrying me through his home. “That first night, when you kissed me—like a bold, arrogant American—I thought I had you pegged. But you really have no idea, do you?”

“I don’t know what you mean.”

“You put yourself out there, like the possibility of rejection is nothing to be afraid of; and yet, your heart is so tender. Underneath that armor—your gorgeous face, your body, your sense of humor, your stubborn resolve—you are so completely unaware of just how utterly desirable you are. Brilliant and charming and annoyingly sweet.”

I quirked an eyebrow at him as we reached the bedroom, and he flicked on the overhead light. “Annoyingly?”

“Yes, you heard me,” he said, laying me across his bed. He didn’t lift himself away from me but gave me a little of his weight as he continued, “I’m a gray cloud, Sawyer. But you—you’re a ray of sunshine. For the first time in years, I’m no longer content with my solitude. I want you bothering me in the morning, before I’ve had a chance to finish my read of the paper. I want your boiler to give out, or your faucet to leak, or any other excuse to have you at my doorstep. I didn’t want to fall for you, to long for you—but here I am, speaking in bloody platitudes.”

This time, I didn’t hold back my grin.

It seemed I wasn’t the only one capable of being sweet.

“Fuck, don’t look at me like that.”

I scraped my fingernails across his scalp and down the back of his neck.

“Or what?” I asked coyly.

His response came by way of a kiss that took my breath away.

It wasn’t long before we were both completely naked. We touched and kissed and licked until the urgency of our need for one another was so great, when we finally joined together, we completely forgot a condom.

“Shite,” he muttered, his lips grazing mine as he thrust inside of me.

“What?” I panted, the feel of him even better than I remembered.

Seriously,my memory was letting me down.

“No condom.God, but you feel incredible,” he groaned, still moving in and out of me, my arousal allowing for the perfect friction.

“Oh,” I said, suddenly understanding my memory was not at fault.

He was right, too—he feltincredible. I didn’t want him to stop.

Except, I wasn’t on the pill.

“Um—can you pull out? Not now. I mean, when it’s time? Just this once?”

“Just this once,” he promised before plunging his tongue into my mouth.

We made a mess of his bed as we breathed life into the phraseatumble in the sheets.When I came the first time, he was on top. He pulled out before I was finished, and when I’d recovered myself, I wrestled him onto his back and took the lead.

I eased him inside of me again, my intent only to get him across the finish line—but he felt so good. With me on top, he had both of his hands free, and he was sure to take advantage of this. Soon, I forgot about my original intentions, too lost in my own pleasure.

As he began to rub firm circles around my clit with his thumb, all the while playing with one of my nipples, I felt the bliss of my second climax as it began to unfurl in the deepest part of me.

“Yes, yes, yes,” I cried, propping myself against his chest with both hands. With his solid frame as my leverage, I had the freedom to thrust my hips with abandon. The warm, wet friction of my bare skin wrapped around his waseverything.“Rory—Rory—Rory!”

“Get there, sweetheart,” he ground out through gritted teeth.

“I’m—I’m—” I lost my words as euphoria hit.

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