Page 116 of The Girlfriend Zone

I laugh softly, the sound catching in my throat as my laugh burns off, replaced by something raw, tinged with need. “I don’t think I could be quiet with you even if I tried.”

“Don’t be then,” she says.

“I won’t,” I say, as my fingers find the loose strands of hair curled behind her ear. I tuck it back gently, my fingertips grazing the shell of her ear for the first time.

It’s such a privilege to touch her like this.

Her breath halts and when she looks up at me, the softness in her eyes steals the air from my lungs. This moment isn’t lost on me. She’s letting me in. She’s trusting me when she’s at her most vulnerable. I swear to myself I won’t let her regret it.

First, though, I let go of her, take off my glasses, and set them on the nightstand. Then I grab her and haul her close, running my hands through her hair at last. “Fuck,this feels so good,” I rasp out, grateful to have free rein in these gorgeous locks.

She leans her head back, savoring my touch. “It does.”

I kiss her throat again then up her neck, then I nip her earlobe.

She gasps, melting into me. I kiss along her ear, flicking my tongue across the flower studs she wears every day.Every damn day. I’ve known this, but I haven’t entirely felt the magnitude of it till now. “I fucking love that you wear these all the time,” I say, then pull back to look at her.

“You have good taste in jewelry,” she says, teasing, a little dry. Like she knows how to wind me up.

“I think it’s more than good taste,” I say, my fingers teasing at the hem of her shirt. “You like wearing something I gave you.”

She rolls her eyes playfully. “If you want to see it that way.”

“I know it’s that way,” I say.

She laughs, shaking her head, but then gravitas sets over her eyes. “I don’t like taking them off.”

“Don’t. Don’t ever take them off,” I say before I can think twice about theever.

But I don’t linger on it. I move on as I tug off her shirt, growling at the sight of her in lingerie again. “Fucking missed this,” I say as my gaze travels over her chest, the swell of her breasts, the white lace snug against her skin. I’m used to seeing her in black lace—well, the three times I’ve gotten her clothes off or halfway off. But white fries my brain too.

Her nimble fingers make quick work of the buttons on my dress shirt, but by the time she’s halfway down it, I have no more patience.

I jerk it over my head, then peel off her jeans as fast as I can. “Can’t wait,” I say, as I help her step out of them.

When they’re on the floor next to the bed, I rise up…and swallow roughly as I stare at the gorgeous sight.

She’s wearing matching white lacy panties, and that’s it. She’s here. With me. Wanting me. Ready to sayfuck itto all the complications.

The ones involving her, me, and everyone else. The weight of this hits me all at once, but it doesn’t scare me. It makes me want to do right by her however I can, whenever I can.

My brave, bold, beautiful woman. “You’re stunning,” I tell her, my eyes locked with hers, but those two words hardly capture the depth of what I’m feeling.

Everything.

“So are you…” she says, but the words trail off as I cup a hand on the damp panel of her panties, her wetness soaking through them.

She shudders.

“You finally gonna let me taste you properly?”

Her lips part. “Have I been holding out on you?”

“Yes,” I say, half joking, but also feeling like the world has been holding out on this blazing lust. “And I can’t wait.”

In no time, I slide her panties off, then before I can even be bothered with spreading her out on the bed, I get down on my knees in my dress pants and press a hungry kiss to her greedy clit.

“Oh god,” she murmurs as her hands clamp around my head. I fucking love the feel of her grip, nice and tight, like she needs to hold on to me.

---