Page 49 of Coerced

My heart stuttered. She hadn’t cried because it was dark and she was scared. She’d cried because she thought it was broken.

So maybe she didn’t need to use it, but she wanted to.Maybe because it had something to do with … me? Whoa. That’s—

I didn’t have words for what that was.

“It just needs a recharge.” I filled it with as much power as it could hold. “Try it now.”

She pressed her thumb to the flame, and it lit up.

“Thank you!”

She angled her head to smile at me and her eyes dropped to my lips. When her cheeks turned pink, my lips twitched.

“Do you wanna kiss me, angel?”

“Yes,” she whispered.

“Good, because I wanna kiss you, too.”

My lips met hers and her innocent, eager response set me on fire. Cupping her chin with one hand, I slipped the other under her top and rubbed the warm silk of her stomach with my thumb.

“Can I touch you, too, Kerry?”

She always asked first, knowing I spooked easy when it came to touching. It was crazy, the care she took with me.

“How did I earn you?” My voice was husky. “You’re— You’re everythinggood, Gemma. It pours out of you.”

“Stop it. I’m not.” Her face went red.

You don’t even know it, do you, angel?

“Yeah, you can touch me,” I murmured, then waited to see what she’d do.

One day last week, she’d played with my face, rubbing my cheeks, tweaking my nose, and tracing the tips of my ears. And I’d tolerated it, because it had made her eyes light up.

It was a totally different story the day she ran her hands up my arms and over my shoulders, pressing all her softness against my chest to reach my back.

Yeah, definitely coulda used a snowbank that day.

Tonight, though, she wasn’t playful or intense. Judging by her face, the best I could come up with was curious.

She slid her hand under the hem of my shirt and found my belly button. I shivered, goosebumps everywhere, when she drew a circle around it with her index finger. Then her little fingers trailed over my abs to the thick scar above my hip bone.

Okay, I can handle this. She’s seen that scar before. And her hands feel amazing on my skin.

When I touched the corner of her mouth with my lips, she made a breathy little sound that encouraged me, so I kissed her again.

She melted against me, and I groaned low in my throat. It must have startled her because she jerked back. I blinked, reminding myself she was brand new to all of this and nervous.

It wasmyturn to not spookher.

Problem was, I wanted her in the worst way and, if she started moving around too much, there would be no way to hide it from her. Not in this position while wearing flannel pajama pants. I didn’t wanna stop, but I was going to go too far too fast if I didn’t - and neither of us were ready for that.

“Gemma, we need to stop.”

“What?” Her eyes were fogged over.

“We need to stop.”

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