Page 26 of Tell Me Again
“Your black eye,” she answered immediately, but he shook his head.
“I don’t think so.”
“I need to help you. I need to make it better so we’re even.”
“Even?”
She nodded. “I can’t owe you.”
“You don’t owe me.”
“We have a working relationship I can handle,” she said, dropping the towel to her desk and pressing the ice pack between her fingers. She welcomed the burn of the cold against her fingertips. “Then you go and play the hero.”
He laughed again. “I’m not a hero.”
“That’s not how I remember it,” she murmured, focusing her gaze on his shirt collar when it became too difficult to meet his eyes.
“What sort of working relationship do we have when you pretend I don’t exist any time I’m here without Grace?”
“The kind that doesn’t make me crazy.”
“Is that how you treat a hero?”
She laughed despite herself. “It is when I’m pretending you don’t exist because I want to rip off all your clothes and plaster myself to you every time we’re together.”
He raised one brow. “That doesn’t sound quite right to me.”
Embarrassment washed through her, but Trevor stepped into her space, crowding her, when she would have turned away.
“A better idea would be if we both had our clothes off.” He traced one finger along the skin above the collar of her baggy T-shirt. “What’s fair is fair.”
She bit down on her lip and ignored the sparks of desire that skimmed along every single one of her nerve endings. “It was actually a bad idea. Forget I said anything.”
“Fat chance,” he whispered and brushed his lips across hers.
It only took a second for the kiss to ignite into something hot and hungry. Even though it was the worst idea in the world, Sam lost herself in the feel of him. He tugged her closer, lifting her into his arms, and she wrapped her legs around his lean hips. He tasted the same as he had years ago, like mint and memories. He was the innocence she’d lost and everything she once longed for.
He kissed her like she was his whole world. It had been forever since she’d felt anything so perfect. His fingers tugged on the hair tie holding her bun in place, and then his hands sifted through her hair. His mouth felt like it was everywhere at once—on her lips, her jaw, the sensitive spot just behind her ear that no other man had taken the time to discover.
She dug her fingers into the taut muscles of his shoulders, needing to get closer, needing all of him at this moment.
“More,” she whispered. “Now.”
“Demanding,” he said against her throat, and she heard the smile in his voice.
He lowered her to the small sofa and pulled back, grabbing the hem of his shirt and tugging it over his head.
Sam’s mouth went dry as she stared at him. She’d certainly seen plenty of men’s chests in her day, most of them shaved and oiled—a part of the modeling world that never ceased to creep her out. Trevor looked like he’d gotten his muscles the old-fashioned way, and the strength and rugged masculinity of him had parts of her she’d forgotten existed shuddering back to life.
“Your turn,” he said, his blue eyes wild and a little bit daring.
She lifted her T-shirt over her head, suddenly wishing she’d saved some of the lingerie she’d been given by the companies she modeled for over the years. In reality, she favored plain satin bras and the one she was wearing now was even a little faded. She started to apologize but Trevor lowered himself again before she could speak, trailing kisses over the tops of her breasts as he cupped one in his big hand.
“So sweet,” he whispered, his breath warm against her sensitive skin. He eased her bra straps down and then reached around her back to undo the clasp.
She gave a shaky laugh. “You always had a talent for that.”
His tongue snaked out to circle the tip of her nipple. “Wait until you see the other talents I’ve developed.”
