Page 58 of Ronan

It’s softer than I expect, and filled with promises.

“Thank you for sharing this with me,” he whispers, and my eyes sting at the sincerity in his voice. He pretends not to notice as he presses a kiss to my forehead, loweringmy legs to the ground. Once he makes sure I’m steady on my feet, he walks to the shower, twisting the knob until the water flows in a stream.

Ronan pulls his hair loose and tugs his t-shirt over his head, and I’m distracted by the roll of his muscles as he prowls back to me, every inch the predator. Nervously, I pull off my shirt, but I’m not nearly as smooth as him and it gets hung on my ear before I fling it aside. His eyes fall to my chest, giving a slow perusal of my body.

“Not quite as impressive as yours,” I joke, but the waver of my voice gives me away.

“There isn’t a thing about you I would change, Cameron. Decades in the military, and you think I haven’t seen countless muscled bodies, toned from the rigorous training? You are different, in all the best ways. Soft and smooth, long and lithe…”

“There you go, calling me skinny again.”

His face lights up in a giant smile as his hand lifts, hovering over my chest as his eyes meet mine in question. I nod as he brushes along my sternum and teases lower, tracing patterns over my abdomen. My body thrums, heat chasing his fingers as he explores my bare skin.

So faint it’s barely a touch, his fingertip swipes over my nipple, and a hot, tingling sensation shoots straight to my cock. His eyes are hooded when they meet mine. “Has anyone ever touched you here?”

“No,” I rasp, biting back a strangled whine as he does it a second time.

“Don’t be shy, Cam. I want to hear every little noise those pretty lips make.” The pad of his finger swipes again before rubbing in a slow circle, and a moan slips free as my hips jerk forward, my cock hardening in a rush as he teasesme. He moves to the other side and my head thunks back against the door, riding the sensations as his hands coast my skin. When his soft touch turns to a pinch, an embarrassingly loud moan rings loose, but Ronan doesn’t seem to mind.

He looks at me like I’m his next meal, and he’s ravenous.

“Water’s running,” he says conversationally, and I nod as those wicked hands move lower, hooking through my waistband. “Can’t wear these in the shower.” The slow slide of my pants being worked down my hips makes me whimper with anticipation.

And then it hits me.

“Oh, my gods,” I suddenly gasp, frantic, and he freezes. “Oh, no, no,no. Why have you done this to me?” I whine, and he pulls his hands away as I have a mini meltdown.

“If you aren’t ready for this, it’s okay,” he says, voice so fucking sweet it just makes me want him more. “You can enjoy your shower, and I’ll wait in the bedroom.”

“No, it’s not that… it’sworse.” His brows flick together in concern as I thump my palms against the door. “Fuck… I’m wearing those hideous tighty-whities you brought from base.” His confusion turns into an enormous grin that spreads all the way across his face as a deep gunshot blast of laughter booms out of him. They’re ugly enough already, but they arealsotoo big for me, which means it looks like I’m in a diaper. “Oh, this is so not sexy.”

“Here’s an idea.” He grips both my pants and my underwear, scooting them lower as my cock perks up at the proximity of those hands. “We’ll get rid of both at once, and you don’t have to worry about it. Problem solved.”

“That… sounds like a better plan than you seeing me in those.” He drops his lips to mine, chuckling softly as he gives my clothes a shove, and they hit the ground.

“Water’s going to get cold,” he teases, and I wrap my arms around him and tug him close, his bare skin blazing against mine.

“I didn’t think this through, and now I have to walk naked to the shower.”

“You sure do.” The smug bastard… I canhearhis grin.

“Could you maybe carry me? With your eyes closed, and I’ll direct you where to step?”

“That’s pretty unsafe when you could just use your own legs.” He nudges my nose with his, forcing me to look at him. “Cam, you know you are perfect to me, right?”

“Well… if you’re naked too, I won’t be singled out?” It sounds like a fabulous idea, and I bat my eyes at him as he laughs. It took so long for him to relax around me, and it makes his rumbling baritone laughter even more special.

“Why don’t you do the honors?” His voice is deep and smooth as honey as my shaking hands reach for his button and zipper, but the leather is stubborn when I try to push it down his legs. “Hmm… I know something that will make you feel better.”

“What’s that?” It takes all my effort to not cover myself as he steps back, but he’s careful to keep his eyes on mine. He spins and shoves his pants to the ground in a rustling heap, and my delighted squeal is a high-pitched burst of shrieking laughter.

His ass—his perky, round ass, with its defined muscles that make me believe in the gods again—is encasedin a pair of tighty-whities. And let me just tell you, that white fabric isscreamingagainst his butt, not sagging like mine.

My laugh gets louder as he shakes his hips, tails flailing, and tears blur my squinted eyes. A rush of affection hits me right in the chest, so potent it almost chokes me, because he’s only doing this to make me forget my insecurities.

A battle-hardened, one hundred-and-twelve-year-old warrior is shaking his booty.

Forme.

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