Page 114 of Luck of the Draw

Brennan smiled. “Would you want to, knowing all that stuff about me?”

She answered him by lowering her mouth to his and parting her lips so he could kiss her with the same depth that she knew his feelings had reached; the same depth that she wanted her own feelings to reach but couldn’t figure out how to make it happen. And then it was clear none of what she’d said had made him want her any less. His erection immediately came to life, straining hot and hard against his slacks, pressing into her lower tummy while she continued to lay with her body draped over his.

She broke the kiss and found his ear again. “Piggyback me back to your bed.”

Brennan leaned his head back against the cushion and gave her that saucy smile of his. “I knew it. The piggyback does it for you.”

She shrugged. “Nobody else has ever piggybacked me either that I can remember.”

“Well, baby…” He started to say as he slid out from under her and offered his back for her to hop on. “That is also a damn shame.”

Climbing onto his back, Skye wrapped her arms around his neck more snuggly than necessary for a piggyback, just because she couldn’tnot. All she wanted was to hold this man and let him hold her and just pretend for the rest of the time she was here that he was hers, and she was his, and they belonged to each other.

All the things that were impossible.

Once in his room, Brennan slid her down to set her feet on the floor and turned to her, framing her face with his palms as he pressed their foreheads together. “What do you want? I’ll do anything for you, so tell me exactly what you want.”

It was clear he meant he intended to accommodate her deepest desires and fantasies; an unspoken reference to her years spent accommodating the fantasies of strangers. He likely expected her to murmur erotic and explicit requests, and she had no doubt that he could and would fulfill all of them. But when boiled down to it, Skye was just a simple woman who’d lacked a single, simple thing.

“Remember when I was freaking out that first night? You said making love was a feeling. That’s what I want. That feeling.”

Brennan kissed her forehead, and she felt him smile against her skin while he lingered there. “I love that you want it to feel like that, because that’s exactly what I intend to do.” He stepped back, holding her waist and guiding her to sit on the edge of the bed, and then he stood in front of her.

He began by tugging out his shirttails and unfastening the line of buttons down his torso, shrugging off the dress shirt. He slipped off his socks and tugged off his belt. All the items landed on the old hardwood floor in a rumpled pile. Lifting his arms to reach behind his neck, he grabbed the back of his white undershirt and pulled it over his head in that slow, sensual, verymaleway that caused the lines of his etched-granite abs to stretch long as they flexed.

He was doing all of this on purpose. He was stripping for her. Insecure as he’d seemed about several emotional things, Brennan knew exactly how attractive he was and had no insecurities about what he had to offer physically. He knew he could whet the desire of any woman, and he was handing himself over to her.

With an unzip and a tug of fabric, his slacks and boxer briefs were in the pile of the rest of his clothes, and he stood before her in all his potently masculine glory.

Skye’s breathing and heart rate picked up, and her eyes shot to his face. “Yes, I know how hot you are.”

He cracked a smile that was so endearing and sexy it nearly blinded her to the rest of him. “And I know how hot you are.” He picked up her hands and urged her to stand, then draped her wrists around his neck. His lips found the crevice between her jaw and her earlobe, and his arms encircled her waist. “But that’s nowhere near the best thing about you, Skye. You’re smart. You’re tough as hell. And I’ve had the privilege of knowing some pretty damn strong and courageous people in my life, but anything I’ve ever seen pales in comparison to what I’ve seen in you.” He kissed across the line of her jaw until his lips arrived at hers. “Ever since I met you, all I wanted was to save you. But you don’t need saving. You have every ability to save yourself, and I don’t think I’ve ever been prouder to know anybody.”

Before she had a chance to refute his words, Brennan lifted the hem of her tank top, slipping it over her head and tossing it toward the pile of his clothes. Next went her bra, his hands slipping around the sides of her ribs to deftly unfasten it and then toss it aside. His hands returned to her sides and travelled down her waist to her jeans. He took his time unfastening the button and peeling down the zipper, and then he took a knee as he slid them down along with her panties over her hips and legs. She braced her hands on his shoulders while lifting each foot to allow him to remove her jeans and toss them aside. Brennan paused there, hands once again on her hips and face at the level of her navel, and he pressed a lingering kiss just below her belly button before resting his forehead against her lower abdomen. His shoulders rose and fell under the weight of a deep, silent breath, and she knew.

This man loved her.

Helovedher.

He’d loved other women before her. They’d slipped through his fingers. Skye was going to slip away, too. He knew that. And yet, here he was, down on his knees, letting himself love her anyway.

“I’m sorry.” She almost hoped he couldn’t hear her. Her throat ached as the urge to cry lurched inside her chest, and she cupped the base of his head, combing her fingers through his hair. Her breath hitched. “I’m sorry, Brennan.”

He released her hips to clasp her wrists, stilling her hands where they were stroking his hair. “No, honey.” He tilted his face up toward hers, planting the base of his chin just below her navel. His expression made it clear he knew what she was trying to apologize for. “Please don’t do that. It’s not like that.”

She bit down hard on her bottom lip to stifle her threatening tears. “I just wish I wasn’t so fucking fucked up, Brennan.”

“I know you feel that way.” He let go of her wrists as he stood. “But you’re not going to feel that way forever. And right now…” He scooped her up like she was his bride and laid her on his bed, then climbed in, bracing his body above hers, encasing her in a cocoon of hard muscles and the warmth of genuine affection. “I’m going to make sure you don’t feel that way at all.”

Brennan held the side of her face and then drew his hand in a slow descent down the column of her neck. She arched into his touch, slipping her hands over the sides of his narrow waist, her fingertips relishing the feel of the carved lines of muscle definition in his abs. Ducking his face below hers, Brennan pressed a kiss to the leaping pulse point on the side of her neck and swept his palm down the length of her arm to her hand, lacing their fingers together and lifting her hand to hold it against his chest.

“Close your eyes, sweetheart,” he murmured, lifting his face away from her neck to look at her. “You’re safe. Forget the past. Forget the pain. Forget the fear.” His mouth pressed to hers, and her eyes closed on their own volition. “Remember how amazing you are. Remember that you’re the one who got yourself out of danger. Remember that you’re never…”

The word came out through a crack in his voice, and he paused, causing her eyelids to lift open. The sheen on his eyes was there again. There was a little more redness on the rims of his eyes. Brows knitted while he looked at her.

“You’renever,” Brennan picked back up, his voice quavering a little now, “going to let anyone treat you like that again.” He paused again and kissed her forehead, allowing his lips to linger there. “Remember that there are people in this world who love you, but also remember that even if thereweren’t, you have the grit and mettle to make your life exactly what you want it to be. And you will, baby girl. And for as long as I live, I am going to be so proud of you, and so grateful that I had the privilege of sharing a few months of my life with the single most remarkable person I’ve ever encountered.” He lowered his forehead to hers, and she closed her eyes again. “Sweetheart, it isn’t my right to ask you for a single thing, but right now, I’m asking you to make me a promise. Promise me you’ll remember that. If you only remember one thing about all of this, remember everything I just said. Please.”

Tears slid in a steady stream from the corners of her closed eyes over her temples and into her hair. All her air was blocked by a huge lump in her throat, and she could only mouth the words,I promise. Another hitch of her breath briefly cleared her airway, and she whispered, “I promise. I’ll never forget. I’ll remember all of it, always.”

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