Page 144 of The Odds of Happily Ever After
Her hands ran down my back, fingers digging into flesh. Then she was unbuttoning my shirt, and we broke apart, panting. She dragged the sleeves down my arms, and I released her just long enough so she could get it off.
“I should take a picture of you like this,” she said, sounding dazed. “You didn’t let me look at you long enough last time.”
“If you had looked any longer, you would have seen how much you affected me.” My voice came out rougher than usual.Seeing her staring at me with such clear appreciation made me glad I put in the time working out.
She gasped, and I knew what she saw. “Is that amoonon your chest?”
I brushed the backs of my fingers across her cheek. “My father always loved tattoos. He was happy I got my first with him.” I had gotten a full moon in the pointillism technique, with the crescent done in sparser points so it appeared to be glowing. It was the size of a dollar coin and lived right above my heart, where Luna belonged.
“I—it’s incredible, Gabe. I can’t believe you got it,” she murmured as she traced a circle around the moon. “But what if things go wrong and you regret it?”
“I won’t. You’re it for me, Luna. You always will be the one I want.”
Her eyes turned glossy, flitting between my face and my tattoo. “I heard it hurts more to get tats removed.”
“Good thing I’m not removing mine. Like I told you—no matter how things turn out between us, you’re a part of me.”
“I’m getting one, too,” she blurted out.
“Let’s do it together.” I already knew what I wanted for my next tattoo. But for now, I had more important things to focus on. Catching the hem of her shirt, I tugged it halfway up her stomach and paused, searching her face for any sign of hesitation.
“I want this, Gabe.”
“Anytime you feel uncomfortable and you want to slow down or stop, you let me know,” I told her, wanting to make it clear. “You’re in control here, Luna.”
“Got it.” Then she took off her shirt, leaving her in a lacy bra that emphasized the curves of her breasts and a skirt that rode up her thighs.
“Do you always wear lacy bras?”
“I love pretty clothes,” she said as she tossed her top onto the sofa. “Even underwear. You like?”
“I do.”
“Hopefully you’ll like what’s under them too.” Her tone was light, teasing even, but her eyes seemed guarded. Like she worried her body wouldn’t appeal to me when just being with her felt like a miracle.
I cupped her face in my palms. “I already know I will because it’s you.”
One moment, she was smiling at me. The next, her lips were on mine, her hands skating their way down my chest.
“Hold on.” I chuckled even as my blood pooled down to my groin.
“I’m getting tired of waiting for you to make the next move.”
I raised an eyebrow at the challenge, then I lifted her by the waist and carried her to the sofa.
She squealed as I laid her on her back. “Gabe!”
“You wanted me to make my move.” I caged her in my arms.
“How caveman of you.”
“Luna, I’m just getting started.”
Ducking my head, I skimmed my nose down the curve of her neck and breathed in her subtle scent. Her skin broke into goosebumps, and I followed their path with the tip of my tongue. She gave a full-body shiver, launching her hips upward.
“Gabe.”
“Hmm?” I pressed kisses across her collarbones before drifting down to the gentle slope of her breast. I still couldn’t believe I was touching her like this. For years, I’d forbidden myself from thinking about her in anything but a platonic way. Now that she was underneath me, arching up her chest for my mouth, I wondered if I was dreaming.
