Page 20 of Accidentally Fudging the Beast
"You're fucking perfect," I whisper, pressing my forehead to hers.
She laughs, the sound shaky and so goddamn sweet. "You're just saying that because you almost died."
I shake my head, completely serious. "No, I mean it. If you were my last memory, I'd die happy, Sunshine."
She rolls her eyes, but she's smiling now, wide and unfiltered. As bright as the sun.
She tries to slide down to hide her face, but I catch her chin, tilting her head so she has to look at me.
"I mean it, Dani.You're perfect."
She bites her lip, then bites mine for good measure. "You're ridiculous," she finally says.
"Only for you."
She thinks I'm kidding, but I'm not. People think I'm an asshole because I am. Their opinions don't matter. I don't give a shit what they think about me or my career. I don't go out of my way to be nice or make friends. I'm not touchy-feely or some kind of goddamn hero just because I play a sport. I'm just a motherfucker who knows how to skate and hold a stick at the same time.
I want to be something different to Dani.Shemakes me feel different. I laugh and joke with her in a way I don't with most people. I'm not perpetually annoyed or tuning her out. I want to be right where she is, every damn minute of the day.
Her hands roam my chest, exploring, and I flex just because I can. Just because her touch always feels electric. She tries not to react, but her eyes go a little wider when her palms graze my abs. There's nothing clinical about the way she's touching me this time. It's all heat and promise, and I fucking love it.
I keep my hands under her shirt, but I don't move higher than her waist. Not yet. I want her to set the pace.
She surprises me by grabbing my hand and guiding it to the swell of her breast.
Jesus Christ. There's no bra between my fingers and her skin.
My brain short-circuits.
She shivers when my thumb brushes her nipple, clinging to me again, her breath a hot little whimper in my ear.
I want to rip her shirt off, throw her down, and fuck her until she's screaming for me, but I force myself to go slow. She deserves slow. Hell, she deserves everything.
I kiss her again, softer this time, then pull back just enough to meet her gaze. "Can I see you, baby?"
She blinks silently. For a second, I think I've pushed too far, but then she nods, slow and deliberate, like she's deciding something important.
"Yeah," she says, her voice so quiet I barely catch it. "I want you to."
I sit up, keeping her in my lap, and tug her borrowed shirt off over her head. She helps, awkward and graceless, and for a moment we both just stare at each other, neither of us breathing.
She's fucking gorgeous.
I run my hands along her sides, memorizing the curve of her waist, the softness of her stomach, the perfect weight of her in my hands.
"Goddamn, Sunshine," I rasp.
She blushes, ducking her head, but I don't let her hide from me.
I tilt her chin up, kissing her gently. "Never hide from me, Dani. You're beautiful. Christ, you have no idea how much I love what I'mseeing right now."
That's nothing but the truth. I'm so hard that it's actually painful. My heart is lodged somewhere near my throat. My skin hums. It's basically the exact opposite of anaphylaxis.
She shivers, an adorable blush spreading across her cheek before her hands slide down, plucking at the waistband of my boxers.
"You want them off?"
"Well, I certainly don't want to be this naked alone, Trent."
