Page 19 of Justice for the SEAL
She nodded. She was suddenly unsure of herself, and she swallowed against the tightness in her throat. “Are youworking?”
“Yes.”
“Okay. I’ll just grab my blanket.” She spun on her heel and took the afghan, anxious to beat a hastyretreat.
“Wait.”
She kept walking. “I’m going to get a glass of water and head to bed,” she called over her shoulder. She reached the kitchen and hung her head, pulling the blanket tightly around hermiddle.
He spoke from right behind her and she jumped. “Whatisit?”
“Uh, where do you keep yourglasses?”
He reached into a cupboard and handed one to her, but didn’t let go when she would have taken it. “Since I first saw you standing in the rain, I’ve wanted to kiss you. Do you know that?” heasked.
Her thighs squeezed together. “Youhave?”
He nodded. “But I needed you to understand you could stay here, even if you didn’t want to be kissed.” He touched her uninjured cheek. “So you need to tell me if you want me to kiss you or if I’m crossing a line you’d rather keepintact.”
“Screwtheline.”
He reached for her just as she went up on her tiptoes and kissed him. Her hands went around his neck and held him to her, his tongue teasing and exploring her mouth. He put the glass down behind her, knocking it over on the stone countertop, the glassclamoring.
Gemma dropped theblanket.
He spun her around and pushed her back against the kitchen counter, his hips pressing against hers as he continued his skillful assault on hermouth.
And skillful he was. She never would have guessed the young stud with the MIT T-shirt would be such a passionate lover, so sure of himself and in tune with herdesire.
He trailed kisses down her neck as his hand slipped beneath her shirt, gently cupping her naked breast, and he groaned. He squeezed her, his hand taking in the fullshape.
Oh God, he’s looking for mynipple.
A nipple she didn’t haveanymore.
She squirmed away from his seeking hand, suddenly uncertain. Unlike their first night together, the room was light enough for him to see her body clearly, and she was suddenly terrified of what he would do when he saw herchest.
“You okay?” he saidhuskily.
No, she wasn’t okay. This was a moment that should be easy and natural, but she was stuck with a body that looked anything butordinary.
Fuck you,cancer.
She wasn’t going to let that damned disease take another thing away from her. “Wait.” She grabbed the hem of the shirt with both hands and pulled it over her head in one swoop, baring herself to him from the waist up and holding herbreath.
The cancer had taken her breasts. Rather than try to replicate her old chest, she’d chosen an elaborate series of tattoos that flowed from the corner of her underarm across the swell of eachbreast.
They were the most personal part of her body. They represented her fight. Everything she had gonethrough.
Her willtolive.
Those tattoos were her spirit itself, and now she was exposing them to this man, not knowing if he would be repulsed or accepting, and her chest squeezed tightly as she waited for hisreaction.
He wasn’t touching her. He wasn’t sayinganything.
He stared at her, his face unreadable as his eyes trailed over every inch of her decorated skin. She exhaled shakily. When she couldn’t stand his silence any longer, she moved to put the shirtbackon.
“Wait, I’mnotdone.”
