Page 57 of Dare Me

He wanted to make her see that they were worth a little grief from her family.

“All night I kept thinking about getting you over here and having a repeat performance of when we got home from shopping, but now that we’re here, I kind of like the idea of turning the lights down a little and talking for a bit and maybe taking things a little slower this time.” His hand caressed her from shoulder to wrist and then back again.

Arianna briefly rolled away and shut off one of the bedside lamps before rolling toward him again and clutching the pillow in front of her. He thought it was cute that she was being a little modest, but his hands instantly went back to touching her.

“Your skin is so soft,” he marveled. “Every inch of you is just so damn soft that I can’t seem to stop touching you.”

“I don’t want you to stop,” she whispered. “I love the feel of your hands on me.”

“Really? My hands are callused and scratchy.”

“And I love it,” she repeated. “Believe it or not, it feels fantastic.”

“I’m always afraid that I’m going to leave a mark on you,” he admitted, even as his touch got a little slower and maybe a little harder.

“I believe you left a mark or two on my thigh earlier,” she said with a small laugh. “I don’t think I’ve ever gotten a thigh hickey before.”

He grinned with pride. “In my mind you never have and I’m the only man who will ever have that honor.” His hand wandered down over her hip. “And really, I was retaliating from the bite mark I believe you left on my ass.”

She shrugged and preened a little. “What can I say? You have a very grabbable and bitable ass. I had no choice.”

They both laughed softly and when their eyes met, he reached up and cupped her face. “This is good. Lying here laughing while we touch each other; it’s just the perfect way to end the day.”

“Mmm…I am enjoying it. But the perfect end to the day is when you make love to me one more time and we fall asleep in each other’s arms while we’re still a little breathless. Any chance we can make that happen?”

Slowly, he pulled the pillow away from her and tossed it to the head of the bed before pressing up against her. “Oh, we can definitely make that happen.” He kissed her cheek, her jaw, and then moved down to the swell of her breasts. “Your wish is my command.”

She hummed again. “I like the sound of that.”

“No dares required,” he told her as he gently rolled her onto her back and covered her body with his. “All I want is to make your feel good.”

Arianna’s arms came up around him first and then her legs. With her ankles locked on his lower back, she arched a little beneath him. “You do, Will. You always do.” Then she was kissing him and they were done talking for now. Every move, every touch, every sigh, was about pleasure, and eventually they exhausted each other and did exactly as she wanted—they fell asleep wrapped up in each other.

On Sunday night, they finished setting up Arianna’s closet system and then somehow found that sexy enough to warrant christening her closet floor.

Not that Will was going to argue with it.

Especially when he knew they still had his closet to do, and now he was stupidly looking forward to the installation.

They were currently curled up together on her mattress and he felt utterly and completely content. His fingers gently combed through her hair and, for the first time in a long time, he felt at peace. For far too long, he’d been in a state of just existing or simply being miserable because he didn’t have anything or anyone outside of the Marines. All the times he took on dangerous missions, he didn’t care if he made it home. His death would mean—perhaps—that one of his buddies had the chance to live. Now he was beyond grateful that he’d made it home not only alive and in one piece, but that he had someone to share his life with.

He really hoped they could get over this ridiculous hurdle with her family so they didn’t have to sneak around.

“So this cruise thing that Ryleigh mentioned,” he began, “is it really as lame as your brother said?”

Arianna placed a soft kiss on his chest. “It’s not nearly as exciting as the Bay one we took, but I think it’s all in the way you look at it. If you’re looking for a relaxing time out on a boat, then it’s fantastic.”

“That was my thought too.” He kissed the top of her head. “So what do you say? You wanna go out on a boat one night this week?”

Smiling up at him, she nodded. “I really would. You can pick me up at work and we can go from there maybe Wednesday night?”

“Do we need to check with Ryleigh so she knows to be unavailable?” he asked, but was only partly joking.

“I will text her tomorrow and let her know.” She snuggled closer. “I’m kind of surprised we were able to move in so much stuff without running into my brother. I thought for sure we’d at least see him from a distance or something.”

Shrugging, he said, “I think he’s making the most of every moment now that he’s home. He’s hyper-focused on buying a house. That was something he talked about a lot before we came home.”

“Wow, how did I not know that?”

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