Page 76 of Tapped

“Surgery.” I grab his forearms and try to pull him to his feet but he doesn’t budge. He’s eye level with my breasts and he’s gone from ripping my clothes off to inspecting my body.

“This is fresh.” He inspects my scar that starts from the middle of my rib cage and angles down.

“You said you saw the report from the accident. I had internal damage from the impact. My liver was ruptured. If an internal bleed is minor, it can sometimes heal on its own, but not mine. I was rushed into emergency surgery to repair it.”

He splays a hand over my scar and looks up in question.

I shrug. “Laparoscopic really isn’t an option when your blood pressure falls and your heart rate shoots through the roof.”

“Evie,” he mutters and turns his attention back to my abdomen.

“I never think twice about it. I see scars all day, every day. My patients have lived through a lifetime of accidents and sickness. I’m used to it. I said I was nervous, but not about this. It saved my life. I’m grateful for it.” I tense in his hold. “Does it bother you? If it does, we can stop.”

18

BENDY

Evie

His answer is quick and resolute.

“Yes, it fucking bothers me.” He climbs to his feet. His hands frame my face, and a force bleeds from him like I haven’t seen before. “The man who was supposed to protect you did this. Just looking at this scar is bad enough, but knowing it was put there by the man who married you makes me fucking irate.”

My chest heaves with emotion. “In my defense I didn’t know it was caused by him until you knocked on my door. So, when you put it that way, yes, it’s bad. But all this time, I was just grateful I was alive and nothing happened to Chase.”

His gaze drops to my lips before he takes my mouth again. This time it’s not desperate.

It’s reverent.

His lips move slowly against mine. His tongue, that looked like it was begging to taste me just moments ago, laps and savors me.

I lose his kiss but he stays close, his fingertips brush the hair away at my temple. He reaches into his back pocket and produces a stack of condoms.

My insides flip and flop when I see how many he brought. “You came prepared.”

He tosses them to the side, and they land in an array on my bed. “I did. And it’s a good thing.”

I don’t agree. It’s better than good. It’s a great thing.

He reaches over his head and yanks at his T-shirt. It lands on the ground with my clothes. This time, it’s my turn to look and touch.

I see bodies all the time—all day, every day—but not like his. I run the tip of my index finger down his abs, over every beautiful mountain and delicious valley. It’s my turn to wonder what he tastes and feels like on my tongue. A smattering of hair runs across his chest and below his abs, leading to the bulge that cannot be hidden.

“Evie,” he calls for me.

I look up and wonder if desperation is written all over my face since it’s bubbling inside me.

“Baby.” He slips a finger beneath my thong at my hips and gives them a nudge. My heart races, but this time it has nothing to do with my car crashing into a pile of construction barrels. It only has to do with the effect this man has on me—emotionally and physically. He leans in and presses his lips to mine, but I don’t participate. I gasp when his fingers find my sex for a full swipe right before he cups me. He looks deep into my eyes as he states his intentions. “I’m going to fuck every memory of that asshole from your beautiful head. Are you ready?”

“Holy shit.”

“I’ll take that…” He swipes through my drenched sex to find my clit, and gives it a firm circle. “And this, as an answer.”

My eyes begin to fall shut, but fly back open when he pinches me …there.

The sensation shoots through my body, and I feel it from my scalp to my nipples and down to my toes as I exhale through parted lips. “And you’re going to watch every moment. I want it burned on your brain so when I’m not right here, you’ll always remember how you deserve to be treated.”

As if he can read my mind, he brings his hands to my breasts and circles my nipples through the lace. I feel oddly more exposed than I should standing here in only my bra.

---