Page 76 of Lost Lyrebird

“Hurt?”

“On the ribs, yeah.And the parts on my upper chest.Those sessions were a real bitch.”

She smirks and chuckles.“I bet.”

I rub my thumb over the one on her collarbone.“How long?”

She looks down at the dandelion seedlings.“About the same.Maybe eight years.”

“How many in total?”

“Ah, jeez.”She shakes her head.“I don’t know.You’ve no doubt seen the wings on my back.So with those, I’d say maybe a dozen.You?”

“Triple that.”And I hold out my arms for her inspection.She takes a few moments to study each arm, my tattooed hands, and even the one of an infinity symbol held together with a feather and the words “life” and “love”, which sits low near my belt, just above my pelvic bone.Her mouth pinches as she runs her thumb over it, but moves on quickly.She takes the most interest in my Ranger tattoos—especially the ones dedicated to the men on my team I lost.I watch as she silently says their names, and something about it hits me straight in the heart.

She meets my gaze.“I’m sorry.I’m sure they meant a lot to you.”

“Thank you.”

“Sorry, this is probably a mood killer.”

I shrug and say, “Meaningful, though, at least to me.I’ll never regret a moment I spend respecting the lives they lived, their dedication, or their sacrifice.”

Her smile holds a melancholy quality to it, and understanding.

“I’m glad you made it back.”

I don’t feel the words, but say them anyway.“Yeah, me too.”

Her hands move up to my shoulders, my neck, and then they tunnel into my hair.Her nails play with it, learning it too.They scratch gently against my scalp.The fucking feeling of them… my God… so fucking good.The groan it pulls out of me is guttural.

My eyes are closed, but I hear her chuckle, low and sultry.

The massage she delivers to my scalp, the way she explores my hair and body as if playing it like a musical instrument, is yet another art she must have mastered.She drains me of all tension.She pours bliss and heat from her touch straight into me.I’m incapable of escaping this feeling and not getting hooked on it.

I open my eyes lazily to watch her.Her breaths are shallow, her plump lips parted, and fuck, they look so soft, pliable.

I want a taste.But I don’t think I can stop once I do.All the fantasies that have been running through my mind over the last few months hit me at once.

I want those.To experience them with her.Every.Single.One.

My fingers fucking her.My mouth on her while I lick her sweet cunt.Her lips wrapped around my cock.My fist in her hair while she’s choking me down to the hilt.Fucking her and flipping her over on the bed so I can rut into her from behind while holding her down.In every way we can imagine.Every hole.All the things.Just get lost in it until neither of us has an ounce of energy left to spend and then pass the fuck out next to one another.

What would it be like to hold her then?Would she let me?

More than anything, I want to show her that no one else in the world could ever touch, need her, or love her the way I ache to.

Her lips twitch, and for a second, I think she’ll kiss me as she leans in.But no.It’s a taunt.It’s a tease.My heart pounds in my chest.My pulse roars in my ears.My exhalations come out short and choppy.

“You gonna keep on with the teasin’, or will you take what you want?”

Her lips move to my ear, and a shiver rolls through me as her lips brush my lobe.“What I want is for you to not touch… not move… and for this to be all on me.You’re the one in the position of power and authority here, but I’m fully aware of this.So later, if this ever comes to light, you have the ability to say I seduced you.You sat back and didn’t do a thing.I was the one who took advantage of you.”

“No one’s going to believe I wasn’t a willing participant.”

She smiles naughtily and laughs a little at this.“Yes, I know.But we’re going to pretend.Because when you choose this again, it’s all on you.This time.This time is on me.My choice.My willingness to put my job on the line.My sin.And I’m choosing to own it.Whether you blame me tomorrow or not.”

“Blame you?Why would I blame you?”