Page 67 of The Fractured

I rarely used the convertible option with my car. Sometimes, the top jammed, but that didn't matter now. I wanted to watch Lily enjoy a drive with the roof down as we went around the block.

When she parked the car back in the grocery store lot, releasing a heavy but content sigh, the smile on her face remained as she turned in her seat. Tucking one leg under the other, she looked ready to burst with happiness.

“So? How did I do?”

I curled my hand under her bent knee and slid her to me. The motion caused a giggle to pass over her soft lips, right before I claimed them.

“I’ll take that as a pass for lesson one,” she laughed, taking a breath between kisses. “You will have to teach me a few more things, you know.”

I nodded, eyes on her lips again. I couldn’t help myself when it came to looking at her.

She blushed, considering something as she chewed her lip. And then she kissed me again. It was tentative and a little teasing. She spaced each kiss like she was figuring something out about them.

Her lips opened wider, letting me in as she leaned into me. Only then did she pull away, a little breathless.

“I think I’m ready,” she said.

“Ready for—Oh.” I cleared my throat and willed myself to move back a fraction more. “Are you sure?”

She nodded quickly. “Mhm. We’re going to have sex again anyway, so we may as well start now, right?”

“Okay, fair enough,” I chuckled. “But we should only do it if you’re comfortable.”

“And I am.”

I watched her a little longer, trying to find a tell. It wasn’t that I didn’t believe she was ready. I just needed her to know that there was no rush.

Lily rolled her eyes, took my hand from her thigh, and brought it under her shirt to her scar. The touch caused her stomach to flinch briefly from nerves, but she kept my hand there. Pressed to her smooth skin and the small, rigid scar just above her hip bone.

“I’m ready,” she repeated softly. Her pupils had dilated.

Eyes on mine, she guided my hand to her breast.

I could see the outline of my hand beneath her top as she left my hand where it was. Her releasing my wrist invited me to take over.

Pulling her into my lap and holding her body against mine, I turned us horizontally so she lay between my legs, and my head rested against the door. Not the most comfortable angle for my neck, but with a view like the one on top of me, I couldn’t complain.

“You really wanna do this in the car?” I followed the familiar curves of her body under the snug fit of her shirt and jeans with my hands.

“Yes, I do.” She tucked her bottom lip between her teeth and then kissed me slowly, teasing me each time our lips met until she brought her mouth to my ear. Her cool fingertips skimmed up beneath my shirt.

“If you’re going to fuck me in your car,” she whispered, sending a shudder down my spine as her bottom lip brushed the shell of my ear, “We should probably close the roof.”

“Yes, we should,” I said. “There is a switch on the dash to the right of the steering wheel if you wanna just give it a flick.”

She smiled and eased herself back, straddling my hips and the bulge in my jeans.

As she investigated where the switch was, I skimmed my hands up her thighs and body and then brought them back down again to her waist.

“Ah-huh,” she hummed softly, finding the switch.

There was a quiet grinding in the back of the car, and we both paused to watch as the top unfolded and slowly covered us in again.

And then it stopped halfway.

“For fuck's sake,” I groaned, pulling my eyes to her body — where she sat.

“Did I break it?”