Page 125 of Thick as Thieves

“Definitely ecstasy. Also a bit of frustration.”

“I’m back on the pill.”

“I didn’t know that, and you’re not supposed to risk another pregnancy for a couple more months. I read up on it.”

She looked at him with surprise. “You read up on it?”

“Just in case I got lucky.”

“You didn’t get lucky. I practically begged you.”

“Whatever. You did it good.”

After cleaning her, he folded the cloth and set it on the nightstand, then placed his hand on the other side of her, bracing himself so that his arm bridged her torso.

He’d left the bathroom door ajar. There was enough light for him to see her in detail, but it wasn’t so bright that it detracted. Rather, it was just enough to illuminate her skin and make it glow. He was even more entranced by the parts of her that were shadowed.

He used his free hand to explore. Her hair was a tangle on the pillow. The curls tried to ensnare his fingers. He pulled them free to trace the shape of her ear, to tug gently on the velvety lobe, outline her lips, and skate along the delicate ridge of her collarbone. He cupped her breast in his palm and lightly pinched her nipple. Its immediate response roused his resting cock.

Her hand found it and began a languorous caress.

And though her stroking caused a fever to spread through him, he continued his exploration of her in the same unrushed manner, venturing to even more seductive terrain that he didn’t want to underappreciate because of haste.

She purred when he brushed his fingers through the hair between her thighs. They were relaxed and slightly separated. He noticed on the inside of one what he thought at first was a birthmark. Then he realized what it was.

“Oh, hell. I’m sorry. I didn’t know that kiss was so rough.”

“It wasn’t rough, it was ardent,” she said softly.

“Does it hurt?”

“Did or do you hear me complaining?”

In the deepest, darkest, basest part of his masculine soul, he was glad he had marked her, even if it was temporary. He rubbed the red spot with the pad of his thumb. “Arden?”

“Hmm?”

“I’m no poet, so I’ll just say it.”

“I’m listening.”

“I like you naked and looking well fucked.”

She laughed. “I like it, too.”

She put one hand behind her head and lay there, studying him. “On some elemental plane, I think I knew it from the moment I saw you.”

“Knew what?”

“That we, this, was bound to happen. When you turned around and pushed the safety goggles up to your forehead, I…It was like a quickening. Here.” She laid her hand on her stomach. “In spite of your being surly and trying to intimidate me.”

“I wasn’t—”

“You were.”

He admitted it with a rueful nod.

“Why?” she asked.