Page 58 of Cross-Checked

Her responding whimper has my entire body wanting to press into hers. But I’m not going to kiss her up against a wall without an open invitation to do so.

Not even when her hands rest on my chest before sliding up to my shoulders. Not even when she toys with the hair at the back of my neck. Not even when she parts her lips and sighs as she meets my gaze.

“Or tell me to stay.”

One way or another, I need this woman to put me out of my fucking misery.

“Stay.” The word is so quiet it’s practically inaudible.

“Say it again, Sunshine. Nice and loud, so we’re both clear that you want me here.”

“Don’t be a dick,” she says, her fingers tightening in my hair and holding me in place when I try to step away.

“I’m not being a dick,” I assure her, as I wrap my hand around the back of her neck while my thumb strokes the space where her jaw meets her ear. “I want to make sure that there’s no miscommunication at all. Becauseonceis anaccident, but if I stay here with you again tonight, it’s not an accident, and it’s not a mistake.It’s a choice.”

Her sigh is stuttered and halting, like the magnetic pull we’re both experiencing makes it hard for her to even exhale. “We shouldn’t...”

“I know we shouldn’t.” Dipping my head back toward her, I graze my lips over her forehead. “But are we?”

She tilts her head back against the wall and focuses on my face. The pink spreading across her cheeks, the ragged breathing, the way her eyes are practically black with desire...everything I’m seeing tells me she’s feeling exactly the same way I am.

“Yes.”

I don’t know who moves first—we’re tangled together so quickly it’s impossible to tell. But her lips part instantly as she lets me invade her mouth, her tongue slanting against mine with utter possession. This is no languid kiss; this is the release of pent-up longing that’s been locked away for far too long. I know how long I’ve wanted her, but this makes me wonder how long she’s wanted me back.

She moans into my mouth as she presses forward, her entire body flush with mine. Bringing both my hands to her waist, I anchor her against me, pressing my cock into her stomach as my fingers slide up her sides under her shirt. I run my thumbs along the waistband of her shorts, while the tips of my fingers toy with the seam of her bra.

I’m so keyed up I feel like I might explode as she moans into my mouth again. When I pull back, breaking the kiss and giving my body a few inches of distance from hers, her eyes widen. “What are you doing?”

My voice is raspy when I say, “I need a second to breathe, to collect myself, or I’m not going to be able to take it slow.”

She lets out a small huff of a laugh. “What in the world would make you think I wanted you to take things slow?”

“AJ...” I move my hand so I’m cupping her face in my palm as I give her the reminder we both need. “You’re injured. The last thing I want to do is hurt you more.”

“How about you let me be the one to decide what kind of pain I can endure? Because sometimes...” Reaching down, she cups her hand over the zipper of my pants, and as my balls tighten up, I’m afraid I’m about to embarrass myself. “...a little pain is...just...fine.”

Holy shit.

“Well, I was going to take it easy on you, but sure, we can do things your way...” I slide my hands under her ass and pick her up so fast she gasps, laughing and wrapping her legs around me as I step into the bathroom because that’s got the closest horizontal surface.

She’s always beautiful. But alaughingAlessandra Jones? She’s unbelievably gorgeous.

I set her on the counter, next to the sink, then step between her legs as I unbutton my dress shirt. In the pale glow of the light emanating from behind the large mirror, she watches my every movement carefully, like she’s trying to memorize everything about my body the same way I did with her this morning while she slept.

When I toss my shirt on the floor outside the bathroom, she reaches out to undo my belt, then shakes her head when she remembers that one of her hands is splinted. I take that arm by the elbow, raising her hand to my lips. “I’d never have wanted you to get hurt like this. Never. But is it wrong that I’m the tiniest bit grateful that it led us here?”

“I don’t know yet,” she says, her voice breathless. “Why don’t you take your pants off and make it worth my while?”

My chuckle fills the entire bathroom as I set her hand back in her lap. “You literally can’t wait to get me naked.”

Defiance takes over her face. “Don’t tell me the same isn’t true for you.”

“Oh, Sunshine, I’ve been waiting for you for a fucking decade. I could wait longer...Iwouldwait longer, if I had to.”

Her lips part with a soft sigh. “Why do you have to keep saying things like that?”

“Because they’re true.”

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