Page 58 of Strictly Business

“Fuck.” His voice is strained as he steps closer. His hand moves to my hip, his fingers brushing the soft fabric of mysweater. The moment his skin touches mine, my whole body shivers.

“We can’t,” he murmurs, his breath hot against my skin. “This… this isn’t right.”

I tilt my head slightly, looking up at him, trying to keep my voice steady despite the pounding in my chest. “Why not?”

He doesn’t answer right away. His eyes flicker with something close to pain, like he’s caught in a battle inside his mind. I take a step closer to him, and his hand grips my hip a little tighter, the heat from his palm searing through the layers of clothes.

“You were hard earlier,” I whisper. “I felt it.”

His eyes flash, and I swear I see something dark flicker in them, but then he’s back to his usual controlled self. “Amara,” he warns, his voice low and taut, the kind of sound that sends a shiver up my spine.

“Were you thinking about it?” I press, my throat dry. “Thinking about me?”

He inhales sharply, his jaw clenched. “I told you, I can’tstopthinking about it. About you lying in my bed, naked…Fuck.” He grunts under his breath, and I almost wish I hadn’t pushed him so far, but I can’t stop now. I want to know. I need to know.

I slide my hands up his t-shirt, feeling the soft fabric stretch over the muscles of his chest, and wrap my hands around his neck, keeping my gaze locked on his. “Do you regret it?” I ask. The question slips out before I can stop it, and I brace myself for the answer.

He steps forward, his chest brushing against mine. His hand slides around my back, pulling me in closer, his body heat making everything else fade away. “You’re the last thing I could ever regret.”

Before I can process his words, his lips are on mine, quick and hungry…urgent. I melt into him, my hands still resting on his chest, feeling the rise and fall of his breath through the fabric ofhis shirt. His hands slide down to my hips, pulling me closer, like he can’t get enough, I reply by pressing against him, every inch of me craving him.

“God, how do you taste even sweeter than the last time I kissed you?”

A soft moan slips from my throat as his hands slide down to my waist, pulling me closer. His body is solid against mine, and I feel the heat radiating off him, my skin burning where we touch. His lips trail fire along my jaw, then down to my neck, making every nerve in my body light up.

“You’re driving me crazy,” he mutters, his voice rough. His fingers tug at the hem of my sweater, brushing the skin of my waist, and I can’t stop the shiver that runs through me. “Tell me, Amara. Tell me you want this too.”

“I do,” I breathe. “I want all of you.”

His groan vibrates against my lips, raw and needy, and his hands slide up my back, pushing my sweater higher. I melt into him, every part of me aching for more, for him. It’s like he knows exactly how to touch me, to make me lose my mind.

“You’re so damn beautiful,” he murmurs against my lips, his hands framing my face, glancing down at me with a shake of his head. “These fucking sweaters you wear all the damn time drive me crazy. All I want to do is rip them off and see what’s underneath.”

My heart stutters at his words. Before I can respond, his lips capture mine, pulling me under until I’m lost in him completely. The cool press of the kitchen island against my back jolts a gasp from my throat. I don’t know how we ended up back here, and I don’t care. All I can feel is him, his touch, his heat, drowning out everything else. His hands roam under my sweater, mapping every curve of my body. He presses closer, his warmth surrounding me, his fingers brushing the edge of mybra. When his palm cups my side, just under the swell of my breast, my pulse stutters.

Alarms ring in my head. He’s feeling my skin, soft and pudgy, covered in stretch marks, and I stiffen, knowing I look nothing like the women he’s been with in the past.

“You feel incredible,” he murmurs, groaning against my neck before his lips trail to the hollow of my collarbone, pausing as his breath fans over my skin as if he’s savoring the moment. “Fuck, I should stop.” He groans against my skin, his tongue licking a path. “But I don’t want to.”

For a moment, his words make me falter. The lingering doubts creep in, uninvited. Whispers reminding me of every imperfection I have, everything I’ve kept hidden from everyone. Everything my ex didn’t like. My hands still against his chest, my breath hitching.

He notices immediately. His hands move to cradle my face, his thumbs stroking softly along my jaw as he leans in close. “Don’t,” he grits out, as if he can read my mind. His hand slides up to cup my cheek, tilting my face so I’m forced to meet his gaze. “Don’t you dare hide from me.”

“I just…” I pause, my eyes dropping from his. “What if I’m not what you’re expecting? What if…” My words trail off, and I shake my head, not even sure how to explain the knot of fear tightening in my chest.

A flicker of something crosses his face. “You forget,” he adds with a smirk, “I’ve already seen you spread out bare for me.” His eyes darken. “And I loved every second of it.”

Heat rushes to my face at the memory of Nicholas seeing me so exposed. My body reacts without warning, warmth flooding my skin at the thought of it.

“You don’t have to hide from me, Amara. Not now. Not ever.” He brushes his lips over mine, before pulling back just enough to whisper, “Let me show you just how much I want you.”

The certainty in his voice shatters the last of my doubts, and I can feel the heat building between us. Slowly, he moves, his hands tracing the familiar curves of my body, his lips leaving a trail of fire along my neck and collarbone. In one smooth motion, he pulls my sweater over my head.

His eyes darken, taking in every inch of me, before his hands move to the clasp of my bra. He undoes it effortlessly, the fabric falling away, and my breasts spill free, exposed to him. A breath hitches in my throat as his gaze lands on me, a deep, possessive hunger in his eyes that sends a thrill through me.

“You’re incredible,” he murmurs against my skin, his hands sliding to my hips, gripping me tighter. “Every inch of you is perfect to me, exactly the way you are. And I’ll prove it to you all night if I have to.”

My breath catches, my body aching for him. “Then don’t stop,” I whisper, pulling him closer.

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