Page 97 of High Hopes

I snort. “Exactly.”

She sets the trophy back and turns in my arms. There’s something unguarded in her expression—open and vulnerable in a way that makes my pulse stutter.

“Hi,” she whispers.

“Hi,” I whisper back, leaning in as her hands slide up my chest.

When our lips meet, it’s soft and slow at first. Gentle. Her hands curl into the fabric of my shirt, pulling me closer, and my fingers flex against her back, steadying her.

She tilts her head, deepening the kiss, and my heart trips over itself. Her touch grows more confident, her hands cupping the back of my neck, her nails grazing my skin in a way that sends shivers down my spine.

“Birdie,” I murmur roughly. It’s all I can manage because my brain is officially mush.

“Hmm?” she hums back, her breath warm and teasing as she pulls away just enough to meet my eyes.

“I—” My hands move instinctively, skimming over the curve of her waist. “Do you want this? Me? Tonight?”

“Yeah,” she says without hesitation, then, “It’s what I’m here for.”

I laugh softly, a mix of relief and disbelief, and close the distance between us again. This time, the kiss is deeper,hungrier, and I savor the way she presses into me, her warmth sinking into my skin like she’s becoming a part of me.

She swings a leg over to straddle my lap, and her sweater slips off one shoulder, revealing a divot of soft, bare skin. My fingers trace over it, marveling at how perfect she feels. At how she’s letting me have this moment with her.

She tugs at the hem of my shirt. I pull it over my head in one swift motion, and nimble hands immediately explore the planes of my chest, fingertips tracing over the hard ridges of muscle and faint line of my sternum. When she skims lower, following the defined line of my stomach to the deep V at my hips, my breath catches.

The look in her eyes—wide, curious, and a little awed—sends a rush of heat straight through me. “You’re unfairly attractive,” she mutters, cheeks flushing.

“Yeah?” I slide my hands under the hem of her sweater and tug it upward. “Have you seen you?”

Her laugh turns into a gasp as my hands move up her sides, brushing over warm, impossibly soft skin. She raises her arms, letting me pull the sweater off completely, and I take a moment to just look at her, my pulse racing.

Her skin is flushed a delicate pink, and the soft lighting in the room gives her this glow, like she’s something out of a dream. The curve of her shoulders, the line of her collarbone, the way her chest rises and falls with each quickened breath—it’s all so perfectly her.

“You’re the most beautiful person I’ve ever seen,” I say, the words coming out rough and unfiltered, like they’ve been pulled straight from my chest.

Her cheeks flush deeper, and she ducks her head, her hands resting lightly on my shoulders. “You’re just saying that because I’m sitting on top of you, ready to have sex.”

“No.” I tip her chin up so she’s looking at me again. “I mean it.”

She holds my gaze for a moment, her expression softening, and then she leans in, her lips brushing mine in a kiss that’s somehow even sweeter than the last. Shaking hands tangle in my hair, pulling me closer, and I let mine drift down her back, mapping every inch of her.

She pulls away slightly, forehead resting against mine. “I feel really safe with you,” she whispers, so quiet I’d miss it if I weren’t hanging on her every word.

My chest tightens. I wrap my arms around her, holding her like she’s the most precious thing in the world. “You are,” I say, full of conviction. “You always will be.”

Her finger trails down my jaw, a touch so light it sends a shiver down my spine, and then she kisses me again, soft and slow. I let my hands wander, brushing over her ribs. When my thumbs skim the edges of her bra, I pause, glancing up to meet her eyes.

“Okay?” I murmur, my voice low.

She nods, her breath hitching, and I take my time, sliding the straps down her shoulders and unhooking it with careful fingers. Her bra falls away, and I stare at her perky, rounded breasts, her rosy pink nipples.

She’s perfect. Soft and flushed and so goddamn beautiful it makes me weak.

“You’re stunning,” I whisper, brushing my lips over her collarbone before trailing lower. I kiss the swell of her breast, then take her nipple into my mouth, rolling my tongue over the hardened peak.

She gasps and arches into me. “Liam.”

I move to her other breast, giving it the same attention, licking and kissing and sucking until she’s squirming in my lap,her thighs tightening around me. Her soft whimpers spur me on, my hands skimming over her hips, pulling her closer.

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