Page 9 of Wounded Mountain Man

That was exactly where my dirty mind went, but I didn’t say that. Instead, I said, “Thanks.”

She unclasped her hands and flattened one palm on my stomach, moving the other upward, sliding over my pecs.

“Can I touch you under your shirt?” she asked.

“You can touch me anywhere you want, darling,” I said, shoving the words past the tightness that had formed in my throat.

It felt like a vice was gradually tightening around my neck, making it tough to breathe. But it wasn’t for the usual reasons. No, this time it was sheer pleasure that was bringing that response.

The feeling grew even more intense when she did exactly what I’d just given her permission to do. Her hands were on my bare skin, and nothing had ever felt this good.

“Mmm,” she said, pressing the side of her face against my back while continuing to move her hands over me.

She’d slid both hands under my shirt and now she was running her fingers around my nipples. Fuck. I never even knew my nipples were sensitive like that. But every circle her fingers made went straight to my growing erection.

“Can you imagine if I did this while you were driving?” she asked. “It’s exactly what I was fantasizing about doing.”

“What else were you fantasizing about doing?” I asked.

Silence. Maybe that had been too forward. But her hands were on me right now, so I wasn’t sure I cared.

Finally, she spoke. “Moving my hands down to touch your…you know.”

Myyou know? I ran that through my head. Oh yeah, she was definitely innocent.

“You’ve been with a man before,” I said.

“Nope.”

I didn’t expect that answer. And she’d popped it out so quickly, I was sure I must have misheard. The woman who had her hands on me right now was a virgin? Was that possible?

No way would I mess with a virgin. I didn’t even want the complications that came with casual sex. Sleeping with a virgin would mean feeling like a dick if I deposited her at her place afterward and never spoke to her again.

Her hands slipped lower, and she began unfastening my pants. I should stop her. This couldn’t go anywhere.

But the more I thought about it, the less I could deny one simple fact. I liked that she was a virgin. And I had no plans to walk away after tonight without speaking to her again.

Somehow, this woman had worked her way into my heart. And damn it, the part of me that wanted to live a completely solo life was slipping away into nothingness.

Suddenly, I wanted nothing more than to go through life with this woman by my side. And that scared me more than anything ever had because it gave her the power to hurt me. The power to suffer the same devastation I’d experienced when I’d lost my closest friend in the world to a car accident when I was sixteen.

It had driven me to the military, but there was no running from it. When someone you loved died, they took a piece of you—and it was a piece you never got back.

5

JESSALYN

Duke wasn’t stopping me. He knew I was a virgin, and he wasn’t stopping me.

My fingers trembled as I slid the button through the hole and lowered his zipper. He packed a bulge under there—hard as a rock. I felt it as I moved the zipper over each tooth slowly, giving him every chance to say no. He could jump off this motorbike, or he could refasten his jeans and start up this motorcycle, taking off with me on the back. But no, he’d probably insist we both put on helmets first.

He didn’t move. He didn’t even seem to be breathing. Was that a sign he didn’t want me to stop? I sure hoped so.

Finally, the zipper was as low as it could go. That left me with a decision to make. Did I go for it or wait to see what he would do?

I waited. One second, then two, then three. Nothing. It looked like I’d have to go for it.

With my trembling fingers, I dove beneath the waistband of his underwear. I gasped when I came into contact with his erection. It wasn’t what I expected. I wasn’t sure what Iexpected, but this was hard. Textured. And heat seemed to surround it.

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