Page 106 of Here & There

I didn’t know men growling was real, but it’s there, a guttural hum that barely forms the word.

“More,” he growls. His eyes are glued to my chest.

When I take off my bra, he closes his eyes, tipping his head back and popping his jaw as if needing to check himself. “Goddamn, Ponytail.”

I laugh at his joke nickname, which, honestly, I don’t mind. But with my shirt off and his eyes on me, I instinctively wrap my hands around my waist, self-conscious.

When Mac opens his eyes again, though, he shakes his head. “No.” He gently unfurls my arms from my body. He kisses each of my palms in turn before setting my hands down on the bed. It was a clever way to get me to stop hiding, because I’m swooning now.

“I knew it,” he says, still holding my wrists, his hands resting on mine on the duvet.

“Knew what?” I ask, breathless.

“That if I ever got to see you naked, it would be better than I could have imagined.”

He buries his face in my neck, dropping soft kisses along my throat and making low, appreciative sounds with words I can’t decipher. Maybe there aren’t any. Or maybe I can’t hear because of the rush of blood in my ears and the tingling so intense across my skin I swear it crackles.

I moan, then bite my lips in my teeth. “We should be quiet,” I say.

Mac shakes his head. “We’re in a separate building. Plus, he’s got his headphones on.”

I relax slightly. That is until Mac slides his hands up, cupping each of my breasts.

“So fucking beautiful,” he marvels.

I’ve always been annoyed with the size of my chest—I developed early and was the source of a good amount of teasing. I can’t go anywhere without a military-grade bra. But seeing Mac savoring them like his own personal treasure has me feeling like they might not be only an impediment.

He runs his rough thumbs over my nipples, sucking in air as they tighten under his touch. “Perfect. Fucking perfect.”

Then he grumbles, sliding his hands down. “I need you over here.” He wraps his hands around my ribs and lifts me up, tossing me back on the middle of the bed like I weigh nothing at all.

He stands there for a moment, his eyes raking over me. “Jesus, Shelby.” He runs a hand over the bulge at his crotch. My pussy throbs. I want him. I want to see his cock properly this time, right now.

But he’s only readjusting himself.

“It’s only fair you take your shirt off too,” I say.

Mac doesn’t hesitate. He pulls his shirt off in one smooth movement. He’s fucking perfect too. That big chest covered in downy dark hair, the trail dipping into his jeans.

“Look at how beautiful you are, Shelby,” he says. “Look at the way you fill my hands. Like you were made for me.” My tits do fill his giant hands perfectly; his rough hands are such a delicious contrast on my soft, pale flesh.

Richard would grab my breasts kind of perfunctorily. But it never seemed like he was that into them. It never seemed like he was that into me at all, at least physically.

But Mac? His appreciation is clear in the almost pained expression on his face.

He squeezes just enough that my nipples push out toward his waiting tongue.

Liquid pleasure shoots through me as he takes my nipple into his warm, wet mouth. I moan, tipping my head back, letting myself fall into the sensation.

There’s so much I could worry about. So many flaws and problems. But all of them vanish under his touch. The sensation of his tongue on me, along with his unadulterated enjoyment of what he’s doing, has me losing the last of my inhibitions.

I arch my back, thrusting my tits into his mouth, grasping the duvet with my fists. “I want you, Mac,” I breathe without knowing the words were even going to come.

“Fuck,” he groans. “Say that again.”

“I want you,” I moan.

“You want this, Shelby?” He sinks his teeth into one of my nipples, swirling his tongue around the trapped flesh, tugging at it so all I feel is delicious, mind-bending tension. God, if this feels so good, I can’t even think about what the rest will be like. I had this idea that maybe we’d chastely make out, but that’s out the window. I chucked it out there myself.

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