Page 47 of I Could Be Yours

I shake my head and bite my lip.

“You are.” His gaze moves over my face. “Endlessly intriguing.” He traces the edge of the tape covering my right nipple. “A lovely puzzle I want to solve.” He makes a sound in the back of his throat, and his tongue peeks out to push at his top lip as he carefully peels the tape free—exactly like he did when he opened the present I gave him. So gentle, so careful. His hand curves around my breast and he drops his head, eyes lifting to mine as he captures the peak between his lips and sucks softly.

“Oh fuck, that is...” My knees go weak as his tongue laves me. “I like that.”

“What else do you like, Essie?” His teeth sink in gently for a moment.

“That. I would like more of your tongue and your teeth.” I groan.

“I’m making a checklist for all the yeses.” He peels the othernipple free, giving it the same attention before returning to my mouth, claiming it in a searing kiss.

He smooths his hands down my back, our lips still fused as he picks me up and carries me to the bed. Nate lays me down, hips settling in the cradle of mine. I feel him, thick and hot behind his fly.

I love the way he presses into me, but… “I want to feel your skin on mine.”

He pushes up on one arm, dark eyes shining with lust. “I want those little hearts scraping against my chest while I dry fuck you.”

I approve. “I also want that.”

I kick off my heels as he braces his weight on one arm and quickly works through the top buttons while I tackle the ones at the bottom. His shirt joins our clothes on the floor.

He’s still wearing pants, and possibly shoes, but when he stretches out over me again, all his warm, soft skin meets mine. His hungry gaze stays locked on me, and I moan at the feel of his erection between my thighs and the light tug on my nipples.

“Say something scientific,” I whimper.

“What?” He stills for a moment, his frown moving toward confused.

I scramble for a specific question that will require science speak. “What’s the chemical composition of stainless steel?”

“Why?”

“Because you know, and I want you to explain it to me.”

“Right now?”

“Yes, please.” I roll my hips against him, body zinging with anticipation.

His cheeks puff out. “It depends on the grade of steel.”

“Just typical steel. Normal grade.” I gaze up at him expectantly, then tack on, “With percentage breakdowns.” I rub myself against him, hot all over as I wait for him to tell me what I want to know.

“Sixteen to eighteen percent chromium, ten to fourteen percent nickel, two to three percent molybdenum, and trace amounts of carbon, with a mix of other, less-prevalent things.”

My pussy clenches. “That kind of information is just rolling around in your head all the time, isn’t it?”

“It took a little work to recall it, to be honest. Can I kiss you now?”

“Yes, please.”

He covers my mouth with his and hooks my leg over his hip. We make out, bodies gliding against each other, the sensation muted by layers of fabric on our lower halves. But I want this slow build, to take our time to touch and kiss.

“So many times I thought about what this would be like.” He sucks my bottom lip. “How good you’d feel wrapped around me. The way you’d sound when I made you come.”

The disappointed high school graduate who waited for him to call revels in this new power. But the other part, the one I’ve always struggled to keep on lock when I get into a new…thing, wants to know why he never called, why he ghosted me all those years ago, even though he lusted after me. But I can’t let that part of me out. Not now. Not with Nate.

“This is just about sex,” I declare. There’s conviction in my words. I mean it. I know better than to give my heart to this man. He’s beautiful, and delightfully grumpy, and competitive. And he’s smart, and driven, but he doesn’t want the same things I do.

He finds me intriguing now, but what happens when he sees behind the pretty veneer? I can’t keep someone like Nate’s attention for long. It doesn’t matter that the girl in me who craves acceptance and love wants to be the one to fix him. Or that he’s appealing in so many damning, damaging ways. The woman in me who’s cried endless tears over the wrong guy knows better. I’ve given my heart to so many men who had no intention of keeping it safe. I won’t add him to the list.

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