Page 70 of This Time Around
He nodded and slid a hand into the small of her back, skimming the spot where her own flame tattoo was branded. He’d never wanted her more.
Jack got to work ridding her of the extra layers. Fleece, tank top, yoga pants—all of it ended up in a heap at the foot of the bed.
When he reached for her again, there was nothing between them but heated skin. He skimmed a hand down her body, starting at her breasts and trailing over her belly, over her hip, between her thighs. She moved one arm down to cover her stomach, and he watched her start to arrange herself into her vision of a flattering pose.
“No,” he said, gently drawing the arm back. He placed a trail of kisses where it had been, worshiping every inch of her. “You’re so beautiful, Allie. I love your body.”
She laughed, and he wasn’t sure if she believed him or thought he was feeding her a line. It was true, though, dammit, and he wanted her to know. “So perfect.” He planted another row of kisses down her center, skimming over her right hip and then back to her belly button. He only meant to tease, knowing she needed more foreplay than he’d offered her so far.
But Allie grabbed his wrist and pressed his fingers into the warmth between her legs.
“Touch me,” she whispered, her voice cracking with intensity.
“Jesus, you’re wet.”
“I want you,” she panted. “Right now. So much, Jack.”
Had she been this assertive in college? Jack didn’t think so. He knew he’d been her first, and she’d always seemed a little shy. Even after they’d been together for years, she was rarely the one to initiate things in the bedroom.
But she was initiating now, and it made Jack dizzy with need. He slid a finger inside her, marveling as she arched up off the bed. He stroked deep inside her, pressing the heel of his hand against her pubic bone and trying not to let the word pubic throw him off his stride with thoughts of his inquisitive kid asking about pubes.
“Jack, please.”
He smiled down at her, knowing damn well what she wanted, but needing to hear those words. “Please what?”
“Please,” she gasped again, closing her eyes as he angled his finger to hit something that sent her arching off the bed.
Allie wasn’t the only one who’d gained experience the last sixteen years.
“I want you inside me,” she pleaded.
That was enough for him. He started to move on top of her, nudging her thighs apart with his own. He hesitated.
“Uh, Allie?”
“What?”
“I don’t have a condom. I wasn’t exactly planning for this.”
She grinned and pushed a stray lock of hair off her forehead. “Nightstand,” she said. “Hurry.”
God bless the girl. He hurried to tear open the packaging and sheathe himself, pretty sure he’d never been this eager to be inside a woman, not even her. “Please tell me you stashed this in there and I didn’t just grab a rubber that belonged to your grandma.”
She laughed and pulled him on top of her. “It’s mine.”
There was an echo of something in that word. Mine. He remembered whispering it to her in the darkness, driving himself inside her. You’re mine. Always. Mine. She’d murmured it back, binding them together with youthful oblivion and naïve lust.
There was none of that now. They both knew what they were getting into, and they wanted it anyway. As Jack slid inside her, he felt something shatter in the back of his brain. He stilled for an instant, wanting to savor the moment, to get himself under control.
Allie drew her legs up, heels pressing into the mattress, as she arched up to meet him. “Please, Jack. Fuck me.”
Oh my God. Was this really Allison Ross?
He opened his eyes, just to be sure, and saw her smiling up at him. “I’ve never wanted anyone so badly,” she murmured.
“God, you’re killing me.”
He began to move then, slow strokes at first. He’d been cocky at the start, eager to prove he had better stamina than his eighteen-year-old self. But he may have overestimated his own skill, or maybe he’d underestimated Allie.
