Page 90 of I'm Looking for a Man in Finance
“You have a home gym?”
“On the third floor,” I managed, willing my legs to carry me forward.Walk. Left foot. Then right foot. This isn’t a hard concept, James.
She arched a brow. “Are you going to just stand there staring or are you going to join me?”
You can talk to her about it in the morning. Youwilltell her how you feel in the morning.
Tonight, the only thing I wanted more than anything was to be with her.
My hands trembled slightly as I crossed the room, but there was no uncertainty in her eyes tonight. Only hunger. Desire. Trust.
She rose up onto her knees, level with me now, and the moonlight danced across the freckles sprinkled on her nose and cheeks. I traced my own patterns in my mind like a map I never wanted to forget.
Hallie leaned in and kissed me with a kind of abandon I hadn’t known I craved. Giving herself to the moment and taking me with her. There was no hesitation in her lips. We melted into each other like we’d done this a thousand times in another life.
She took the lead this time, slipping her bra straps down, one by one, with a soft shrug, then reaching for the waistband of my boxers.
“I don’t think I can wait any longer,” she whispered into the space between us. “I want you. Ineedyou. You may have wanted last night to be about me. But I want tonight to be aboutus.”
She didn’t need to say anything more.
I cupped her backside, drawing her flush against me as her mouth found mine again. Hallie drew a line of kisses from my mouth down to the hollow of my neck. She pushed my boxers down, and we both fumbled with a laugh as I kicked them away, joining her on the bed and helping her slide off her last remaining piece of clothing. Her laughter filled the room, and I realized it was my favorite sound.
I ran my hands along the curve of her ribs, feelingthe pounding of her heart and watching her heartbeat beneath my palms. She was beautiful in every light, but under the moon, she was breathtaking.
“Are you okay?” I asked as I hovered over her, brushing a strand of hair from her cheek.
Hallie nodded, her teeth catching her lower lip in a way that undid me. Her eyes drifted over me.
“If at any time you want to stop, just say the word,” I said gently. “This is your pace. Your lead.”
Her expression softened even more, and she brought her pinky up between us with a smile that melted every ounce of restraint I had. “I promise.”
The moonlight danced across her body like it knew what a privilege it was just to look at her. Illuminating the dip of her stomach. The curve of her breasts. The slope of her neck. I felt the fire inside me surge, threatening to burn my resolve, but I held back.
I didn’t want to rush this.
I wanted to remember every second. Every sigh. Every way her body fit with mine.
“Good,” I murmured, my forehead brushing hers. “Because I want this to be something we both remember. Something that matters.”
“James,” she whispered, fingers threading through my hair, “there’s no way I could regret this.”
32
Hallie
James touched me like I was irreplaceable. His hands worshipped my body, mapping every inch as his mouth traced kisses over my collarbone, my neck, the slope of my shoulder.
I lay naked beneath him, and a hurricane of emotions was wreaking havoc within me. This wasn’t sex born out of pure physical desire. This was something else entirely. Something that threatened to explode from my chest with every scrape of teeth against skin.
But instead of trying to inspect those feelings from every angle until I understood what they meant, I surrendered to them.
From the moment I saw him like this—completely, beautifully bare—I had to swallow the surge of awe that rose in my throat. I’d never seen a more perfect man, and still, somehow, he wanted me. Me.
My fingers traced the gold chain he always wore and then spread across the tan skin of his chest. He finally lowered himself between my legs, careful not to press his weight against me as his forearms bracketed my head, muscles taut. Need filled every inch of me.
His mouth captured mine again, and the kiss unraveled what was left of my composure. I couldn’t get closeenough. My legs wrapped around his waist, pulling him in. I wanted to feel every part of him. Needed to.
