Page 76 of Heartless
“Can I?”
He froze for a moment, then leaned away from me to pull his shirt off his massive body.
For a few seconds, I could only stare and marvel. So,somany cuts that had healed and been reopened, overlapping on more that had healed and been reopened, with a few burns thrown in. So many of them were old and had stretched as his body grew. Scar tissue layered on itself again and again on top of muscle, like a type of armor. And probably to him, a kind of cage.
Shadow held his T-shirt in his fists like a barrier between us, his shoulders going rigid again. “I’ll put this back on—”
“No.” I grabbed the shirt from him and flung it away to the same dark corner where mine now resided. “Whatever you’re thinking now, stop.”
His brows lifted, eyes blinking as I tapped a finger to his forehead. “Stay out of there and justbewith me.” I placed that same hand on his chest, dragging it over the planes of muscles and scar tissue unabashedly. “I want you, Shadow.” My other hand ran along the back of his shoulders, pulling him close to me again. “I wantallof you.”
My next kiss was forceful, shoving my tongue into his mouth while grinding on his erection to drive the point home. The next moan rumbling through him had my core clenching with need. He palmed my ass, squeezing and pulling me forward to increase the friction on him. Finally,finally, his touch slid up my ribs to fill his palms with my breasts.
I leaned into the scarred, calloused hands gently kneading and massaging, his breaths quieted as he watched for my response.
“What feels good here?” Shadow’s teeth grazed along my shoulder, skimming back up to kiss my neck.
I had to bite back my whimper just at how sexy and low his voice was, never mind what his hands and mouth were already doing.
“That,” I gasped when his thumb and forefinger closed around my nipple, the peak already aching. “Anything, really. You can kiss me there too.”
He let out a soft hum as his lips trailed lower, kissing the swells of my breasts as his hands continued to explore different touches and my reactions. I was halfway convinced I was soaking through my pantsandhis by the time he pulled a nipple into his mouth.
“Yes!” My fingers curled into his hair at the light drag of teeth on the sensitive point, his tongue quick to soothe the light sting of pain away. “That feels so good…” I was downright drunk on him, this man treating me with such care when he’d gotten so little of it in his lifetime.
I ran my hands down his back when he moved on to my other nipple, resting my cheek on his forehead while I praised and touched him with abandon. At the first chance I got, I’d be kissing every one of those scars. He deserved to feel every bit as good as he was making me feel.
His lips returned to mine when both breasts were marked red from his mouth, nipples and clit thoroughly stimulated and buzzing with need.
“Do you want to lie down?” I asked between kisses.
“Okay,” he grunted, already leaning us to the side.
Our kisses never stopped on the way down to the bed. Shadow landed on his side, arms still wrapped around me as I began my scar-kissing journey at the top of his chest.
“Mari?” His mouth rested against my hair, fingers gliding along my sides.
“Mm-hm?” I kissed a deep line cutting across his sternum, tongue flicking out to give it a little extra love.
A hand came under my chin, bringing my gaze up.
“Will you show me how to please you?” The question was asked shyly, his warm gaze resting on my lips with a flush in his cheeks.
I brought his hand to my lips, pressing kisses to the scars on his knuckles until his eyes met mine.
“You already please meimmensely, just by being you.” I kissed his mouth, letting my lips hover over his. “But I can show you how to make me come.”
“Yes,” he rasped, warm breath fanning over my lips as his eyes heated. “Show me how.”
I laced my fingers through his, dragging our joined hands between my breasts and down my belly.
“What most men don’t realize,” I paused over my jeans, unlinking our hands to get my clothes off easier, “is how important foreplay is to getting us off.”
“Is that so?” Shadow mused, flicking open the button and dragging my zipper down. Together we shimmied my pants and underwear down my hips and peeled them off my legs.
“Everything we just did.” I touched his face, bringing his attention back upward. “The way you touch me, kiss me, all of that is atleasthalf the battle. Making a woman come starts long before her pants come off.”
“I’ll remember that,” he murmured, nuzzling his forehead to mine as he skimmed fingertips across my ribs. “I could do nothing but kiss you for days,” he added with a sigh.
