Page 39 of Small-Town Secrets
"You didn't take advantage of me," he reminded me, his gaze dropping to the floor. "I always wanted you. I still want you." He lifted his eyes to meet mine again. "Can we just turn the lights off first?"
"The lights?" Vaguely, I remembered that the first time we'd had sex all those years ago, he'd made the same request. Back then, I hadn't given it much thought, but now my mind wasn't addled by hormones—at least not by as many—and I wanted to know what was up. "Is that a kink for you?" I tried to joke.
Laurence gave me a pinched look. "I'm not comfortable with the lights on."
"You don't want to see me?"
"I don't want you to see me." The way Laurence scowled after the words left his mouth, I guessed that wasn't something he'dmeantto say.
"I would like to see you, though," I said, trying to be gentle about my request. There was no point in forcing Laurence to do something he wasn't comfortable with. Dipping my head, I kissed the corner of his mouth. A shiver went through Laurence. He obviously wanted me, so what was stopping him? "I'm sure you're beautiful under your clothes too."
"I'm not." He shot me a defiant look, as if daring me to disagree.
"I don't get it," I admitted. "You're so confident aboutthis." I traced a finger down the edge of the scar on his face until I reached his lips. His tongue darted out to lick my finger, sending a pleasant jolt through me that went straight to my cock.
"Do I have a choice?"
For a second there, I was so focused on Laurence's lips that I had no idea what he was talking about. His scar. Right. Focus, Aaron.
"I'm not ashamed of this," Laurence said, touching his cheek. "This is what gave me the strength to leave. When I look in the mirror, that's all I see. The other scars..." His voice dropped as his confidence left him. "They never did anything for me. Any one of them should have made me stand up for myself, but I never could. I just took it all silently. I'm not proud of that."
"Laurence..." I wanted to wrap him in my arms—and I wanted to beat everyone who'd hurt him to a bloody pulp. "You have no reason to be ashamed. If anything, you should be proud for surviving all the shit life has flung at you. I don't care about your scars."
He only shook his head. "It's not just about you. I don't want to look at them."
That was so sad I didn't even know what to say. How could the omega before me be so horrified by his own body when I wanted nothing more than to lick that same body all over, scars or no?
Obviously, though, this wasn't an issue that could be solved in one night. "Okay," I said, relenting. "We'll turn off the lights. This time."
"This time?" The sullen look in Laurence's eyes slowly gave way to an amused glint. "Are you so sure there's going to be a next time?"
"I hope there's going to be a next time."
Laurence stretched up and gave me a short kiss. "I guess that depends on your performance."
"Yeah? I'll do my best, then." Wrapping my arms around his waist, I drew him in for another, longer kiss. I loved this more confident side of him. If there was anything I could do to bring it out more often, I would do it.
For now, that meant turning off the lights.
So I did.
Nothing was going to come between me and my desire for Laurence tonight.
As soon as that issue was settled, we undressed each other. I'd like to say that we took things slow, but we didn't. Our clothes came off in record time. For the most part, I wasn't even sure where they went. All I knew was that Laurence had his hands on me and I had mine on him. I shuddered as the realization hit me. I was finally with Laurence the way I should be. Just me and him in the dark. No one else and no regrets. No guilt.
While I was still pondering this, Laurence tugged on my arm and led me to the bed with him.
"Come on, alpha," he said in a low voice, as if we had anything to hide, even though we didn't. This was so different from the first time he'd seduced me—but different in all the right ways. Laurence wasn't forbidden fruit now, he was who I wanted to hold on to forever.
When he lay down on the bed, I crawled over him and tried to memorize his body with my fingers. I couldn't see him, but I could feel him, taste him with my tongue on his skin, breathe his scent deeply into my lungs.
God, I loved that scent. I pressed my nose to his chest, wanting to commit this exact moment to memory.
I wasn't sure how long we lay there, touching each other's bodies as if it was the first time. Faint tremors ran through Laurence's body beneath my fingertips and I nearly groaned. He was so beautiful. No matter how many scars he had.
I kissed him again, feeling my brain grow fuzzy as I lost myself in him. This moment. This was perfection.
Almost.
