Page 72 of On the Chase
“So…” His eyebrows wagged teasingly. “Wanna make out?”
“With you?” she purred, using her phone-sex-operator voice again. “Anytime.” She started leaning toward him, but then she looked over her shoulder.
“What’s wrong?”
“Just making sure a dog isn’t going to stick her cold nose in my ear this time.”
Despite the bullet hole in his leg, the broken arm, the concussion, and God knew how many bruises, Hugh tilted back his head and laughed out loud. Unable to resist that happy sound, Grace grabbed the back of his head and pulled him into a kiss.
Chapter 19
It wasn’t like Hugh hadn’t thought about it, because he had. A lot. He’d even dreamed about it. The reality of kissing a mostly naked Grace Robinson, however, was better than anything he could have imagined. When she’d stood in front of him and stripped down to her underwear, he’d thought his heart—among other body parts—was going to explode.
She was gorgeous, tall and sleek, with olive skin and that silky, dark hair that he couldn’t stop touching. The only frustrating thing was his cast. He wished that he had full use of both arms, both hands. At least the pain from his headache had all but disappeared with the initial rush of endorphins during that first frantic kiss.
Using his good arm, he flattened his palm in the middle of her back, tucking her even more tightly against him. Her skin was unbelievably soft—so soft that he felt bad about his callused hands. He worried that he’d hurt her, that he’d be too rough, but she didn’t seem to mind the abrasive contact. In fact, she made little noises in her throat and pushed into his hand every time he touched her.
As if she’d read his mind, Grace hummed and wriggled, working her body until she was plastered against him. He couldn’t seem to catch his breath, but he honestly didn’t care about getting enough air. As long as he could keep kissing her, all was right in his world. Oxygen was overrated, anyway.
Her hands were everywhere, touching his ears and his neck and his chest and his belly. They even flitted down to work at the button on his BDUs. His whole body jerked when he realized where her fingers had landed. When he tried to break the kiss, she followed him, and he soon gave in with a groan, meeting her lips. A faint warning bell rang in the very back kiss-drugged corner of his brain, just loud enough to catch his attention. Before he could get sucked back into their explosive make-out session, he pulled back.
“Wait a sec,” he gasped, sucking in air. Grace made a tiny disappointed sound and leaned into him, her lips seeking his. Although he was tempted to give in—very tempted—he resisted the siren call of her mouth. “Are you okay?”
Her answer was a distracted murmur that meant nothing as she struggled to get his pants unbuttoned. He slapped a hand over her working fingers. If she managed to get his BDUs undone, then he’d be undone as well.
“Hang on.” His voice was even less than a gasp. It was more of an exhaled breath. He tried again. “Are you okay with this?”
She glared up at him with her dark eyes narrowed. “I’m literally trying to get into your pants, Hugh. I think I’m fine.”
His laugh was little more than a pathetic wheeze. “Okay, then. Carry on. I was just checking.”
He thought his heart was going to stop when her hands paused. This time, when she looked at him, her expression was a great deal softer. “I know. Thank you for that. Now, quit asking. Okay?”
“Got it.” He laughed again, but it was quickly cut off as she dragged his unfastened pants down. Lifting his hips, he helped her tug his pants and boxer briefs until they were down around his thighs.
Their kisses gained urgency, and he nipped her lower lip as he struggled to unhook her bra using one hand. With a throaty chuckle that sent a shock wave of lust through him, Grace reached back and unfastened the bra. Drawing it down her arms, she revealed her breasts, and Hugh stared as if he were a thirteen-year-old boy who’d never seen a naked woman before.
“Wow,” he said, cursing himself for how not-smooth he sounded. It was Grace’s fault, though, for being so heart-stoppingly beautiful that his brain refused to work right. Bending his head, he lowered his mouth to one of her breasts, and Grace sucked in a breath. Worried that she was nervous or self-conscious, he went soft and gentle at first, placing tiny, light kisses all over her chest. When she started to make eager sounds and arched toward him, he got a little more intense, nipping and sucking and teasing her nipples with his tongue.
“Hugh,” she moaned, raising her hips toward him. “Please!”
Grinning against the soft skin, he gave a final lick before raising his head. “What’s that I hear? Is it…begging?”
She went still for several seconds before giving him a shove that teetered between playfulness and true annoyance. “No!” she lied, sticking out her lower lip in a pout that made him tempted to bite. “Jerk! Just for that, we’re stopping what we’re doing, getting dressed, and wearing Snuggies while we watch a chick flick.” She glared at him, and he felt a little wrong thinking that she looked really hot when she was mad.
Then her words sank in, and his heart fell into his stomach. “Oh. Really?”
“No.” Her scowl couldn’t hide the teasing glint in her eyes. “But I should.”
“Thank God,” he sighed, making her giggle. Before she could say anything so horrible again, he yanked her toward him and kissed the laugh off her lips. The kiss instantly ignited, and all teasing was forgotten as their urgency grew. Once again, he wished for two working hands as he stroked her body, petting all the silky bare skin that he could.
When she slid off his lap, he groaned in protest, but reluctantly let her go. To his relief, she just shimmied out of her panties and moved to rejoin him on the couch.
“Wait,” he said, his voice a low rasp. “Let me look for a minute.”
“Hugh,” she complained, color rising from her chest to her face. Her gaze darted around, her atypical shyness somehow endearing, as much as he didn’t understand it.
Reaching out, he traced a line from between her breasts to below her belly button. “I didn’t mean to embarrass you,” he said, feeling her shiver and twitch under his light touch. “I just wanted to look at you. You’re so stinking beautiful.”
