Page 18 of Hidden Ink

She pressed closer and he had to hold back a groan. They were in public—her shop and place of business. It wouldn’t do to have him pick her up by the waist and place her on the counter so he could get a better angle at her mouth.

He’d have to wait for them to be alone for that.

When he pulled back, she licked her lips again. “See you at my place,” she breathed, then took his hand and led them to the parking lot.

The relief that hit him was heady. He’d been afraid they’d have to hide this since things were so new, but that wasn’t the case. He hadn’t thought twice about leaning down to kiss her once he’d seen her, and he was damn lucky she hadn’t pulled back too quickly.

They needed to talk, but first…first he needed her taste.

As soon as they entered her home, she locked the door behind them and pressed her back against the hard wood.

“Hungry?” she asked.

He nodded but set the bag down on the entry table. “Yeah, I am. But I think food can wait.”

She smiled then. “Good.”

He cupped her face then crushed his mouth to hers. Her lips parted for him, and he tangled his tongue with hers, both of their resounding moans going straight to his dick. She put both hands on his back, her fingernails digging into his beat-up leather jacket.

That wouldn’t do.

He wanted to feel. He pulled away then tugged off his jacket and threw it on the floor before doing the same to hers.

“You want this, Hails?” he asked, his voice ragged. He needed to know before he moved on.

She reached up and bit his chin, sending a shock down his back. “Yes. I want you. I’ve wanted you for years. I wanted you to come over today and kiss me good morning, but I’m glad you didn’t. Because if you had, then I’d have taken you to my office and had you right there on my desk. Probably not the best way to try and get work done.”

He stared at her a moment, then threw his head back and laughed. “Jesus, I’m so fucking glad I’m not alone. I tried to keep you off my mind like I have for so long, but it didn’t work. When I wasn’t thinking about if I should come over to your side or not, I was thinking about what I wanted to do to you as soon as I saw you. It’s bad, Hails. I want you so much that I don’t know if I can be gentle.”

“Sloane…”

He ran his hands up her rib cage and stopped right under her breasts. “You need to tell me what to do, Hails. I don’t want to hurt you.”

“You can’t hurt me,” she whispered, though they both knew that wasn’t quite the truth. But they didn’t talk about that. Couldn’t talk about that.

When he moved to cup her breast, she sucked in a breath. “Tell me what to do.” She didn’t feel any different than what he’d thought she’d feel like, but damn if he’d hurt her.

“You’re doing it. I’m not made of glass, Sloane.”

He leaned down and pressed his mouth to her temple. “You’re far stronger than glass, but I want to make this good for you.”

“I’m pretty sure it’s impossible for you not to.”

He kissed down her neck, and she tilted her head to give him better access. “I’m not going to make love to you for the first time against a door. The first time we’ll be in your bed.” He kissed her again. “Next time we can be against the door. Or on the table. Or in the shower.”

She let out a shuddering breath. “I take it you have this all planned out.”

“Not quite that, but I’ve thought about all of it.”

She tilted her head up to meet his gaze. “Me, too.”

He pressed his mouth to hers and pulled his hand away from her breast. As she wrapped her arms around his neck, he reached around to cup her ass in his hands and lifted her off the ground. She let out a little squeak along his mouth, and he kissed her harder. When he moved toward her bedroom, she wrapped her legs around his waist, her heat pressed hard against him.

Fuck. He wasn’t going to last long.

As soon as he got to her bedroom, he set her down and pulled away so he could study her face.

She bit her lip then tugged on the bottom of her shirt. “I…I’ve only been with one other person since the surgeries. I know you don’t want to hear about other men, but I wanted to make sure you know that you won’t be the first to see my scars other than my doctor.” She pressed her lips together. “You’ll be the second, actually.”