Page 8 of Nothing At All

I lifted a hand, palming his head, digging my fingers into his hair. He groaned, the sound vibrating over me.

“So wet, and you taste so good.” He closed his lips on my clit, a light suckling, and I gasped. His head jerked up. I tightened my hold on his hair.

“Don’t stop.”

A quiet chuckle, and he lowered his head, resuming the wicked slow circles at my clit, the butterfly-wing strokes on my skin, drawing my desire into an inexorable pressure that built and built and–

I came apart under his mouth, a gasping scream torn free from my throat, and I arched under him, rubbing into his face while the orgasm washed through me, leaving me limp and boneless, my thighs trembling.

Planting a hand by my hip, he leaned over me, gaze intent on my face. Palm on my stomach, I struggled to catch my breath. With my other hand, I reached for his jaw and smiled. “I really need you to read more often.”

His grin flashed, wide and happy, his eyes bright. “Yeah?”

“Yes.” I pulled him down to kiss him, tasting myself on his lips. “Absolutely.”

He wrapped both arms around me, rolling us to the side and engulfing me in a hard embrace. I leaned into him, aware how hard he was behind the denim of his jeans, but more aware of the joy and affection in his hug. I pressed a kiss to his clavicle, burying my face against his throat.

A deep breath shuddered out of him, and his fingers passed over the back of my left hand, tracing across my ring finger. I snuggled closer, content to simply be held.

We had the whole night ahead of us.

Chapter Three

Dan

She was all I could think about.

I compartmentalized fine when I was on a call, my brain focused on processing a situation and people’s emotions, anticipating their reactions.

But running radar?

Doing paperwork?

I drifted into thinking about Lila’s smile. The way her brown eyes crinkled at the edges and glinted with mischief when she laughed. How soft and shiny her hair was, the way the color made me think of wheat under the sun.

And how pretty she was. How she made me laugh and the way her whole body gentled when she looked at me.

Nobody had ever looked at me like she did.

Of course, I’d never looked at anyone the way I did her, either. There had been girls who were pretty, women whose smiles I’d returned.

But no one who laughed and glowed like Lila.

I’d heard her before I saw her that first night at the Millhouse back in the summer. And from that first time I heard her laugh, that first glimpse of her . . . I’d been smitten.

She’d been with a couple of friends. Cookie, one of the FTOs from Dougherty County PD had hit on her, and she’d shot him down. Women liked him, so when he walked away from her, the pressure in my chest released like a balloon deflating.

I’d watched her, my burger forgotten, trying not to be obvious because Lydia and EmmaLee would give me hell. A couple of times, my gaze tangled with hers as she glanced in my direction.

While I drank her in, I wondered what I was scared of. Fear couldn’t be worse than missing out on meeting her.

If I could walk up to a car at a traffic stop, I could risk talking to her.

I didn’t even tell Lydia and EmmaLee what I was doing, just left the table and walked over to the end of the bar where she and her friends picked at a snack sampler.

She looked up, brown eyes warm and open. I swallowed the lump in my throat.

“Hey.” I stuck out my hand. “I’m Dan.”