Page 199 of Liberating Lily

She groaned. “Well, I’m not fine with that. I want more.”

He grinned down at her. “Does my baby need to come?”

“Yes,” she moaned. “I’m dying here.”

“Well, we can’t have you dying, can we? Because I can’t live without you.” He moved back, grasping her around the hips, pulling her down so she lay on her back.

“I’ll have to see what I can do to resuscitate you.”

Hell yes, some serious resuscitation was needed.

He reached for the bottom of the shirt, then held it for a moment as he stared down at her, as though he was asking for permission. And then she realized he actually was.

Harvey wasn’t a guy who asked for permission from anyone before doing something that he wanted to do. The fact that he would pause and check in with her told her more than anything else how right this was, how he was the man that she wanted to spend the rest of her life with, and that she could trust him with everything.

So she nodded. “Please.”

He stripped her off, so she was just lying there in a pair of lacy underwear. She tensed for a moment, wondering if she’d feel objectified or as though she was under a microscope. Being viewed like this might have brought up bad memories if Harvey’s hands didn’t start to play with her, to touch her with gentle reverence.

In every touch, she could feel his love, his adoration, and his desire.

“Keep your eyes open and on me, baby,” he told her. “I want you to know it’s me touching you. I want you to know it’s me here with you.”

She nodded, and he started kissing his way down her body. He paused at her nipples, spending so much time with them that frustration filled her.

She thrust her hips up, trying to get some friction against her clit. “More. Give me more.”

“Hush now, baby. We’re taking this slow, remember?”

“What if I don’t want to take this slow? What if I’m ready for fast and hard?”

“Well, what if I’m not?” he asked. “What if I want to savor every moment of touching you?”

She gave him a grouchy look. “I’m fairly certain that you just want to torture me.”

He grinned. God, he was gorgeous when he smiled, and lucky for her, he smiled a lot.

“No,” she cried. “That’s not fair. You’ve been torturing me for weeks now with your touch and your kisses, and those looks. And with the way you dress.”

“The way I dress?” he asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Walking around in those cutoff shorts with your tan skin on display and all those sexy tattoos. Don’t you know that a girl has needs? You’ve been killing me. Killing me.”

He threw back his head and laughed. “I didn’t realize that cutoff running pants were so sexy.”

“They’re not sexy,” she told him. “You are.”

“You know just what to say to a man to stroke his ego.”

“What? Do you want me to stroke something else?”

He laughed again. “You’re starting to sound like me.”

Oh, Lord, he was right. She was starting to sound like him. And what was more, she kind of liked it.

“I am, aren’t I?” she said with a hint of wonder in her voice. “But would you? Could I?”

“You want to touch me, baby? Are you sure?”