Page 49 of Her Intense Protector

“No, take your shirt off,” she wailed in frustration.

Again, with the sexy laugh. He lifted up and did that move that guys did, where they pulled their shirts over their heads with one hand. Samantha stared at his chest. At his abs. At the arrow of hair that abruptly ended where his jeans began. She reached out to touch.

“Uh, uh, uh, uh,” he scolded. “Fair’s fair.”

“Huh?”

If I had to take off my shirt, then you have to take off my shirt.”

She giggled at his joke. She struggled to sit up.

“Here, I’ll help,” Ezio offered. Gently he helped her into a sitting position, then before she could do much more than ogle his chest, she found herself without a shirt on.

“How’d you do that?”

“Ancient Navy secret,” Ezio grinned. “Now, where were we?”

“I think you were getting your shirt wet?” She couldn’t help the squeak. How come that felt so naughty to say? She didn’t talk about this kind of thing with a lover. You just kind of went about your business, and hopefully things went well. She’d been lucky—often times they did. Afterwards, when she was alone.

“Hey, Samantha, where’d you go?”

“What are you talking about? I’m right here.” Her smile quivered.

He lowered himself down so that his muscled chest met her soft breasts and she moaned at the sensation. “I’m glad you’re here. So very glad.” He moved just the slightest bit and his soft chest hair abraded her nipples. She cried out at the sensation.

“Was that good or bad?”

“Do it about thirty-three more times and then I’ll know,” she gasped.

A deep dark smoky chuckle, and he moved again, only slower.

“Oh yes, exactly that, Ezio. Exactly that.”

* * *

He was fighting a losing battle. Eden was due over soon, and he had the sexiest woman alive in bed with him. There wasn’t a chance in hell he was going to let this go past heavy petting, because when he actually did make love to Samantha, he wanted to take his time. He wanted to savor every damn moment with her. And he wanted to make sure she was one-hundred percent on board, not just on a post-stress high. But the way she was looking at him right now told him she wanted this, too.

Of course, he could just not open the door when the doorbell rang…

Fuck, it was Eden. She’d break a window and climb through.

“Hey Ezio, are you with me?” This time she asked.

He looked into her sky-blue eyes and wondered if she was the one. Hell, he’d been thinking about her for seven solid months. No other woman had come close to interesting him this much.

“I’m here.” He stroked her cheek with the back of his knuckles, indulging in the softness of her skin. “I’m right where I want to be.”

“You stopped doing anything. Not that I’m complaining, because I’ve got to admit, you’re right where I want you to be too,” she breathed out.

Samantha wiggled underneath him, just a little, enough to get up close and personal with his erection. “Uhm, why aren’t we doing anything more? I mean, do you prefer doing the breast thing when there’s a T-shirt in the way?”

He looked into her laughing eyes and knew that such impertinence needed to be punished, so he nuzzled her neck then nipped at her earlobe.

“Mmmmm, do that again.”

He did it again. Then he placed an open-mouthed kiss on her neck. “You smell like apricots.”

“It’s your sister’s shampoo.”