Redemption (The Protectors 8)

As I let my hand skim up underneath his shirt, I thought about removing it, but I remembered how hesitant he’d been after the night he’d burned his wrist. He’d been okay with me taking his pants off, but he’d wanted the shirt to stay on. I suspected it might have something to do with the large scar running up his side.

“Can I take this off?” I asked as I brushed soft kisses against his lips. His desperation had eased and while I couldn’t exactly say he was relaxed, he didn’t seem on the brink of bolting either.

Levi managed a nod. His right hand was resting on my forearm, but I forced myself not to focus on his bandage, which was also wet.

I levered up on the bed long enough to work the shirt off over his head. I’d already known he was lean, but he looked a bit on the thin side…presumably because he was running himself ragged every day between work and caring for Henry. I sealed my mouth over his and licked over his tongue when he opened for me. I kept him focused on my mouth as I trailed my hand back and forth over his chest. I didn’t do much more than that, but I could tell he was enjoying the contact because he kept pushing up into my hand whenever I eased off on the pressure. His skin was chilled and damp.

“Baby,” I murmured against his mouth. He kept trying to kiss me which had me chuckling. I gave him a few more pecks before I backed off and said, “Will you come take a shower with me?”

It took him an inordinate amount of time to nod. If I hadn’t felt how cold he was, I would have backed off the request.

I took his hand and pulled him to his feet and then held onto him as I led him to my bathroom. I got the shower going and then turned to face him. He was absently rubbing one of his arms and his shoulders were slumped as if he was trying to make himself smaller.

I slid my hand around his waist and dropped my forehead to his. “Levi, I just want you to get warm…if you want to take the shower by yourself-”

“No,” he interjected. “I…I want to take it with you. It’s just…”

“What?” I asked when he didn’t continue.

“It’s been a while since I’ve been able to get…”

Color flooded his cheeks and it hit me what he was saying. “An erection?” I asked.

He nodded. “I mean, I wake up with one sometimes, but when I touch myself…” He let out a rough laugh. “God, I can’t even get this part right!”

“What part?” I asked as I stroked his biceps in the hopes I could get a jumpstart on warming him up.

“Seducing you,” he said in exasperation. “Turning you on.”

I smiled at that. “You came here to seduce me?” I asked.

He nodded miserably.

“Baby,” I said as I used my hands to tilt his head up. “You don’t even have to be in the same room as me to turn me on.” I kissed him until he was moaning. “And you can practice your seduction skills on me any damn time you want.”

Levi pushed into my arms without another word. I let him take control of the kiss even as steam from the shower began to envelop us in damp heat. I forced myself to step back from him and then pushed my sleep pants off my hips. I wasn’t wearing a shirt, so once the pants were off, I didn’t give Levi time to obsess over my size. With my build, I was proportionally sized, but to someone like Levi with his history, I knew I was likely intimidating, especially considering how hard he’d made me.

I let the water rain down over me as I watched Levi struggle with what to do next. I could tell he was nervous about revealing the rest of his body, but that didn’t surprise me after what he’d told me. I kept my eyes on his in the hopes he’d understand my silent message that he didn’t need to do this. A full minute passed before he finally went for the button on his jeans. As he undressed, I held his gaze and once he was naked, I extended my hand to him. I felt rather than saw that, true to his word, he wasn’t hard, but I didn’t care since he felt so good pressed up against my body.

“So perfect,” I murmured against his mouth. His arms went around my neck and I carefully pulled him against me until we were flush from thigh to chest. He tensed briefly when my cock came into contact with his, but he didn’t pull away.

“If I do anything you don’t want, tell me. You’re in control here, Levi,” I said as I pressed kisses to his jawline and neck. The sight of the fresh bruises threatened to stir my anger, but I managed to quell the urge to go hunt down both his father and T and beat the ever-loving hell out of them just because I could.