Take Me Home (The Heartbreak Brothers 1)

“Tattoos? I don’t know. A lot, I guess.”

“Can I see them?”

He tipped his head to the side. “Are you asking me to take my t-shirt off, Miss Clark?”

“I’m asking you to show me your tattoos, smart-ass.” She shook her head. “The rest is just gravy.”

He pulled his black t-shirt over his head, watching her expression change as she took him in. Her eyes roved over him, and he liked it too much. Couldn’t get enough of the darkness in her eyes. “Can I touch you?” she asked him.

He grinned wickedly. “God, yes.”

“Turn onto your back,” she whispered, and he did as directed. She leaned over him, her face close to his chest. He held his breath for a second until her fingers began to trace the tattoo on his left pectoral, long thick black lines depicting a growling wolf. “When did you get this?” she asked, her fingers perilously close to his nipple. He was already hard as iron.

“Sydney. About eight years ago.”

She slid her hand across his chest, and he held his breath as she leaned closer, her mouth inches from his skin. He was hanging on by a string. “And this one?” she asked, her fingers tracing down the ridges of his abdomen.

“The eagle? I got it in London when I’d been in Europe for a few months. I was missing home.”

“Will you get any more?” she looked up at him.

“Yeah.” His voice was gruff with restraint. “Probably.”

“Where will you put them?” she asked, tracing circles on his hard abdomen. “It’s getting pretty crowded around here.”

“I’ve still got a lot of bare skin,” he said, his voice low. “My legs, my forearms, my ass.”

Her lips twitched. “Your ass?”

He raised an eyebrow. “I hear it hurts less there.” Reaching for her hands, he pulled her back up until her face was next to his. “What about you? Any tattoos?”

“Nope. I’m as unmarked as the day I was born.”

“Can I check?”

This time she laughed. “You want me to take my clothes off?”

“You started it,” he joked, never in a million years expecting her to show him.

But the next moment, she was sitting up and pulling her dress over her head, revealing a white lace bra and matching panties, and her creamy, unmarked skin.

Damn. If he’d thought he was hot before, now he was burning up. Not just because she was beautiful, but because she was so damn unpredictable. He loved the way he could never guess what she was going to do next.

* * *

Maddie held her breath as Gray stared at her. His eyes were hooded and dark, as his gaze dipped from her face to her shoulders, and then to her chest. He swallowed hard and then turned toward her, reaching out a hand to roll her onto her back.

“It’s my turn,” he whispered. “Okay?”

“Yes.” It was more than okay. She craved his touch the way she craved him. The panic she’d felt when she’d taken her dress off was long gone, melted by his heated response. Her head tipped back, her eyes closed, and she held her breath as she waited for his touch.

When it came her body arched off the blanket. Soft, warm lips pressed against her ribcage, his hands curling around her waist to hold her in place.

“Is this all right?” he murmured into her skin.

“Yeah.” She nodded. “Don’t stop.”

She cracked open her eyes to see a wicked grin curl his lips.