He lifted the shirt inch by inch. His lips followed the fabric, trailing kisses up to her scarred stomach. He’d expected her to close her eyes, but she watched his face without flinching. Each kiss brought him closer to her breast, until he took the warm peak of her nipple into his mouth and caressed it with the tip of his tongue.
She cried out and buried her fingers in his hair. Tears streaked down her face, yet she arched and moaned in pleasure as he showed her just how much he loved her body. He loved her with his lips, with his tongue, with gentle nips and nibbles, leaving nothing untouched. There was no part of her he didn’t adore, and no part of her he didn’t taste.
It took the last of his shredded self-control to pull away, panting, long enough put on a condom. She grasped at his hips and dug her fingernails into his skin.
“Jeremy,” she pleaded, and tugged him closer. “Now.”
He took a steadying breath and kissed her. As her tongue caressed his mouth, he thrust fully into her. She enveloped him in lustrous, gliding heat, the wet fire of her stroking him until he groaned. She couldn’t have fit him more perfectly. She was amazing.
She was his.
“I—I can’t go slow,” he gritted out through his teeth. Need left his body taut, and so very ready. He’d planned on languid, unhurried lovemaking, but he didn’t think he could hold back any longer.
“Then don’t,” she panted. She arched against him, scratching her nails down his back.
His mind stopped working. His body, his desire, his consuming need for her took over. Only she could give him this pleasure. He drove into her. She rose to meet him, wanton and wild. He met her every demand, wildness for wildness, madness for madness, kiss for kiss, passion for passion.
Pleasure mounted in a cresting surge, and he matched the rhythm of her body until she tensed. With a sighing, shuddering cry, she peaked, tightening around him in convulsing waves, her body trembling, her skin glistening with sweat. Her slickness poured over him, and he filled her again and again until bliss spread through his body and melted him.
He collapsed atop her, heart racing, and held her close. It was long moments before he could speak, before he could even move. He pushed himself up on shaking arms.
“Holy shit,” he breathed. “You’re amazing.”
She blushed. A shy smile crept across her lips. “It’s my best kept secret.”
He burst into laughter. God, he couldn’t imagine no longer having her in his life. He’d never planned much for the future, but now he saw one with her. One that would give him a reason to fight, a reason to survive, so he could come home to her waiting arms.
“Brat,” he murmured, and leaned down to kiss the tip of her nose—then finally kissed that dimple that had teased him for so long. “Keep it a secret. I don’t want anyone else stealing you away.”
The warmth in her eyes left him breathless. “You don’t have to worry about that. You weren’t the only one with a crush.”
“So you finally admit I was right?”
“This one time. One time. Don’t get used to it. It won’t happen again.” She trailed a fingertip over his arm. “Everyone knows I’m always right.”
That one light touch was enough to rouse him again. If he wasn’t careful, she’d kill him. He sank down against her and buried his face in her throat, breathing in the scent of her warm skin. The scent of her pleasure. The scent of both of them, together.
“Why did you run away?” he asked, brushing his lips over her neck. “When I told you, the first time.”
She laughed. “Because I thought you’d slept with my brother’s wife! What did you think I’d do? And you were drunk. And I was scared. I’d loved you for so long, and there you were, telling me you loved me too. I didn’t know whether to believe you or run screaming.”
“So you ran screaming.”
“I could have sworn ‘Captain Obvious’ was my job description.”
He could have kicked himself. He was such a fool. Of course she wouldn’t throw herself into his arms three minutes after he’d told her Tommy had beaten the shit out of him for sleeping with his wife. Maybe Tommy hadn’t hit his younger self hard enough, if he was that much of a dumbass.
Then the full meaning of her words struck him. “Wait. You loved me? That wasn’t just something Tommy said?”
“Can my brother not keep anything secret?” She slumped beneath him. “Yes. I did. I don’t think I’ve ever stopped. I couldn’t even bring myself to care when my fiancé left, because he wasn’t you. I thought I loved him, but…I couldn’t. Not like I loved you.”
She loved him. She really, honestly loved him. Jeremy pressed his cheek to her hair and crushed her close against him.
She groaned. “Can’t. Breathe.”
He relaxed his grip a fraction and kissed her temple. “If you can talk, you can breathe, love.”
She glowered at him. “Oh, shut up.” Then she colored. “No, don’t. Say it again.”