She almost wilted in his arms. “You aren’t just good enough,” Wren said, looking miserable. “You’re too good.”
His breath left him in a rush. “What?!”
Wren just stared at him.
He couldn’t believe what she’d said, but Lee could see she wasn’t joking.
“Wren, what the hell do you mean?”
She looked down and shook her head. “I mean… I’m not good enough for you, and you might as well know it now, before…”
Lee frowned, the now-familiar ire building in his chest. “Before what?”
She shrugged, but she still wouldn’t meet his eyes. “Before things get complicated.”
His heart started to beat an angry rhythm in his chest. “You mean before I make love to you? Or before I start having feelings for you?”
She looked up, blinking in shock.
“Because it’s definitely too late for the latter, and it’s almost too late for the former.”
“Lee—“
“I swear, for someone who’s such a straight-talker, you’re so full of shit.” Lee gripped her arms and held her tight. “Yeah, we aren’t exactly the same. You’re inked and pierced and dyed from head to toe — literally — and I wear a coat and tie to work. Big fucking deal.”
“That’s not—“
“And you lost your mom to addiction, and I lost mine to cancer. So what?”
“But you don’t—“
“And maybe you’ve dated guys you shouldn’t have given the time of day. Newsflash, babe. I’ve wasted time with the wrong people, too. But I can tell you something, Wren Blanchard. You’re not one of them.”
She worried her bottom lip between her teeth. Her chest rose and fell as fast as his own.
“I want to be with you, Wren.” Lee ached to crush her against him, but she had to be the one to take the last step.
She opened her mouth to speak, closed it, and opened it again. “I want to believe you.”
“Then why don’t you?” He brought his palms to her face and ran his thumbs over her cheeks. It was subtle — almost imperceptible — but Lee could feel her settle under his touch. Just like when they kissed. He could move them past her fears if she would just let him.
Wren took a stuttered breath and looked at him, the fear in her eyes making him more determined.
“If you knew everything about me, you wouldn’t want me anymore,” she said, her trembling voice just above a whisper.
Slowly, so slowly, he closed the distance between them and took her lips with his. She hesitated at first before she opened to his tongue. The touch of hers thrilled him. He felt her grip his shirt and pull him closer.
“Mmm…” he murmured against her mouth and pulled back to look into her eyes. “Learning everything about you sounds like an adventure.”
“Adventures are dangerous,” she whispered. “Someone could get hurt.”
“Since I’ve already promised not to hurt you, I have to ask. Do you plan to hurt me?”
Wren pulled her head back, stunned.
“I won’t hurt you,” she vowed. “I couldn’t hurt you.”
Lee shook his head. “That’s where you’re wrong,” he whispered. “If you deny me the chance to know you, I’ll be crushed.”
He smiled at her as he spoke, but his words were too true. Somehow, he knew that if she turned him away now, he’d feel it for years. Maybe longer.
Wren seemed to study him for a moment, weighing the words against the look in his eyes. And then, to his surprise and his boundless delight, she pulled him down to her lips again.
It was her kiss, and it felt different. She placed her hands on his cheeks and seemed to beckon him into her mouth.
He eagerly accepted the invitation, loving the way she pressed her chest into his. Wren moved, holding him by the chin in one hand and sliding the other into his hair. Lee moaned as she gripped him tighter, sealing him to her and fitting her body to his. He clasped her hips and tugged her closer. She shifted so that his right thigh came up between her legs.
The heat there threatened to drive him mad.
Under his hands, her hips rolled. She ground against his thigh, her left leg pressing into him. As they kissed, his breath changed, coming faster to match the runaway beating of his heart.
He reached a hand down, caught her behind the knee, and hiked her leg over his hip. Her kiss didn’t halt, and her hold didn’t free him, so he let his fingers run from the back of her knee up her thigh. Wren’s skin was so soft; he flattened his palm against it and sunk into the sensation.
Lee traced his fingers to the hem of her shorts, her skin even softer and warmer there than he could have imagined. He wanted to touch her all over. “I need to take you to my room,” he murmured against her mouth.
Wren’s only answer was a nod, but it was all he needed. In one motion, Lee grabbed her other leg, settling her astride him. She was almost weightless, but as she clung on and kissed him while he crossed the house, Lee feared he’d go dizzy.
Mounting the bed with her, Lee knew he had to be careful. He knew Wren’s fears hovered close, so he would rush nothing. He wanted her with him every step of the way, and if there was a step that was too far, Lee wouldn’t dare push.
He laid them down, knowing instinctively not to let their bodies lose contact. Above all else, Wren needed to be reassured that he wanted her. Of course, there could be little doubt since he had gone as hard as steel again. But he needed her to know not only that he wanted her, but how. He wanted her for today. And tonight. And next week. And next year.
And he knew he’d want her for the years after that if she gave him the chance.
She was peace. She was exhilaration. He could share anything with her. Wren might tease him playfully — like she had about his ringtone — but she didn’t want to change him. With her, he could be himself. She freed him and bound him to her all at once.
Lee gave thanks that the late afternoon sun streamed through his open curtains. There was a long list of things he wanted to do with Wren, and discovering the wonders of her skin was definitely in the top three.
But there would be time for that. He had yet to get his fill of kissing her. Lee rolled them onto their sides, cradling Wren in his arms. Stretched out beside her, the length of her body pressing into his, he lost himself in her kiss.
Her leg found its way to his hip again, and Lee welcomed it. When he drew his fingers along the soft flesh behind her knee, she gave a small cry against his mouth. The sound lit his skin on fire. He had to hear it again.
Moving his fingers slowly, deliberately, Lee traced a swirl behind her knee. He was rewarded with the softest moan he’d ever heard, and his cock leapt.
“You like that?” Lee whispered against her mouth, continuing his sensual swirl.
Blushing, but beginning to smile, Wren turned and buried her face in his shoulder.
Helpless against her blush, Lee grinned like a fool. “Oh, don’t hide now. This bear’s exploring.”
Wren pulled back, eyes wide. “What—”
But Lee pushed himself up and rolled Wren onto her stomach. His fingers ran down the backs of her thighs, and Wren’s head dropped to the mattress.
“Ohmygod,” she muttered.
“You do like that,” Lee murmured, lying down again next to her legs and propping up on an elbow. With his right hand, he traced the colorful bird behind her thigh. “What’s this?”
“Huh?” she asked into his comforter, sounding only semiconscious.
Lee smiled wider at her obvious pleasure.
“This colorful bird with the blue head,” he said, outlining the bird’s beak and red chest with his pinky. “I’ve never seen it before.” The creature had dark green wings and a touch of yellow on its shoulder.
“Oh… Painted Bunting,” she said.
Shrouded in jewel-like leaves, the brilliant bird perched on a thin branch. Lee drew over every leaf edge, every feather.
“It’s incredible.”
; “It feels incredible,” Wren mumbled.
Smiling, he ran his fingers down to the inside of her knee again, earning himself another delicious moan. “Have you always liked this? Is this, like, your off switch?”
Wren turned to face him, pressing her cheek into his mattress. “I don’t know. No one’s ever done this before.”
Lee couldn’t hide his surprise. “No way. Seriously?”
She nodded, her expression unreadable.
Lee leaned forward and pressed his lips to the inside of her knee, and she settled even deeper into his mattress. When he drew his tongue along the crease, Wren reached up and slammed her hands against the headboard.
“Sweet Jesus!”
Lee smiled against her leg. “You’ve definitely been dating the wrong guys,” he murmured, before letting his teeth graze over the sensitive skin.
“Oh. God… You’ve got to stop,” Wren panted.
He kissed her flesh once more, and before he could do it again, Wren reached down and gripped him by the shirt. In an instant, she was back in his arms, and in another, he felt her hands on the flesh of his stomach, and it was his turn to moan. She pressed into him so that he knew to roll onto his back, and then she straddled him.
Even fully clothed, he could feel her heat again, and his breath went shallow.
Wren began unbuttoning his shirt, and it fell open to reveal his tattoo. She looked down at it before glancing back at him with a questioning smile. “Any regrets?”
“Hell, no,” he said with conviction. “Best decision I ever made.”
Her smile grew, though she seemed to try to hide it.
Lee reached up and took the bottom button of her shirt between his fingers. He locked eyes with her and gave her every opportunity to say no, but she only held his gaze, steady, if not quite sure.
He undid the first button…
Taking his time, waiting patiently at each to give her the chance to protest, Lee made it to the top and then ran his fingers down her adorned sternum, hints of reds and oranges peeking between the edges of the fabric.
At his touch, Wren slowly closed her eyes. Even though she sat astride him, she was still too far away.
Lee pushed himself up and kept her in his lap. He freed her shoulders from her shirt, and the words freed themselves. “My God, you are so beautiful.” His voice sounded strange to his ears. Deeper, more animal.
Her bikini top still covered her, but seeing the beauty of her body and her art was like a religious experience. A phoenix rose between her breasts, its wings disappearing behind the triangles of her top. The phoenix’s tail segmented into elaborate swirls of flame, dark red and black. Sparks from the left side of the tail became the Red-winged Blackbirds Lee had seen before. Embers on the right grew into branches and cherry blossoms on her tree. The transition from earthly to mythical was seamless, flawless.
Lee reached behind her neck and grasped the tie of her bikini. “May I?”
Wren nodded, but when she raised her hands to lift her hair, Lee saw that she trembled. Instead of releasing the tie, he pulled her to him and kissed her again. He kissed her lips… and her chin… and her jaw… and her neck…
“When you’re ready,” he murmured against the slope of her neck. “You untie it.”
At his words, her hands cupped his face, and she brought him back to her lips. She kissed him fiercely, and he let his hands roam her back. When she pulled back, Wren swept up her blue-black hair in one hand and pulled the tie with the other. She caught the fabric at her breasts and kept them covered.
Lee could see now the phoenix wings spanning the top of each breast and how, just like from the tail, embers soared up from its wingtips. Heat from the mythical creature seeming to create an updraft for another stunning bird Lee didn’t recognize. It was the most colorful creature he’d ever seen with a red face, a green head and wings, a purple chest, and a light blue tail. This beauty soared above her right breast.
By contrast, a speckled wren, simple and earthy, hid in the hollow of a nest above her left, one eye peering out onto the world. The detail of the feathers struck him. The bird looked wet, its down almost fuzzy as it took shelter.
Lee felt the urge to reach out and touch it. He found himself moving slowly so that he wouldn’t spook the frightened bird. When his fingers settled on her skin, Wren sucked in a jagged breath, and he looked up into her eyes to find her surprised.
She didn’t have to explain that her ink told a story. Somehow, the phoenix connected everything. She’d been burned to ashes, and she lived to tell the tale. But Lee could see she was still that frightened bird.
He felt himself smile, because if she’d let him get this close, they had a chance.
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
THE ROOM WAS so bright, and she had no place to hide. Lee’s eyes seemed to consume her.
“I love them all, but this one’s my favorite,” Lee whispered before kissing the wren over her heart.
It was the least sexy, the least colorful of her tattoos, but when he kissed it, her heart skittered. Wren swallowed at the sensation. “Why is it your favorite?” she managed, trying to force down her fear.
Lee’s eyes shifted up to hers, but his lips never left her skin. “Because it’s honest.”
She sucked in a breath before recovering. “They’re all honest.” It was true. All of her tats meant something, even if she was the only one who knew their secrets.
A smile pulled at the corner of his mouth. “It’s the most honest.”
His mouth was just an inch above her nipple, and though her bikini still covered her, the flesh pebbled under his touch.
It scared her that he could read her so well. But it felt wonderful, too. It made her soften, like she did when he kissed her.
Lee’s hands found their way to her hips and gripped tightly. She held her top with one hand and ran her fingers through his thick hair with the other.
Lee moaned, closing his eyes for a moment. When he opened them again, he stared into hers, watching her as he lowered his chin and nudged against her bikini top, silently asking permission.
He promised not to hurt me, she reminded herself.
Wren dropped the fabric, and, with a satisfied grunt, Lee took her left nipple in his mouth. Her gasp tore through the room. She felt him untie the knot in the middle of her back, and the bikini top fell away.
“Oh my God…” How could his touch feel so good? She’d nearly come apart when he’d kissed the back of her knee. When he let his teeth graze her nipple, Wren started to collapse.
Lee caught her against him and eased her back toward the bed, following her down.
She ran her hands over his shoulders and down his back, feeling the terrain of his muscles. How often did he go kayaking to earn muscles like that? Lee moved to her right breast, and her question got lost in a gasp.
“Lee…” Wren wanted to surrender. She wanted to tell him that he had conquered her resistance. There were reasons she shouldn’t be with him, but, at the moment, she couldn’t remember what they were. All that mattered was that he wanted her, and she desired only to give in.
So, when she felt his hands at the button of her shorts, and he whispered “May I?” in her ear, she only had one answer.
A moment later, the rest of their clothes were on the floor, and the room echoed with Lee’s praise.
“Look at you. My God…” He planted kisses along her ribs and down to her navel. “… so beautiful.”
Wren heard him, but the words lost their sense. All she could take in was the sight of him. His lean thighs. The heart-stopping muscles that formed a V below his waist. The tight, impossibly dark, secret curls.
The undeniable state of his desire.
Nothing in her life had prepared her for Lee Hawthorne. The way he touched her was unlike anything she’d ever known. He touched her, not only with his hands and lips, but with his heart. Lee didn’t hide what he felt. Not ever. In his caress, even in his breath, Lee was fearless. He showed her everythi
ng.
“I want to be like you,” she whispered.
Did I just say that out loud?
He laughed gently, his lips moving against the curve of her hip. “We’re both naked, babe. You’re exactly like me.”
She started to correct him, but then he kissed the top of her thigh, and her thoughts vanished. When Lee slipped his hand between her legs, a wave of pleasure nearly took her under.
“Wren, you’re so wet.”
At once, Wren pulled away, snapped her legs shut, and covered her face with her hands. “God, kill me now,” she groaned.
In an instant, Lee’s lips were at her ear, his body covering hers. “No, no,” he whispered, “don’t run away.” He kissed her cheek and tried to nudge her hands aside. Lee kept his hand on her thigh, urging her to open again.
“Wren, I want you wet for me,” he breathed. “That makes my fucking day… Let me in, baby.”
Her body had coiled tight with shame, but his warmth and his words started to soak into her.
“Look at me.”
He kissed the back of her hands still covering her face, and Wren marshalled the courage to peek up at him beneath her fingers. Lee’s deep blue eyes and gentle smile stilled her breath.
“I am so into you, Wren. I want nothing else. Just you.”
From head to toe, she felt her body give. Lee felt it, too, because the smile in his eyes grew. His hand at her thigh stirred again, asking, seeking. When she opened just a little, Lee cradled her in one arm and stroked her with the hand of the other.
Her shallow breath shook between them.
He pressed his lips to hers, his fingers swirling her into a dizzy bliss. “Tell me how you feel about me,” he whispered.
Wren closed her eyes and panted, but she shook her head.
“Yes,” he countered, slipping his fingers into her heat and setting her heart at a galloping pace. “It’s only fair. You know how I feel… Tell me.”
“I can’t…” But even as she whimpered, her grip was slipping. The truth wanted to launch itself from her lips. She’d never felt anything like this, and it scared the hell out of her.
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