Tough Love
Page 12

 Lori Foster

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She’d fallen in love with Stack’s perfect physique, but also his laid-back manner and quick smiles and utter dedication to his friends. Now he was hers—at least for a little while.
As if drawn to him, her hands lifted and moved over his chest. The light covering of crisp hair fascinated her. Some fighters waxed or shaved their bodies; she was very grateful that Stack wasn’t one of them.
His body hair, eyebrows and thick lashes were shades darker than the golden brown hair on his head.
Spreading her fingers wide to cover as much of him as she could, she slowly, oh-so-slowly, drew her hands down his body. Her thumbs touched in that center groove created by his washboard abs.
She breathed harder.
His stomach tightened.
The body hair softened as it swirled around his navel, then arrowed downward to disappear in his boxers.
“Keep that up,” Stack rasped, “and we won’t make it to the shower. Hell, we might not make it to the bed.”
Helpless with need, Vanity looked up at him.
“C’mon, darlin’.” With one finger he touched her bottom lip, then up to her ear where he tucked back her hair. “Shower first, then your arm.”
“I...I don’t think I can wait.”
Going all big macho protector, Stack gave an indulgent smile, lightly kissed her lips, and whispered, “I’ll see that you do, and then I’ll make it worth the wait, I promise.”
Damn it, she didn’t need more incentive.
She just needed Stack.
Vanity waited as he retrieved the first-aid kit, then let him take her hand and lead her into the connected bath. She even let him turn on the shower, then stood there and watched while he rummaged around and found two towels.
“I have a breaking point,” he warned her. “So no touching.”
She didn’t understand—until he stripped off his boxers.
Her heart tried to punch its way out of her chest.
She stared at his throbbing erection surrounded by that soft dark hair. His testicles were tight, and even as she watched, a bead of glistening fluid showed on the head of his penis. The sight of him like this, so turned on, for her, stole her breath.
She reached for him, but he caught her hands, put them on his shoulders, and went to one knee before her.
Holy smokes. “Stack...”
Briefly he nuzzled her belly. “God, your skin is soft and smells so sweet. I want to breathe you in all over.” As he said that, he palmed her backside...and pressed his mouth against her sex.
The skimpy panties did nothing to blunt the impact of such an intimate kiss. She could feel his breath, the movement of his lips, and it wasn’t until he had her nylons off that she realized he was rolling them down.
“You have sexy legs,” he said as he helped her lift each foot.
“They’re barely keeping me upright.”
He smiled. “I won’t let you fall.” Then he stripped away her panties, too.
He stayed there on his knees in front of her until the anticipation tried to melt her bones. Finally, using the back of one finger, he gently brushed over her pubic hair. The touch felt so electric she gasped.
And Stack, the tease, stood again.
“In you go.” He held the curtain back with one hand.
It took extreme concentration, but Vanity got it together. “One sec.” She grabbed up her big alligator clip by the sink, flipped her hair forward, twisted it, then slipped in the clip. She made a point of facing Stack as she did it.
No reason to give him a peek show, especially not while he resisted her.
As if he’d read her mind, he grinned, then stepped into the shower behind her and again kissed her neck. Near her ear he whispered, “Five minutes. I promise that’s all.”
At the moment, that sounded like a lifetime. “Are you back to being the minuteman?”
His teeth on her shoulder made her yelp.
He kissed the spot from the bite, which had felt more sensual than painful, and started lathering the soap in his hands. “You remember that, huh?”
Turning to face him, she recounted the conversation from weeks ago. “You told me your usual route at weddings was a fast hookup in bathrooms and closets. Quick sex. Seriously, Stack, do you think I’m ever likely to forget that?”
“I was trying to dissuade you from asking me to be your date to the wedding.”
“So it wasn’t true?” He’d claimed he went to weddings solo, so if he got lucky, nothing would hinder him. When she’d pressed him for details, he’d claimed even the bathroom could offer enough privacy.