Damaged Goods (20 page)

erogenous zones he"d long ago memorized, he didn"t let go either.

Like a man who not only needed to hold, but to be held.

I broke the kiss this time and looked up at him. I reached up to touch his face

again, and he closed his eyes, drawing in a long breath as I ran my fingertips over

his slightly stubbled jaw.

“You okay tonight?” I asked.

Opening his eyes, he nodded, and the smile that spread across his lips made

my knees weak.

“I"m fine.” He laughed, his cheeks coloring as he shifted his gaze away.

“Probably sounds ridiculous, needing to come over in the middle of the night just—”

“No, not at all. You just seem…” I searched for the words, but when they didn"t

come, I shook my head. “I don"t know. I was just worried something was wrong.”

“No, nothing"s wrong.” He stroked my hair and kissed my forehead. “Nothing

at all.” He rolled his shoulders and tilted his head back, closing his eyes as he

popped a crick out of his neck.

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97

“You sure you"re okay?”

He nodded, then laughed shyly. “It"s a…you know…physical job.”

“I guess it is.” I put my arms around him. “I could give you a massage if you

think that would help.”

“I think it just might.” He kissed me. “And even if it doesn"t, I"ll have your

hands on me, so I win either way, right?”

I laughed. “Come on. Let"s go upstairs.”

Austin smiled. “You"re a saint. You know that?”

“We"ll see about that.” I slipped my hand into his, and we started up the stairs.

“Fair warning,” he said. “If I fall asleep, it"s not because you"re boring me.”

“Well, if you do,” I said, glancing back at him, “I"ll just go to sleep next to you,

and we can finish whatever conversation we"re having in the morning.”

At the top of the stairs, he stopped me, putting his arms around me from

behind. Nuzzling my neck, he whispered, “You"re sure you don"t mind?”

“Have I ever objected to having you in my bed?”

His quiet laugh warmed my skin. “That"s true; you haven"t. But usually I"m

putting out.”

I turned around in his arms and grinned. “I think I"ll survive if you don"t.”

Trying to look stern, I added, “But just this once.”

He chuckled. Then he kissed me lightly, and we continued down the hall to my

bedroom. Austin sat on the edge of the bed while I turned away to look through a

dresser drawer.

“I"m pretty sure I"ve got some massage oil around here somewhere,” I said.

“Give me a minute, and I"ll see if I can find it.”

“I"m in no hurry. And hell, hand lotion works too.”

“Hand lotion works, yes.”
Where the hell did I put that stuff? I know I have

some. Don’t I
? “But if I"m going to do this, I want to do it right.”

“Oh, I doubt that"ll be a problem.” He laughed quietly. “So how do you want

me?”

“Naked and covered in chocolate sauce would be fine,” I said over my shoulder.

“That could be arranged.”

“But not tonight, right?”

“Rain check?”

“Deal. For now, take your shirt off and lay on your stomach.”
Damn it, I know I

have some oil
. “Assuming that"s comfortable?”

“We"ll find out, won"t we?” Fabric whispered over skin. The hairs stood up on

the back of my neck, goose bumps prickling all the way down my spine at the mere

knowledge he was now shirtless. Then my mattress creaked just enough to hint at

accommodating weight, and I shivered.

98

Lauren Gallagher

I finally found the bottle of massage oil tucked in the back of my lingerie

drawer. I pulled it out and turned around.

And stopped. Just for a minute. Just to look.

Because, sweet Jesus, I never tired of the sight of that man, particularly when

he was in my bed. Lying like that, on his stomach with his arms folded beneath his

head, he
radiated
sex. He still wore his low-slung jeans, and they emphasized his

narrow waist while the way he"d folded his arms made his shoulders look even

broader. I could have spent half the night tracing his tattoos with my fingertips or

even just running my fingers along the grooves between his muscles.

Or, say, giving him a massage.

I knelt beside him on the bed and opened the bottle. “I haven"t done this in a

while. I might be a bit rusty.”

“You"re more than welcome to practice all you want on me.”

I warmed some of the oil between my hands. “Just figured I should warn you.

I"m no expert here.” I put my hands on his shoulders.

“Well, now"s as good a time as any to—
oh
, wow…” His voice trailed off into a

groan when I pressed in the heels of my hands and ran them up either side of his

spine.

“Tell me if anything I do hurts,” I said.

“Trust me, you"re good,” he murmured.

For a few minutes, I just let my hands memorize his shape, tracing the

contours of his broad shoulders and the sculpted muscles of his back, trailing over

his tattoos. I had to resist the urge to let my fingers wander all over the intricate

inked lines. There would be time for that later.

As many times as I had been in bed with him, I found myself exploring him as

if I"d never touched him before. Just the sight of my own fingertips on his skin

mesmerized me, and the warmth of his body in my hands sent shivers through my

body. I was glad he faced away from me then so he didn"t notice that my nipples had

hardened beneath my T-shirt.

Slowly, I pressed harder into his flesh, kneading gently until I found a few

rigid knots in his muscles. He tensed when my knuckles dug into a particularly

stubborn one.

“Sorry,” I whispered, but kept my knuckle against it, pressing into the center

of the knot until it began to release. Gradually, the muscle softened, and Austin

exhaled.

“Where did you learn to do that?” he breathed.

“I dated a massage therapist once. A few years ago.” I found another knot and

started working on it.

He took in a sharp hiss of breath, then relaxed when the second knot released.

“He taught you well.”

“Well, at least he was good at something.”

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99

Austin laughed. “Really? Not so great in the sack?”

“To say the least.” I ran my hands up and down his back again, easing the ache

out of my own muscles before I worked on another sore spot. His oil-moistened skin

was like silk beneath my hands; I could have touched him like that for hours.

Austin breathed out. “Well, whatever he did or didn"t do, you"re absolutely

amazing at this.”

“I try,” I said. “Put your forehead on your hands, so your neck is straight.”

He obeyed, and I slid my hands from his shoulders to his neck, letting my

fingers go around to the sides of his neck while my thumbs gently kneaded the taut

muscles along his spine.

“Good God, that"s awesome,” he slurred.

After a while, I brought my fingers together on the back of his neck and moved

them into his hair, letting them separate around the sides of his head with gentle

but firm pressure on his skin. His still-damp hair was cool between my fingers as I

gently massaged his scalp. He groaned, and I watched the tension in his shoulders

melt away with each circle of my fingertips in his hair.

Then I brought my hands back to his shoulders and kneaded them, digging my

fingers in enough to release the tightness without causing him pain. I listened to his

breathing, watching how high and how often his ribs expanded when he breathed,

adjusting my touch and my speed in response to his cues.

Austin shifted. I thought he was just getting comfortable, so I lifted my hands

off him, but the muscles in his back rippled as he turned over. I moved over him,

straddling his hips and leaning down to kiss him. It was a gentle kiss, just his lips

against mine, no sound between us but our slow, steady breathing.

When I sat up a little, he looked up at me, running his fingers through my

hair. “I have absolutely nothing left tonight,” he whispered. “But I really, really

want to touch you.”

“I"m not going anywhere.”

“Just fair warning,” he said. “I don"t want you to think I"m teasing you or

getting you all worked up for nothing.”

Leaning down to kiss him again, I said, “Oh, I wouldn"t call this
nothing
.”

“Neither would I.” His hand slid around my neck and into my hair, his other

arm wrapping around me. His tongue gently parted my lips. When his fingers found

their way under my shirt and pressed against the small of my back, I couldn"t help

but release a ragged breath. He hadn"t set out to turn me on, and I knew this would

be as far as we went tonight, but damn if he didn"t have that effect whether he tried

to or not.

His other hand went to my waist, and he pushed my shirt up, moving slowly,

deliberately, like he wanted to memorize every contour of my body. I sat up and

pulled my shirt the rest of the way off, tossing it aside. With a quick motion, I

unsnapped my bra and got rid of it too. I started to come back down to him, but he

stopped me with a gentle hand on my waist.

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Lauren Gallagher

“No,” he breathed. “Just…stay just like that.” He watched his own hands

sliding up my waist.

“What is it?”

“I just want to look at you.” His fingertips grazed my collarbone, then started

back down my chest. His breath caught as he cupped my breasts. “My God, baby…”

His thumbs circled my nipples, barely touching my skin but sending a shiver

through me.

I closed my eyes and sighed. When I opened them, he looked up at me. He

exhaled, letting his gaze wander up and down while his hands did the same.

“I don"t know if I"ve ever told you this, but you"re beautiful, Jocelyn,” he

whispered. “Absolutely beautiful.” He released a deep breath, as if the sight of his

hands on my body hypnotized him. “Everything about you is just…” He trailed off,

his lips still parted like he couldn"t find the words. When he did, the single word

was barely more than a ragged breath: “
Beautiful
.”

I leaned forward and kissed him. He met my lips gently, putting his arms

around me again and holding me close.

Then one hand went from my neck to my chest, and I gasped when he cupped

my breast.

“Hmm, look what I"ve gone and done.” He teased my hardened nipple with his

thumb. “I said I wouldn"t, but I think I"ve turned you on after all.”

“This shouldn"t be a surprise,” I murmured, trying not to whimper when he

pinched my nipple between his thumb and forefinger. “You always turn me on.”

“Do I?” He grinned. “Well, I can"t possibly leave you turned on without doing

something about it. You might burn the place down.”

“I thought you were too tired.”

“I am.” He put his arms around me and rolled me onto my back. “You,

however, are not.”

“But you—”

“Shh.” He propped himself up on one elbow and let his other hand drift down

my belly. He unbuttoned my jeans and slowly drew the zipper down. “I"m not about

to go to sleep while my girlfriend is wound up and frustrated in the same bed.”

“You"re such a gentleman.”

He laughed, then bent to kiss my neck. “I"ve been accused of being many

things, my dear, but a gentleman is not one of them.” His hand slid beneath my

jeans and panties. “But any man who"d leave you to your own devices when he could

so easily lend a hand?” His fingertips made slow, teasing circles around my clit.

“Well, he"d be a right bastard, wouldn"t he?”

“Hmm, if I agree with that, will you keep doing what you"re doing?”

“I will anyway.” He kissed my neck again. Like he always did, he turned my

body to liquid with a touch. Fingers on my clit, lips on my skin, and if that wasn"t

enough, he said, “I couldn"t wait until tomorrow to see you.” His fingers—first one,

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101

then a second—slipped easily into my pussy. “Baby, if you only knew what you do to

me.” His fingertips found my G-spot, and I whimpered as he added, “I just couldn"t

wait.”

I grabbed his shoulder with one hand, the sheets bunching beside me in the

other. “Keep…” I gasped, and my spine lifted off the bed. “Keep doing that.”

“Just like this? You"re already close, aren"t you?” His voice dipped to a low

growl. “Fuck, I love that, the way your pussy gets tighter when you"re right there.”

My vision clouded over. Every inch of my skin tingled, my nerve endings

crackled, and I was almost there, almost there. Almost. There.

Right when I teetered on that precipice between holding on and letting go,

Austin whispered, “If I were inside you right now, I would fucking
lose
it.”

And I did lose it. My lips parted for a cry of ecstasy, but my voice and breath

were lodged in my throat, and without a word, without a sound, I came, grabbing on

to the sheets and Austin while my body trembled against him. His fingers slowed