Page 82 of Leave a Mark
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 hurtyou,” 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 washerkiss, 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.
