Page 140 of Aftershock
Lower still to the side of my breast. Even as he does it over my shirt, it’s as if I’ve been electrified.
I swallow down a moan when his thumb grazes the underside of my tit. My hands scrape against the floor as I fight the urge to reach for Alaric.
“It’s obvious you’re in pain.” Nothing about his low, steady voice suggests that he’s as affected by this as I am.That’s the part that truly makes my pussy ache. “Try to hold still.”
“Okay.” I want to be good, but it’s agony. My breath hitches as he slides his hand over my ribs, then my navel. “I will.”
“Good.” His fingers on my waist don’t tremble, his expression impenetrable.
Other than his cock straining his jeans, he’s committed to this game.
To me.
Even when a whimper escapes me as his fingers skim over my belly to the ribs on the other side, Alaric looks at me as if I were just another patient.
This is so dirty. So wrong.
So perfect.
“Any pain here?” His fingertips apply the lightest pressure on my ribs.
“No, Dr. Lockwood.” Despite being this close to jumping him, I take a deep breath and only bat my eyelashes. “Is that bad?”
A quiet hum is all he gives me as he shifts closer. But when he leaves one hand on my ribs, bringing the other to cup my cheek, his body reacts. His chest expands. His jaw tics. Teeth grind.
I’m not disappointed in the slightest to see his mask begin to slip.
In fact, while I admire his self-control, I get high on being the reason he’s on the verge of coming undone.
“Any dizziness?” His voice is thick as his knuckles brush my cheek, then the side of my throat. My skin prickles when he turns his hand and touches it to my forehead, checking for a fever. “Nausea?”
“Only impatience,” I whisper, wiggling my legs an inch wider. “It’s getting worse. Please, don’t leave me like this.”
“I won’t.” One corner of his mouth twitches, but he reins it in.
“Thank you.”
“Last question.” He settles the stethoscope back into his ears with practiced ease. “I can listen through your shirt, but the exam is more accurate if the diaphragm is placed directly against your skin. Is that all right with you?”
I nod once, waiting for my pulse to slow before I say, “I trust you.”
Three simple words, and his hand clenches around the tubing. So tight that his knuckles turn white.
I hope he always remembers this moment. I wish that, when he considers telling me about his storage unit, he’ll remind himself how honest I looked tonight. That I’m on his side, no matter what.
“I’m going to lift your shirt.” Alaric’s hoarse voice pulls me back to the present. He loosens his grip on his stethoscope, then releases it altogether.
“Now?” I whisper, pretending to be shy and self-conscious about it.
“Yes.” His thumbs and index fingers grab the hem of my T-shirt, while his other fingers skim the waistband of my panties. “Is that okay?”
When he pushes the waistband down less than an inch, I lose it. My hands ball into fists, and my heels dig into the floor as I whimper.
His answer is shoving my panties a little lower while cocking an eyebrow.
“Mmm—yes.” The sounds slipping from my mouth grow more desperate when he finishes messing with my panties and starts lifting my shirt. “It’s okay. Keep going.”
“All right, let me raise it higher then.” The back of his hand brushing my skin sends more heat pooling between my thighs. “We’re almost there. You’re doing so well.”
