She slid her hands beneath the hem of his shirt, spreading her fingers and pressing her palms against his skin. Remembering the way he had looked coming out of the shower damp and bare-chested, she was delighted to discover that he felt every bit as good as he had looked. She traced ribs and muscles with her fingertips, lingering at the dip in his back just above the top of his jeans.
Joel groaned. “We’d better…”
She silenced him by slipping her tongue between his lips, letting herself savor and explore at her leisure.
A long time later Joel tried again to be sensible. “Nic, we should stop,” he muttered against her throat.
She snuggled against him, feeling the evidence that he was no more eager to put an end to this than she was. “Why?”
The simple question seemed to catch him off guard. He lifted his head. “Why? Well, uh, because…”
She smiled and rubbed a fingertip along his moist lower lip. “Not much of a reason, Brannon.”
“We said we were going to take this slow, remember? Careful.”
“We’ll be careful. And we can take it as slowly as you like.”
Her wicked tone made him groan and shift restlessly against her again. “You aren’t helping.”
“Then let me make it easy for you.” She cupped his face between her hands, letting him see the sincerity in her expression. “It’s like you said the first time you kissed me, in your car by the lake—this has been coming for a long time. Maybe it will work out, maybe it won’t, but since neither of us has a crystal ball, I don’t want to fret about a future we can’t predict.”
“Just live in the moment, huh? Take each day as it comes?”
“Do we really have any other choice? Who knows what’s going to happen tomorrow?”
It was a philosophy she’d lived by for a long time. In the long run, she figured it prevented a lot of angst and distress. Maybe Joel was going to break her heart at the end of this venture or maybe he wasn’t—but they might as well enjoy the journey while it lasted.
She’d had a good time with Brad, hadn’t she? And she’d gotten over being dumped by him easily enough, choosing to concentrate on the parts of her life that she could control. Like her work and her friends.
A tiny voice inside her whispered that Joel wasn’t Brad. That her feelings for Brad hadn’t been quite this strong or this risky. That it might not be so easy to move on this time. Firmly ignoring that annoying nagging, she smiled up at Joel, waiting for him to make his decision.
He sighed. “We don’t know what will happen tomorrow, do we?”
“Nope. Even Aislinn’s only right some of the time. The rest of us just have to play it by ear.”
His hand on her cheek, his eyes locked with hers, Joel resisted only a moment longer before gathering her close again.
Chapter Twelve
He didn’t try to hold anything back this time. His kisses grew hotter, his movements more purposeful, until they were both gasping and writhing in growing hunger. Nic pulled away from him only long enough to retrieve a small cardboard box from her nightstand, putting it near at hand, and then she reached for the hem of his long-sleeve polo shirt, tugging it up and over his head.
His face creased in concentration, Joel followed suit, stripping her out of her clothing with an efficiency that rather impressed her. His fingertips traced tenderly over her bruises. “You should be resting,” he murmured.
“I will,” she promised, pressing herself against him, hearing his breath catch hard in his throat as bare skin brushed bare skin. “Later.”
And she covered his mouth with her own again, pushing him backward into the pillows.
To make it as comfortable for her as possible, Joel allowed Nic to set the pace of their lovemaking. She was the one who urged him to settle between her legs, who made it clear that she was feeling no pain. At least not enough to concern either of them.
She was the one who raised to welcome him when he couldn’t wait any longer to enter her. And she was the one who stiffened and cried out when she reached a pinnacle of pleasure that seemed higher than any peak she’d ever climbed before.
This time Joel tumbled eagerly over the edge with her.
There was something about the sound of Joel’s rapid heartbeat beneath her ear. The feel of strong arms around her. The slight tickle of a lightly furred chest against her cheek. The lazy heaviness of sated limbs. She sighed in satisfaction and snuggled a bit more deeply into Joel’s shoulder.
“What’s wrong? Are you hurting?”
She patted his chest in response to his anxious question. “I’m fine. Better than fine, actually. I was just enjoying the moment.”