Free Forbidden Fruit by Ann Aguirre Page B

excited. If I want everything from him, I must be willing to give it back.
    Still, I take my time with my nighttime routine, and it’s hard to work up the courage to step into the hall. With all of the kohl, eyeshadow, lipstick, and foundation removed, I look younger. I hope that doesn’t deter him. I don’t think I look like a kid, but he’s not used to seeing me this way, either. He might not want the real me.
    Please, want the real me.
    Since I own no sexy pajamas, these are simple, a white top with huge blue polka dots, worn with matching shorts. I brush my hair one last time before I exit and head back to the living room. Jesse’s already changed into baggy athletic shorts and a plain gray T-shirt. The soft cotton clings to his chest and shoulders to reveal a lean yet muscular build.
    “Come here,” he murmurs.
    God, I hope he doesn’t turn on the TV. But I move toward the couch, head down. Jesse startles me by tugging me onto his lap. Well. That’s a good start. Warm hands cradle my cheeks, forcing me to meet his gaze. He skims my face with dark eyes, silently rapt.
    Then he whispers, “I had no idea you were this beautiful, Shan. No wonder you wear camouflage.”
    Heat rockets through me, starting in my chest and working its way down until I’m squirming on his thighs. There’s no way I can survive wanting him this much. I’ll go nova and explode in a cascade of lights, like the umbrella fireworks on the 4 th of July. I tuck my face against his shoulder, trembling with the intensity.
    “Back home, there was a boy… Funny how clear I remember him when so much else is fuzzy. Late at night, we’d sneak off to the woods. He said he loved me.”
    “Sugar, if you think I want to hear this—”
    I ignore him because he needs to. “We had sex, more than once. I liked it, but I didn’t kid myself that it was anything special.”
    “Goddammit.” His voice is a raw ache. “I guess I’m supposed to feel better about fucking you now, knowing I’m not the first? So you’re not untouched, I get it.”
    “That’s not the point at all. I’m trying to say, this is special. You are. And I’ll never want anyone more than I do you.” That said, I open the floodgates and let him feel…everything, how deep and far my yearning runs. It’s an underground river, racing endlessly toward a sunless sea.
    “God help me,” he whispers. “I can’t stop this. Not again.”
    “Do you want to?” I’ll leave if he feels strongly against it. Seducing him through my own desire is fine, but only as long as he won’t hate me afterward. I want more than one night with Jesse Saldana.
    “Not even a little bit.” Abruptly, he shoves to his feet, swinging me up in his arms in the same motion. “You’re coming to my bed tonight, sugar, and if you’re good, I may never let you leave.”
    “What if I’m bad?”
    “Then you’re assuredly not going anywhere.” He growls the reply into my ear.
    In ten strides, we’re in his room. Jesse’s bed is made, a striped comforter tucked in around the pillows. He rips it back with impatient hands, then he turns to me. “I want those pajamas off. Now.”
    I remember him saying he was gentle and slow, but a hungry wolf shines out of his dark eyes. He’s longed for someone like me, starved even. I don’t need pretty words, flowers, or expensive dinners. I just want to learn the taste and scent of his skin. I want to drown in him.
    Deliberately, I strip. Beneath, I’m wearing only simple black panties, but his gaze sharpens. He takes in the body that I know is decent, if not spectacular. Somehow I manage not to cross my arms to shield my breasts. This is where I’ve wanted to be for so long; I won’t back down now.
    “Your turn, cowboy.”
    I’ve never seen a man shuck his clothes so fast. His shirt goes flying, then he shoves his shorts downward. God, is there anything sexier than a man showing that sweet spot on his pelvis? I love the way his hip curves, slightly concave,