Free 1512298433 (R) by Marquita Valentine Page B

want to get even closer to you.” He wanted to run his nose along her skin, see if the floral scent she wore was, in fact, skin deep.
    “Oh.” She licked her lips. “One in five people have tattoos.”
    “Two out of two people in this room have tattoos.” He went back to unbuttoning her dress.
    Her eyes narrowed. “I’ve never seen yours.”
    “Want to?” The last button went through the loop, and her dress began to fall forward.
    With a gasp, she caught it, pressing her hands against her chest. “Show me.”
    “All right.”
    Haven watched as Heath’s fingers went to his shirt, the same fingers that had touched her with such seductive skill and made her shiver. Made her thighs clench together.
    She had to stop letting him get to her like that, but it was her own fault. Her dress actually had a zipper, but she wanted the excuse for him to touch her.
    Had she stopped there? When he’d revealed that he had tattoos, she just had to open her big mouth.
    Under her watchful gaze, Heath made quick work of unbuttoning his shirt. She slowly turned around, wanting to view him up close and personal.
    His shoulders were broad, his chest muscular, his eight-pack defied reason, and his arms defined… oh, his arms… they were works of art. Heavily corded, the muscles under the skin ripped as he moved his hands to the button of his pants.
    “What are you doing?” she squeaked.
    “Showing you my tattoos.” He toed out of his shoes, hooked his thumbs into his pants, and pushed them down, then stepped out of them and his socks. With a wicked grin, he pulled one side of his boxer briefs down, revealing the number twenty-three.
    “Jersey number,” he said.
    “Is that all?” Please don’t let that be all . She wanted to see more of him. Forget more. She wanted to see every inch of him.
    “No.” He turned around to show her his back, and she almost let out the most embarrassing, lusty sigh. It wasn’t fair that she was married to a man whose body type met all of her requirements. Worse, it wasn’t fair that she could never do anything with his body.
    With a shake of her head, she stepped closer and found a series of numbers under his shoulder blade. “Is that a date?”
    “Yes.”
    “Why is it important?” she asked, barely restraining herself from touching him like he had her.
    “Someone very important to me died.”
    “I’m sorry.” Without thinking, she kissed the spot.
    His entire body trembled. “Thank you.”
    “You’re more sentimental than I thought you’d be.” She kissed the spot again.
    “There’s a lot about me you don’t know.”
    She began to massage his back, starting at the bottom and working her way up. “Then tell me.”
    “I cried when my dog died, and I still can’t stand the thought of getting another one because she meant so much to me. So part of that series of numbers is for her. That’s probably something a dumb jock would do.”
    “You’re not dumb, and I think it’s an incredible tribute.” Haven couldn’t stop her heart from pinching. “My parents died when I was ten, while they were deployed. It was a freak thing.” She held her arm out to where he could see it. “As soon as I turned eighteen, I had their names tattooed on my wrist in the shape of a word that captured my feelings at the time.”
    He lifted her wrist and bent his head at the same time, brushing his lips over the spot that said Always .
    “And the other one?” he prompted, letting go of her arm.
    “ Forever in honor of my grandparents. Do you have any more?”
    He shook his head, the golden streaks from his time spent outdoors catching the light.
    “Why not?”
    “Two’s enough for me.” One of his hands clenched into a fist. “At least for now.”
    “I have another, but it’s not… visible unless I’m nude or wearing a swimsuit.”
    He spun around, his blue eyes heated. “Show me.”
    If she let go her dress, she knew everything would change between them. If she let go of her dress and