Free Even Odds by Elia Winters Page A

half sleeves. His left upper arm was all sea creatures; his right upper arm was a medley of game references. “And really geeky.”
    He laughed, his muscles moving as he did so. “I’m glad you get them.”
    She continued to examine him, finally looking beyond his tattoos. His body was solid, and the musculature of his chest surprised her. He didn’t have the body of someone she’d expect worked at a desk all day, as she would have imagined it: his arms, especially, were strong, and she could feel the muscles beneath the surface of his biceps and forearms. He let her touch him without rushing her, his hands behind him on the bed to prop himself up. She needed to kiss him again and took his face in her hands to do so. The kiss made shivers run down her back, especially when he gently bit her lower lip between his teeth. It took her a moment to realize he wasn’t touching her: he was kissing her back with enthusiasm, but his hands remained behind him.
    After drawing back slightly, she looked down, confused.
    â€œWhat do you want me to do?” He met her eyes, his own sparkling with a barely contained smile.
    So that’s what they were doing, then. Isabel slid down off his lap and grabbed the comforter, shoving all the bedding and sheets down, making Caleb get up in the process. She pushed the bedding onto the floor, leaving the pile of pillows at the head of the bed. There, that was clear enough, wasn’t it? She climbed to the middle of the stripped-down bed, her arousal making her bolder. She felt like they were playing some kind of game, an even give-and-take of challenging and yielding. They were two perfectly matched players who were somehow both opponents and teammates. “Take off my shirt.”
    Caleb climbed fully up onto the bed and approached her on his hands and knees, like a wild animal, and Isabel felt a thrill of excitement and nerves at the sight. He took the bottom of her red tank top in one hand and tugged it up over her head, baring her body to his eyes and his touch. As soon as he’d tossed her top aside, he pushed her down on the bed, onto the piles of pillows that kept her half upright, and devoured her mouth again.
    â€œFuck, your breasts are fantastic,” he said, pulling back enough to look down at her body, her breasts barely contained by her plain cotton bra. “I can’t believe you were hiding these under that ugly-ass T-shirt.”
    Isabel couldn’t help but laugh, shoving halfheartedly at his chest. “Come on. I keep these covered up on purpose.”
    â€œWhat, to keep people from walking into walls?” Caleb nipped the upper swell of her breast, and she had a hard time answering him, her breath ragged in her own ears.
    â€œNo, to make sure people look at my face during conversations.” She ran her fingers into his hair, fingernails brushing his scalp as he laved kisses along the edge of her bra.
    Caleb slid both hands behind her back and deftly unfastened the undergarment, never taking his mouth from her skin. After he drew the fabric away, he brought his hands up to brush the outside of her breasts. Even just that contact was enough to make her squirm. This felt too fantastic to be real, and she could tell she was soaking wet already. His fingertips traced right beneath her breasts, then between them, then over the top, and then down her sides again and over her stomach. He wasn’t going to just touch her like she wanted to be touched unless she asked for it, and even though it was embarrassing, it was also incredibly hot.
    â€œTouch me . . .” Her voice came out breathy.
    â€œI am touching you.” Leaning forward, he nipped at her earlobe. “Where do you want me to touch you?”
    It was easier when she closed her eyes. “My breasts.”
    â€œLike this?” He cupped her breasts with both hands as he began kissing her again, and her gasp was lost in his mouth. He couldn’t