Free Leave the Lights On by Karen Stivali Page A

her lips and back, Sophie realized he was waiting for a sign that it was okay to kiss her.
    Tilting her head, she leaned toward him, stopping a breath away from making contact. Time became liquid, flowing around them as the seconds ticked by. Kiss me. Please kiss me again. Then his lips were on hers. A soft, gentle kiss. Tentative. It was all she needed.
    Sophie wrapped her arms around Parker’s neck, pulling him tightly against her. Deepening the kiss, feeling his hunger as his tongue moved against hers, Sophie relaxed. It wasn’t my imagination. It was real. Lifting her legs, she locked them behind his back. Strong arms pulled her to the edge of the chair, pressing her against him. His hand roamed up and down her back, igniting a trail of fire that sizzled across every inch of her skin.
    She tugged her mouth away from his just long enough to whisper. “Do you want to go to my room?”
    It sounded funny. It was the same question she’d asked him dozens of times throughout their friendship. Only this time it meant more.
    Parker wrapped his arm around her back and pushed up into a standing position, taking her with him.
    Sophie gasped at the ease with which he lifted her off the chair. Clasping her legs tighter around him, she kissed him again.
    Parker headed toward the front hall, but Sophie stopped him, reaching out to grab the side of the doorway. “Wait.”
    Freezing in his tracks, Parker drew his face away from hers. “If you don’t…”
    She put a finger to his lips. “My room’s down here now. I didn’t want to be in my old room, and my parents’ room seemed wrong, so I’m over there.” She nodded to what used to be her mom’s sewing room.
    Parker carried her down the hall, and Sophie nuzzled his neck. He smelled warm and earthy with a faint citrusy scent. She breathed him in as deeply as she could. As he lowered her onto the bed, a look of uncertainty crossed his beautiful features. She urged him forward with a gentle tug, and he crawled into bed alongside her.
    Warm breath caressed the tender skin below her ear. A soft moan escaped her, instantly answered by Parker’s deep, throaty sigh. Rolling her toward him, he ran his hand down her spine, curving around her ass and drawing her closer. Sophie hitched her leg over his hip, wanting to feel him. Needing to feel him. The hardness that pressed against her made her sigh again.
    Moving together, his lips dancing over her skin, his hands stroking her back, hips grinding into hers, she wondered if she might come just like this. Just from being so close to him. She’d never experienced such an overwhelming need. Had no idea it was possible to be this aroused from such minimal contact. Holy shit.

Chapter Eleven
    Parker could barely believe what was happening as he slid Sophie’s top over her head. Insistent fingers plucked at his shirt, and he hesitated. His scars were still not something he was comfortable with having people see. But Sophie’s lips did a good job of convincing him as they licked and nipped at his while her hands pushed his shirt upward.
    Realizing his shirt inevitably had to go, Parker tugged it off and tossed it aside, then quickly attempted to take Sophie back in his arms. She held back. Even in the dimly lit room, he could see her gaze trailing down his arm, across his chest, tracking the road map of scars that marred his body.
    “Sorry,” he said, trying to stop the images that flashed through his mind. Doctors, nurses, aides, wincing when they’d looked at him in the months after his accident.
    “Sorry for what?” Sophie’s eyes met his. She reached out to touch the most prominent mark on his right shoulder.
    He sucked in a breath, flinching as her fingers made contact.
    Her hand stilled. “Do they still hurt?”
    “No, they’re just not the nicest things to look at.” Understatement of the century.
    Sophie traced her fingers from one to the other, shrugging. “I kinda like them.”
    Parker snorted. “Why?”
    Leaning