In his bedroom, with the blackout curtains pulled shut, Adam removed his shirt, pausing while Ellie ran her hands over his bare chest. He hardly noticed his scars anymore, but she stopped when she reached the puckered skin from the bullet wound on his chest, next to his heart.
“It almost killed you,” she murmured.
“Hit my rib instead.”
She traced a line down to his stomach, her finger pausing at the other scar—where they’d had to remove part of his intestine along with the bullet that had lodged in his gut. “You have an interesting body.”
He pulled her to him, angling her against his hips. “Just wait. There’s more.”
She tilted her head up and smiled. “We’ve got an hour before the painkillers wear off. Let’s have mind-numbing sex.”
“You’re sure? I don’t want to hurt you.”
She shook her head. “You won’t hurt me. Besides, if I scream there are about a dozen agents who’ll come running.”
He groaned. “That is not the image I want to be thinking about when I make you scream.”
She laughed, then lifted the hem of her shirt with her right hand. “Help me get this off.”
Adam slid the shirt over her immobilized arm, and sucked in a breath when her breasts were revealed. He wanted to touch her, to hold her, to cradle her gently against him, but he also desperately wanted to make love to her.
Her hand fumbling at his belt buckle only made it worse. He helped her, then peeled off his jeans. His legs had scars, too, which used to embarrass him when he wore shorts. Now he never thought about it, but with Ellie examining his body, he felt like the statue of David, exposed for all the world to see.
The pillows piled on his bed engulfed her as she lay back, her arm still protected by the sling and the bandage covering her shoulder.
“Every time I imagined making love to you, it wasn’t this way—with your arm immobilized because—”
“Shhh.” She tugged on his hand, pulling him down to the bed. “We have more important things to do right now.”
“Right. Mind-numbing sex.” He leaned down and kissed her, a promise of what was to come, as soon as he figured out how to manage this without hurting her.
He held himself over her while she ran her hand over his back. Then she urged him closer, until they were touching, skin to skin.
“Tell me how long you’ve wanted this,” she murmured, between kisses that stole his breath, his soul.
“I’ve wanted it since the first time I saw you.”
“Mmm. Same.”
“All those times we met…and talked about cake?”
“Yeah.” She licked his ear, and he almost exploded.
She laughed at his distress, and wrapped her legs around him, pulling him closer, and he realized just how physically fit she was. He had no doubt she’d have him beat in the obstacle course, and could probably take him in a quarter-mile sprint.
And right now, he was about to lose another sprint—if she didn’t stop touching him.
“Hey. You first,” he said, but she was urging him toward her, into her, and then he couldn’t wait to be a part of her, not a second longer…
“God, I don’t want to hurt—”
“Shhh.” She pulled him closer, into her, and gripped him with a fierce urgency, until he could do nothing but dive into her, again and again and again.
Beneath him, she caught her breath, tightening her grip, then exhaled, a sigh of contentment and release.
Adam exploded, cradling her as gently as he could while spasms of pleasure racked his body. He let go of her, pulling off the condom.
“Are you okay?” he asked, desperate to know if he’d hurt her, dislodged a stitch, or broken something.
She rolled her eyes. “I’m fine. Absolutely, one hundred percent fine. And if you ask me that again, I’m going to—”
He braced himself on his elbows over her and smiled down at her. “What are you gonna do, hip toss me off the bed?”
He didn’t see it coming. Her right hand shoved him upward, then flipped him over, and a second later, she was on top, and he was staring into her laughing eyes above him.
“Are you okay?” she mocked, and he answered her with a kiss.
She kissed him back, the heat between them on simmer now. With a glance at her left arm, she said, “I might have a busted shoulder, but don’t count me out.” Then she settled against his side and he felt her tense. “I think the painkillers are wearing off, though.”
Adam gathered her close, stroking her spine with a fingertip. “How about I make you a codeine cocktail and a chaser of cocoa?”
She rested her cheek on his chest. “Sounds romantic.” Then she glanced up at him, a smile in her eyes. “Then can we do this again? I have a few ideas…”