Breaking by Claire Kent Page A

never been
hugged in his life until Lori, and now he had to resist the urge to pull away.
Emotion shuddered in his chest and his throat at her naked affection for him,
threatening to tear him apart.
    She drew back
before it did.
    She beamed as
she studied his face, but she must have seen something of his mood there
because her smile faded. “What’s the matter?”
    “Nothing. We
were wrapping up anyway, so I came back. I missed you.”
    “I missed you
too. I’m so glad you’re home.”
    Unable to
resist any longer, he took her head in his hands and kissed her.
    It became
urgent very quickly, his tongue going deep, his hands sliding down to cup her ass.
    When the kiss
broke, he lowered his head to her neck, mouthing the pulse in her throat until
his teeth grazed her skin.
    His cock
twitched when she gasped in response.
    “I guess that
means you’re horny,” she said, her voice dry and controlled, although he knew
her body was responding to him.
    “I think we can
find a less objectionable word for my condition.”
    “No. I think
horny is the right one. I’m a wordsmith, remember?”
    He almost
smiled but didn’t reply. Just pushed her down onto her back until she was
spread out beneath him.
    “Well, six
weeks is a long time,” she said, the humor transforming into something deep and
hot as she gazed up at him. “I guess horniness is to be expected.”
    On another
night, he would have laughed, but tonight he slid both hands from her belly to
her soft breasts.
    She arched up
into his hands. “God, Ander, maybe I’m kind of horny too.”
    He leaned over
so he could kiss her, and she tugged on his lower lip in a way that made him
harden even more. He closed his eyes and nuzzled her gently. “Good.”
    Lori reached up
to grab him by the shoulders and tried to pull him into position. “Well, what
are you waiting for? It’s been forever.” Her voice was familiar, ironic, so
dear.
    But it wasn’t
the way he needed to hear her tonight.
    He resisted her
hands and carefully pushed her back down, although she kept wriggling in an
attempt to evade his grasp. “No, let me .”
    It was a
request. They both knew it. It was as close as Ander could come to admitting
what he needed from her.
    Lori grew still
beneath him and met his eyes. Then her body relaxed. “Okay. Sounds good to me.
I’m tired anyway, so you’ll have to do most of the work.”
    Relief
overwhelmed him as he grabbed the bottom of her tank top.
    “But you know
that patience isn’t one of my virtues, right?” she added dryly. “So just keep
that in mind.”
    So strong. So
clever. So generous and loving. She understood him better than anyone ever had.
    And God help
him—tonight he wanted to make her beg.
    She lifted her
arms up so he could remove her top and skate his hands over her bare skin.
    The previous
stimulation had left her sensitive, so it didn’t take long before she was
squirming at his touch. He slid his hands along her belly and sides, teasing
the place under her arms that he knew made her shudder. Then he moved back to
her breasts. Grazed over them so lightly that she pushed her chest up to get
more friction.
    She’d been
breathing erratically, but when he finally chaffed her nipples with his palms
she released a lingering moan. He loved the sound of it—knew it was real.
    When he didn’t
move away from her breasts, Lori gasped, “Ander, you’ve suitably awed me with
your skills at foreplay, but I’m more than ready now.”
    “Are you?” He
tweaked both nipples in simultaneous attention.
    Her hands
settled on the waistband of her pants to pull them down over her hips. “Yeah.
You can get down to business any time now, please.”
    Ander drew her
hands away from her hips and raised them up over her head. The move stretched out
her torso, and the erect, rosy peaks stood out prominently on her fair skin. “You
were letting me, remember?”
    “Right. I
forgot. I got excited. Go to it, then.” Her voice was mocking, but her