rest against hers. His warm breath mixed with hers, and the quiet intimacy of the moment made her heart swell and thump harder against her ribcage.
“Sebastian?” she asked.
He brought his hand up, caressing her cheek gently. His lips curved into a whisper of a smile as he said, “I just needed a second to savor this moment.”
“Damn,” she breathed, closing her eyes as a swell of emotion washed over her. “You’re going to wreck me, aren’t you?”
“In the best possible way,” he said as he lowered his head, claiming her lips again.
Gigi melted into him, letting herself be completely consumed by his tender touch. As he ran one hand down her back and buried one in her hair, she knew she was taking a leap into something that would never leave her unscathed. And in that moment, she was more than willing to sacrifice the heart she’d tried to protect for far too many years.
With trembling hands, Gigi reached for the buttons on his shirt. Sebastian stilled and watched as she slowly worked his shirt open and pressed her palms to his well-defined chest. His muscles twitched under her touch, and his skin felt better than anything she’d ever imagined.
Sebastian shrugged out of his shirt. She let her eyes roam over his body, unabashedly admiring him standing there in just his trousers. When she met his gaze, she said, “You’re the most beautiful man I’ve ever seen.”
He gave her a sexy half smile as he reached for her, gently grabbing her by the waist and pulling her in close to him. “And just how many naked men have you seen, Clarity?”
She didn’t miss his use of her given name, but for once she didn’t feel the need to correct him. He was the one person who really knew her, really knew her, and it just felt right in the moment. And although his question embarrassed her, she answered anyway, knowing there could never be secrets between them. “Including you?”
He chuckled. “I’m not naked yet.”
“Yet,” she said, smiling up at him. “Once I get the rest of your clothes off you, the answer is two.”
He raised one eyebrow. “Really?”
“James was my first and since we divorced, I… Well, there hasn’t been anyone since.”
“Jesus, Clarity,” he said, his voice husky. “And you think I’m the one who is going to wreck you?”
Gigi started to shake her head, but Sebastian’s mouth came back down on hers, and he kissed her with so much passion all her protests vanished. Her world narrowed to him and the passion sparking between them.
Sebastian took his time, slowly but deliberately exploring every inch of her, making her come alive under his touch. His strong, capable hands did something to her, healed her, made her forget there was ever anyone before him. By the time they were under the covers together, Gigi felt as if she’d waited her entire life for that moment with him.
He hovered above her, staring down at her with half lidded eyes, all sex and heat, but also tenderness and emotion. And when they finally joined together, Gigi knew he hadn’t just wrecked her; she was shattered in the best possible way.
Hours later as Gigi lay in Sebastian’s arms, her head resting on his shoulder, she said, “Wow. That was… unexpected.”
He kissed the top of her head and chuckled softly. “That’s not how I expected the evening to end, but I can’t say I’m disappointed.”
She lifted off him slightly so she could meet his gaze. Everything inside of her screamed to keep the moment light, to not share that she’d been turned inside out by his tender touch that had been combined with raw need and emotion that had touched her deep in her soul. But when he reached up and brushed a lock of hair out of her eyes, there was no stopping the words from tumbling out of her mouth. “Is it always like that?”
His brows pinched together as he asked, “What do you mean?”
Gigi let out a small, humorless huff of laughter and lowered herself back down so that she didn’t have to keep looking him in the eye. She’d been sure they’d shared a rare connection, something that didn’t come around every day. But what did she know? She’d only been with one other person. It was just her bad luck that he’d never made her feel as if one touch could make her burst into flames. But it wasn’t just the passion that had made the night so incredible. It