All Consuming (Brotherhood by Fire #3) -Jaci Burton Page 0,64
do anything stupid to disgrace the Donovan name. So while I dated, I didn’t want to get serious about anyone—not when I couldn’t put a hundred percent of my focus on a woman. It wouldn’t have been fair to them when all of my efforts were going into becoming a firefighter.”
Hannah was listening with interest. Not judgement. So he continued.
“It wasn’t until the past couple of years that I’d say I’ve done any long-term dating. My first and only serious relationship was with you, Hannah. And if that makes me an asshole for being honest with the women I went out with, then I guess I’m an asshole.” He shrugged.
She reached out and swept her palm against his cheek. “You’re not an asshole. And I’m sorry I said that. I guess I just had some different experiences with guys on those dating apps.”
“I’m not surprised. A lot of guys on those sites are assholes. I just don’t happen to be one of them.”
“I’m sorry. Again. Sometimes I react instead of thinking things through. It’s my worst fault. Forgive me?”
He took her hand, flipped it over and kissed her palm. “Forgiven.”
“You know, I always had it in my mind that you were sleeping your way through the entire state after I left.”
He laughed. “No. That’s not how it went down. For a long time I kind of just . . . wallowed.”
She tilted her head to the side. “Wallowed?”
“I missed you, Hannah. I took our breakup pretty hard.”
“You broke up with me, remember?”
“Yeah. And I felt shitty about it. But staying together wouldn’t have worked, and we both knew it. Doesn’t mean leaving you was easy.”
She gave him a sympathetic look. “It wasn’t easy for me, either. And then I rebounded with Landon. He was supposed to be my escape, my ticket to freedom, and well, we know how that ended up.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Not your fault. My choices were my own, and I’ve had to live with the consequences of them. I’ve also left them in the past.”
“Not me, though.”
She frowned. “What do you mean?”
“I mean I was part of your past. But you haven’t left me there. The exceptional part of your past.”
She laughed. “Yeah, okay, sure. Most of my past has been left behind. Except for you.”
“Good enough. Hey, how about we go out for breakfast?”
“That sounds good. I need to make a stop at home to change first, if you don’t mind.”
“I don’t mind.”
He went upstairs to put other clothes on, then they drove to her place. He was surprised it only took her ten minutes. She came out of her room wearing jeans, a white button-down shirt and white tennis shoes, her hair pulled up into a messy bun at the nape of her neck. She’d scrubbed her face, and she looked fresh and unmade-up, with only gloss on her lips.
“You remind me of high school,” he said.
She flipped her head to the side. “What?”
“No makeup, tennis shoes, your hair pulled back. You look exactly the same as you did when we were in high school. Fresh and beautiful.”
She stepped forward and smoothed her hands over his chest. “That might be the nicest compliment any man has ever given me.” She raised up and kissed him.
Her kiss was a soft caress across his lips. He let her lead, and when she wanted more, he opened, her tongue slipping inside. When she grabbed hold of his tongue and sucked, his cock went instantly hard. The kiss was hot and passionate and demanding. He grabbed her butt and drew her against him so he could rub his aching erection against the softness of her body.
She moaned, then pushed at him and stepped away, taking his hand and leading him into the living room.
“Sit on the sofa,” she said.
He wasn’t about to argue with her, especially if that meant they could get more comfortable and make out some more.
“Undo your pants.”
He blinked. Okay, more than making out. He was down for that. He undid his pants.
“Drop them to your ankles.”
Now it was getting even better. He shrugged out of his pants and boxer briefs and slid them down. He expected Hannah to get naked, but instead, she got on her knees in front of him, spreading his legs apart so she could crawl between them.
His balls quivered at the sight of her sliding her fingers over his thighs, lifting his shirt and smoothing her hands over his skin.
“Babe,” he whispered, but that was all he could manage because she took his