like construction. He was lean and powerful, but his hands were soft as they ran up my thighs, courtesy of his work as a programmer.
I liked the contrast.
My fingers grazed a ridge in his collarbone. I frowned and slowed my touch, circling back to trail my fingers over it the break Peter had told me about.
I cocked my head to the side. “Does is still hurt sometimes?”
He closed his hand over mine, gently massaging the collarbone with the bump. “I still get some phantom pains that are apparently normal. The doctors said it might continue to happen for another twelve or so months as the bone fully heals.”
“Are you finally going to tell me how it happened?”
He chuckled. “Guess.”
I smiled coyly. “Were you showing off for a girl?”
He laughed. “No, I’m too clumsy to show off for a girl and past experience has made me refrain from making an ass of myself.”
“What did it then?”
“I was moving my father’s sofa with my little brother and I fell down his front porch steps. Six of them. Landed pretty hard on my shoulder on the concrete path, heard a snap, yelped like a baby, and didn’t dare move because the pain was so bad.”
I hated to think of Peter hurting. “It was a clean break?”
“Yep, right in half. Like a broken twig.”
“Ouch.”
“You can say that again. Had to have two surgeries so it healed properly, but even after that, it’s still never going to be as strong as it was. Every now and then I tweak it. I’m not supposed to lift heavy stuff or push or pull where I can avoid it.”
Guilt crawled around in my belly. “So you probably, most definitely should not have carried me out of the bar last week?”
“There is always an exception to a rule, Katie. Carrying a pretty girl out of a bar is one of them.”
I eyed him suspiciously. “Who made that rule?”
“I did, the minute Roman asked for my help.”
I giggled. “Is that so?”
“Yes. There was no way I was going to leave you sitting on the bathroom floor when I was perfectly capable of helping. Of course, there was a little voice in my head screaming at me not to drop you because if I had I would have been so horrified that I’d have booked a flight back to LA the following morning.”
“Well, I’m glad that didn’t happen because I want to see more of you, Peter. A lot more.”
Peter waggled his dark eyebrows at me as I ran my fingers through his long, wet, dark hair. “How much more?”
All of it.
I considered playing it cool and leading him on a little bit more, but his bare skin up against mine was making it impossible to control myself. My nipples were hard and the fabric of my bikini teased them mercilessly. All I wanted was to know what it would feel like to take things further with Peter.
What kind of lover was he? Was he rough? Gentle? Did he take his time? Or would he break at the first sight of my naked body?
I pressed a kiss to his lips. “I want to see everything.”
Chapter 19
Peter
Katie had her legs wrapped around my waist. Her elbows rested gently on my shoulders so she could run her fingers through my hair while we stared into each other’s eyes. For a moment, I realized how truly rare and exceptional a moment like this was. In all my thirty-two years, the closest I’d ever come to something so romantic, wet, and passionate was when I spilled beer on myself while watching a tear-jerking romantic comedy.
Alone. In my apartment. On a Tuesday night.
Katie squeezed me a little with her thighs and let out a breathless giggle. “What are you thinking about, Peter?”
Telling her about the beer I’d spilled all over my plaid pajamas didn’t seem terribly sexy, so I said, “How different this trip is turning out to be. This definitely isn’t what I expected to find when I left LA.”
“And what did you expect to find?”
“Solitude.”
Katie smiled. The brilliant turquoise water reflected in her eyes. “Would you prefer to be alone?”
I put my hands on her hips and squeezed. “Absolutely fucking not.”
Her giggle filled the air once more and I reached up to cup her cheek before I kissed her. Even like this, with our eyes closed and our lips pressed together, I could feel how beautiful she was. When she pulled away, she released my shoulders and her hands moved down to tug at