“What caused it?”
“The doctors aren’t sure. It could have been sliding down the bark of a tree or some other debris that just ripped the skin away. All of my ribs were broken, and they had to wire them back together. The skin was too damaged after surgery to even try to repair it, so they used a skin graft. It was one of the only parts that healed decently well. My ribs don’t bother me as far as pain goes, and as long as I keep the skin graft covered from the sun, it’s fine.” She pointed at her right thigh. “They took the skin from that leg, but thankfully, you don’t notice the slight scar it left.
I pushed her shirt out of the way, exposing the bottom of her breast where the scarred flesh met pink, unscarred skin. “I’m so sorry, Amber. I didn’t mean to downplay what you went through when we were on the lake yesterday. I truly didn’t understand.”
She shook her head with her lip captured between her teeth. “It’s okay. You didn’t know it was like this because I didn’t show you. I wanted you to keep thinking I was beautiful. I knew if the leg didn’t turn you off, this would.”
My chin hit my chest, and I shook my head. “No, this doesn’t turn me off, sweetart. It’s horrifying to think about what did it or how much it had to have hurt, but that skin is still your skin. I don’t think it’s any different than the skin on your legs or belly, which by the way, is torturing me right now.”
“You’re not a leg man, and you aren’t a boob man, so you’re a belly man?”
I licked my lips and leaned in, pressing a kiss to her navel, dipping my tongue in until I felt her shiver. “You’ve discovered my secret. I’m a belly button man.”
She grasped my hair, sliding her fingers through it to find purchase for her need. “I like your secret.”
“And I like your soft, trim belly that leads down to that soft mound of curls I want to bury my nose in again,” I promised, blowing across her belly until goosebumps rose across her skin. “But you haven’t been sleeping very long, and you need more rest.”
I tugged her shirt down and rested my hand on her belly, cuddling her into me and kissing her forehead. My dick was hard and pulsing against her hip, and she reached down, stroking it with a finger on each side, making me want to come with her name on my lips.
“You haven’t slept at all, have you?” she asked, placing a kiss along the ridge of my collarbone.
I sucked in air while I warred to keep a cool head. Between her kisses and her tender stroking, I wanted to forget about everything else and just make love to this gorgeous woman in my arms. “N—no,” I said, clearing my throat. “I was holding you and memorizing every little thing about you. I’m building you in my mind little by little because I never want to forget how beautiful you are, and how much you’ve changed my life.” I thrust against her hand and moaned, her soft laughter filling the darkness of the room.
“If that wasn’t so sweet, I might think you were a creeper, Mr. Halla.”
“Not a creeper. Just saving up for when you disappear from my life, and I don’t have you anymore. I will always want you, my little tart, always.”
My lips came down on hers, and I kissed her until I knew she wanted me just as much as I wanted her. She arched under me, wanting me to move over her and frustrated by my refusal. I pinned her arms above her head and kissed her with enough tongue to show her who was boss, finally backing off when my chest started burning.
“I do believe you are kind of hot for teacher,” I said, throwing her words back at her. “Only I think it’s more like extremely hot for teacher.”
“Even hotter for daddy,” she whispered into my ear, taking a lick at the last second.
I grunted, thrusting against her leg without any self-control. “You are a little tease, aren’t you? I might have to spank you if you keep up that kind of talk.”
“But we don’t have a yardstick,” she said coyly, her eyes traveling to my boxers, which were tented with a footlong. “I suppose that would do, though.”
I growled before my lips attacked hers again, my hands still holding her wrists to the bed. I thrust my tongue inside her mouth the same way I wanted to thrust inside her heat, and she shivered with anticipation. She was incredible in immeasurable ways, and I wasn’t going to last much longer without having her. I could tell myself all I wanted that I could marry her and then walk away, but the second I sank inside her, that would be it. I would never fuck another woman. I hadn’t even made love to her yet, and I already knew that much. She was going to bring me to my knees, but as long as I healed her with my love, I didn’t even care.
“If you throw my tongue in the mix, it will more than do, little girl,” I promised, rubbing my still clothed hardness against her hip. “Do we need a repeat performance from earlier to refresh your memory?”
She nodded her head coyly. “Yes, Mr. Halla. I can’t remember if I come before or after you do.”
I growled and grasped the hem of her shirt, my brow arced toward the sky. “I would prefer coming together, but first, I’m going to take this shirt off and quench my curiosity.”
“What’s that?” she asked, leaving her arms above her head while she waited for me to strip off the shirt.
“If your breasts are as small as you claim they are.”
Slowly, I pulled the shirt up to
