Page 90 of Silver Linings

“I need the washcloth back, Gunner,” she whispered breathlessly as she pulled away. “That cut is probably going to scar.”

“I don’t think I’m going to be able to have you touch me without being able to touch you myself, Lil.” The grit in his voice made her skin pebble and her face flush. His fingers found their way to her hips, where the pressure of his grip made her want to fall into his lap.

“Who said you couldn’t touch me?” Her hands found their way to the tie on her bathrobe, and with shaking fingers, she slowly tugged until the bow came undone and the silk slipped over the curves of her body. Lily took Gunner’s hand and led him to sit on the edge of the bathtub.

“Need you, Lil.” Gunner’s teeth clenched so tightly that his jaw looked like stone. His hand shook as it reached out to her, and the second he touched the skin just under her breast, it felt as though the entire room had caught fire. “Jesus, you’re so fucking perfect.”

His hands traced along the lines on her tummy and she grimaced, sliding her own hands down over her skin.

“I’m sorry it looks like that.”

“Lily Kate.” She sighed, and he grabbed her hips, pulling her towards him until his lips brushed over her loose skin. “You grew my daughter inside you. There will never be a single moment in time where I would ever think that makes you less attractive. Every stretch mark on your body is a line in the story of her journey to us. I can’t wait to see the ones that are added to your body when you carry her siblings.”

Her whole body flushed as his words washed over her.

“How does someone with a reputation for being so grumpy turn around and say the most beautiful things to me?”

“It’s only for you, Lil. My soft side is only for my family.”

She dabbed at the blood now crusted onto his skin. Her breath shuddered as he cupped her breast, letting his thumb circle her peaked nipple. An intense tingle rolled through her body, and she immediately knew she was about to have a letdown of her milk.

“Shit, Gunner.” Lily stepped back from him, closing her robe and placing her hands over her breasts. Not a moment too soon, either, as she felt the fabric dampen.

“What’s wrong?” He stood and walked towards her, boxing her in at the sink.

“It’s nothing. I just…” she felt embarrassment heat her cheeks. “I got turned on when you touched me, and…you know…I’m leaking.”

“Really?” His lips turned up in a smile.

“What is that smile for? This is mortifying?”

“It’s mortifying that you are keeping the cutest little human alive by making her food with your body?” He genuinely looked confused.

“It’s just…it’s not sexy. Leaking all over the place like a cow who needs to be milked.”

“There’s where you are wrong, Lil. The thought of me turning you on so much that happens is so fucking sexy. I’m having a hard time not taking you to bed so I can have a taste myself.”

“Gunner!”

“What? You think Sage should get to be the only one to enjoy your new talents?”

Lily laughed and relaxed as Gunner’s hands slid down her arms, prying them apart. He looked at her like a starving man before he began licking the skin across her neck. Slowly, he moved down to her collarbone as her skin pebbled from the warm feel of his tongue swirling over her heated flesh.

When he got to her chest, Lily’s breathing stopped. The wait to see what he was going to do felt like the most amazing sort of torture.

Gunner caught her eye and licked his lips before he ran his hands around her waist and sucked her breast into his mouth. God, it felt amazing. Lily had thought her breasts would be an absolute no-go during sex after nursing Sage, but they felt sensitive in the best way, and her body responded more to the touch than she thought possible.

Her breath hitched as he popped off and licked his lips again.

“Shit, Lily Kate. You are so fucking delicious. One taste and I’m already addicted to you.”

“You cannot do that again until after we get cleaned up.” He laughed, and she knew it was from how breathless she sounded. Honestly, she couldn’t believe how much that had just turned her on.

Taking his hand, she somehow pulled him back over to the toilet, where she sat him down and shook her head at the way the wound on his head was still open.

“You should have let someone look at this at the hospital.”

“Nah. This is way better,” he laughed. “At the hospital, I would have gotten an old man. Here I have the hottest woman I’ve ever met, and I get to touch her while she treats my boo-boos.”