“You're not mad at me?" she asked.He leaned to the side and placed a lingering kiss on her neck. "If I pretended I was, would you make it up to me?"Another kiss landed on the sensitive skin of her collarbone, testing the edges of the coveralls. "Um," Jenna stammered. "No.""No?" He leveled his eyes with hers. They sparkled with amusement.She tried to think, but her body had apparently decided her brain was a nonessential system and shut it down. "Yes?”

“I just want to kiss you." He slid his hand up her neck, cupping the side of her face. "Do you want to kiss me?”

“She leaned toward me, offering her neck, and I kissed her just behind her ear.”

“Her hands brushed Shane's, and he let go of the cards and took hold.And then somehow she was in his lap, and he was kissing her. Hadn't meant to do that but...well. She couldn't exactly be sorry about it, because he tasted amazing, and his lips were so soft and his hands were so strong...He leaned back, eyes half shut, and he was smiling. Shane didn't smile all that much, and it always left her breathless and tingling. There was a secrecy about it like he only ever smiled at her, and it just felt... perfect. 'Claire, you're being careful right?' He smoothed hair back from her face. 'Seriously. You'd tell me if you got into trouble?''No trouble,' She lied, thinking about Monica's not-so veiled threats, and that glimpse of Shane's dad seated across from Oliver in the coffee shop.'No trouble at all.''Good.' He kissed her again, then moved down her jawline to her neck, and, wow neck nibbles took her breath away. She closed her eyes and buried her fingers in his warm hair, trying to tell him through every touch how much she liked this, like him, loved...Her eyes came open, fast. She did not just think about that.Shane’s warm hands moved up her sides, thumbs grazing the sides of her breasts again, and he traced his fingers across the thin skin of her collarbone...down to where the neck of her T-shirt stopped him. Teasing. Pulling it down an inch, then two.And then, maddeningly, he let go and leaned back, lips damp. He licked them, watching her, and then gave her that slow crazy, sexy smile again.'Go to bed' he said. 'Before I decide to come with.”

“His green eyes sparkled as he entered, and Livia kicked her door shut. He caught her hands, and Livia let her lips touch his. They leaned into one another, mindful not to let her still-wet body touch his freshly dried one. It was like their kisses were over an imaginary wishing well.”

“Another sob came, harder than the first, but she couldn't cover her face and her mastectomy scars at the same time when he raised his head. When she tried, Luke merely caught her wrists and lightly pinned them on either side of her head."It's all right, Em. Tears are part of this," he whispered, bending to kiss them away. He moved gently within her, another tender caress that soothed as much as it stimulated. It broke the seal on the dam of her tears. They came out in a quiet rush while he stayed above her, eyes on her face as he murmured soothing things she didn't quite catch. And when the tears slowed, she looked up into his handsome face with a sniffle and the smile he gave her filled her heart to overflowing. Dear God she loved him. Had always loved him and would never love another man but him.Her heart had known it all along. And so had her body.Still, she tensed when he released one of her wrists to touch the skin beneath her right collarbone. Luke shook his dark head, those liquid eyes looking right into her soul. "I won't let you hide from me. Or from yourself." Embedded deep inside her, he raised his upper body to gaze at her, and all she could do was close her eyes in resistance. "Look at me."After a long hesitation, she did.He stared down at her with a powerful mixture of tenderness and hunger. "You think a scar's going to change how I see you? Feel about you?"She swallowed and struggled to find her voice. "It's ugly.""You're beautiful to me, Em. Always." She opened her mouth to say something but he leaned down to kiss her again. "Give me your hand," he coaxed, his voice a seductive whisper. She did, tentatively, and his fingers closed around hers in a warm grip. Strong and reassuring. "Accept who you are. Be proud of your body. It's fighting a war for you.”