“Karyn reached out to graze his jaw with her thumb, savoring the beginnings of stubble. She’d never seen her ex with stubble. Or with his mouth as deliciously soft and used as Jeff’s.“How’d we end up here?” she asked softly, not expecting an answer.“Luck,” he said, turning his head to kiss her palm. “Blind f#cking luck.”

“He threaded his hand through her hair, tugging her closer. Her body strained toward him, her breasts all but bursting the buttons of her flannel pajamas. She swallowed the last of the candy cane as he lowered his mouth to hers.He didn’t ravage, as she’d expected. His mouth was soft and warm on hers, and the scrape of his stubbled jaw added to the thrill. She moaned and clung to him, her mind emptying like sand tumbling from a bucket.Resist? Absolutely not. She wanted this. Him.”

“They took turns kissing necks and ears and stubbled chins. He had never found or expected gentleness from Tucker, but here it was, his for the asking. His even if he didn't know how to ask.”

“He framed her face between his palms and met her eyes. Everything inside her slid into place, key into lock. Then he lowered his head and took her mouth in a kiss that felt more like oral f#cking than it did an easy mating of lips and tongues.”

“Even now her body yearned to be closer to him. She wanted to press her nose into his skin and inhale hungrily—he always smelled as if he’d just taken a walk across a sunny meadow. She wanted to rub her palm against his jaw to feel the beginning of stubbles. She wanted to slide her hands underneath his shirt and learn every single shape and texture, with the fierce dedication she’d once put into mastering the Grandes Études.”

“[Jack] “Don’t kid yourself for a f#cking second that I don’t feel anything for you.”Her lips parted in shock, but before she could get a word out, he covered them with his own. She made a high, startled sound in the back of her throat.Pleasure, red, blinding, exploded through him at the first taste. Sweet, spicy, better than all his fevered imaginings. Her lips soft and giving against him, her tongue delicious and moist as he sucked it into his mouth.”