Skyscrapers to Greener Pastures by Jo McNally

Author:Jo McNally
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2023-03-05T20:41:13+00:00

Chapter Eleven

Tony woke with a start. He tended to do that ever since the accident, and he blinked into the darkness to get his bearings. Where was he? And why was something warm and soft sprawled across his chest?

Olivia. Heat rushed through him. Had he passed out after that incredible sex? He saw the bedside clock—it had only been an hour or so. That was a relief, because he did not want to waste one moment of this night. After all, who knew if they’d have another? They’d said no strings. No expectations. No entanglements. He ran his hand up her spine. If it was going to be one night, he couldn’t spend any more of it sleeping, that was for sure. But then again, she was sleeping, too.

She was on top of him, one leg intertwined with his, one arm cast wide beyond him, the other bent so that her hand was next to his head on the pillow. Her head was on his chest. He’d never been much for cuddling after sex, but this was different. This was...nice.

He supposed there was no shame in needing rest after the way they’d come together and things had just exploded like that. He frowned. She’d been in some pain, though. He couldn’t tell how much, and she was the one who’d set the pace after they’d paused. And that pace had been frantic for both of them. But he didn’t like the idea of hurting her.

At that moment, his fingers brushed against the edge of a scar. The skin was built up there, like a ridge. And beyond that ridge, the scar tissue was tight and hard, especially compared to the rest of her body.

When he’d spotted her standing in the tub earlier, like a glorious glistening mermaid, her scars had been impossible to ignore. The skin was rose-red and so much larger than he’d expected. It covered most of her torso on the left side, and much of her left thigh. He couldn’t imagine how painful it must have been. How many skin grafts she’d gone through. And she’d thought he was repulsed by it.

It was the opposite. He’d been awestruck at how strong she had to be to go through that. The scars weren’t ugly to him in any way, because they were a part of her. And there was nothing ugly about Olivia Carson. She was tough. She was smart. He smiled in the darkness. And she was an incredible lover.

She stirred under his caress and he moved his fingers from the scar, mumbling an apology. Did it hurt to be touched there? She lifted her head, her blond waves wild around her face.

“Don’t apologize. It felt nice...as long as it didn’t gross you out.”

He pushed her hair back so he could look straight into her eyes. “Stop it. That scars are a part of you, and I like you a lot. All of you. Every inch. But you have to let me know if I’m hurting you. Is it tender?”

She rested her chin on her hand on his chest and stared right back.

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