Page 201 of A Taste of Vanilla

“My lower back a little. Hips. Nothing terrible.”

He nods once, but his jaw remains tense.

“Then—”

I put my hand over his mouth. “Please don’t make decisions for me.”

He goes still. I feel his breath against my fingers, hot and measured.

“I know my body,” I say. “I know when to stop. I’ll tell you.”

He studies me. “Okay, and I’ll believe you.”

Warren’s hand comes to my jaw.

The first touch is slow. His palm is warm and his fingers are steady, his thumb brushing just beneath my lower lip. I lean into it before I can stop myself.

I kiss him before he can ask any more questions. He catches me immediately, one hand sliding into my hair, the other closing around my waist. The kiss starts slowly for maybe half a breath before it turns into what we both knew it would become. Hot and deep. Familiar now.

I climb into his lap, and he makes a sound against my mouth as he pulls me closer, his hands settling at my hips, thumbs pressing into the skin above my leggings. His body is hard and huge beneath mine. Controlled until I roll my hips and feel it crack.

“Careful,” he growls.

I pull back and look at him. His hair has come looser, his eyes are dark and his mouth wet from mine. “I thought you liked it when I wasn’t.”

“I do.”

“Then?”

“I also like when you’re not in pain.”

My heart flutters.

I move slower this time. His hands slide under my large t-shirt and up my back. The feel of his palms against my skin makes me shiver. He flattens one between my shoulder blades, the other staying low on my waist.

“Tell me if anything hurts,” he says against me.

“I will.”

“I mean it.”

“I know.”

“Even a little.”

I pull back and look at him. “You’re worried.”

I’ve never had someone worried about this.

“Of course.”

“That’s really sweet.” A knot of something dangerous forms in my stomach.

“It’s basic concern, Hal.”

I bite my lip. “Warren.”

“What?”